thxango40

Interesting.... No toes on one foot? Poor little guy. :eek: Oliver does seem to have a little more trouble climbing around his cage, but he'll adapt fine I'm sure, just like your baby. Any other greys missing toenails out there?

Oliver was born without toenails on both back claws (L&R) and a half grown-out toenail on his front left foot. I'm sure he'll be fine for climbing and getting alone. I was just wondering how common this is in greys and if the half grown-out nail could lead to a health problem down the road.

Great advice KHAN and Spock! Thank you so much. I had no idea birds did not like being touched on their wings, back and feet. Those are the places we've been trying to touch him! We're going to start trying to rub his head when he's sleepy and see how that goes. PS. Oliver had a mumbling fit yesterday morning. So funny. Made all kinds of strange noises for about 45 mins.

Thank you Mawnee. I'm guessing they did not give him the handling time he needed.

You're not out of line at all. The fact is, we'd be the first to admit we have no idea what we're doing here! My only concern with the treat approach is that he really don't like much of anything right now. We have offered just about everything we can think of. He still does not have a favorite food. If I wait several months for him to like a treat, I'm afraid he'll be even harder to teach touching. Do all greys hate touching at this age or did my breeder lie about him being hand feed? If this is normal, and he'll grow out of it with time, I'd feel much better.

Thanks for everyones concern. Oliver is doing a little better. The biting has stopped for most things like step-up, but he does still bite if I try to touch him. *Please see my new post. I have been toweling him, but not controling him. If he wants out, I let him out. I believe now my breeder was a total Parrot Mill. I only wish I would have seen the signs. Hind-sight is 20/20, right? Anyway, we seem to have a fragle baby who needs even more care then a normal grey. I hope everyone can put up with my constant questions. PS. Oliver is making more sounds throughout the day now and starting to play with new toys. Plus totally weened and holding his weight at 330gm.

16 Week Old CAG Oliver does not like to be touched... at all! I announce we're about to play the "Gottcha Game" and playfully try to touch different parts of is body starting with his toes. He absolutly hates this and really tries to bite my finger each time. Not just light nibbles, bites! Same for the towel game, he struggles to get out to the point of hurting himself. He also tries to fly away when he sees the towel coming. If we try to pet his back when holding him, he will turn all the way around to bite your hand. I now feel like our breeder lied when they said he was hand feed. How do I get him used to being touched. We are afraid if we keep working with him, it's only going to make him hate us. He always seems very upset with us after play time.

Thanks everyone! Glad to hear there's nothing strange about Oliver's behavior!

Hi Jayd, Nice to hear from you too. It's not so much talking I'm concerned about, its his lack of any kind of noise. He coos a little at night when we put his cover on his cage, but that's about it. He'll go 10 hours a day without a peep.

My 15 week old CAG Oliver doesn't seem to make much noise. He only makes a few baby sounds in the morning and a few different sounds at night. We keep waiting for him to find his voice and explore some new sounds, but we haven't heard a "new" sound in weeks.... When did your grey start to vocalize?

Thank you for this post. I thought I had done my homework.... On our first visit to the breeder I brought up these points but was assured he was almost weened and clipping was best for him. Most of their advices seemed strange to me too, like drop him on the floor if he tries to bite you; or hold him against his will in a towel to show him you're in control. I can see now that they were just saving themselves the trouble of fully weening and clipped him to provent injury to their investment. I'm glad I found this site where I can talk with real grey owners, not just 1 breeder.

Good advice. I won't take him out without a cage or harness again. I'd like to get him into a flight suit w/harness, but he's still very grumpy about all the touching.

Jayd, Thanks again for all the great advice. I feel better knowing that I'm not doing anything majorly wrong. I work from home so he's getting about 10 hours attention and love per day. That's what makes it so weird. All that love and attention and still unsure of us after 3 weeks. I'm guessing greys just take longer to adjust then one may think. I'll check out the other threads you recommended. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Jayd, Thanks for the advice. So should we let his wings grow out and let him fly later? Or will it have been too long? We had no change to visit him before be bought him. The breeder lives 100 miles away and we were told by them that the baby "could not be distrub" when we first visited them. He would have been about 9 weeks at the time. Seemed a little weird to me but this guy has been in business for 38 years breeding birds so we trusted him. Oliver just seems depressed and a little scared and unsure. I feel so bad. We are continuing with the love and attention, hand feedings and treat offerings. So you think he'll come around? Will he build trust in me if I make him do things like be wrapped in a towel aginst his will? My breeder says it lets them know you're the boss any the bird will learn to accept the touching. I feel like he's just getting mad at me. What do you think? PS. Check out my profile for pictures I just uploaded today!