fourty03

Hello all.. Long time lurker here and first time posting.. We have a Congo African Grey - his name is Stewie; or Stu for short... He's actually my father's bird.. My parents had got him back in 1995, as a baby.. My mom passed away in 1999, and my father has had him ever since... My father moved a couple times and always had his bird everywhere with him... So recently, I had my father move in with me this past March. He has stage 3 lung cancer and going through Chemo and everything else.. When he moved in with me, he had to bring Stewie along (I didn't mind it at all), and when visiting my father in the past, Stewie has always allowed me to handle him. So, when my father was diagnosed back in June for cancer, that is when we noticed Stewie's behavior starting to change.. He use to stay on his cage most of the time when let out, and recently, he picked up this insane, loud, high frequency chirp that pierces your ear drums.. This chirp; Stewie only does it to me - when I walk pass his cage, and absolutely every time I am in sight, he will do this chirp. I ignore the chirp most times, and sometimes he will constantly do it. His cage is in my dining room and the dining room is open, and from his cage, he can see the whole apartment - so he's never isolated and I am never out of sight. He does not chirp this way to anyone else, just me! When he comes down, I give him positive attention.. when he chirps, I most of the times, do my best to ignore.. He does not do this chirp to anyone else, and he's started to squawk like a Macaw now - super loud squawk - he does this macaw noise when I am laying down on the couch.. The Macaw scream / squawk is from when my parents use to have a Macaw, and goodness, that bird was huge and LOUD!! "AWWWWK AWWWWWWWWWWWKK AWWWWWWKK!!!!" Stewie is also starting to fly around the house, and into the kitchen and starts to pull the carpet fibers off the mat and tries to build a nest it looks like.. He will also try to sneak down off his cage onto the floor all the time.. and he's very sneaky about it. When he flies into the kitchen, and I don't get him in time, he will chew the base board trim. I remember letting him out of his cage one day, I went into the bathroom, and when I came out, he already had a pile of broken wood all neatly piled in the corner of the kitchen.. it only took him about 3 or 4 minutes .. that was back in March, and he still tries to do it.. I have to shake a spray bottle or say "get up there!" and he will race back onto the cage... He constantly tries to get on the floor all the time through this method of sneaking down his cage.. I let him out one morning and I left my bathroom door open; the bathroom isnt far from his cage. He quietly snaked and "sneaked" down - went into the bathroom while I was sitting on the couch, and destroyed the wooden trim in the bathroom and again, piled the wood up in the corner... He never use to act like this. He also tries to make me pet him near his ears and on the sides of his head. If I put my hand out; if I try to get him to step up onto my hand (when he's on top his cage), sometimes he will step up, but most of the times he will put his head down, turn his head sideways and wants to be constantly pet near his ears.. This behavior seemed to come overnight - and I do not know if he senses my father is sick or what have you... My father was his main caretaker and companion, now I am since my father cannot empty his cage. He lets my father pet him, but my father is too scared to pet him much because he cannot move his hand fast enough like he use to.. - just in case Stewie tries to take a nip at his hand.. He's starting to nip me more now - and tries to nip me - he will let me pet him, then he will turn his head and tries to get my finger inside his beak - most of the time he will take his beak and it seems he tries to get my finger in his beak so he can "pull" my hand in closer - the nips don't hurt, yet.. and he's only bitten me twice sine he came here to my house. I know this is a lot to read, and if anyone has any advice, I would be very appreciative. God forbid if something bad happened to my father, I would be Stewie's new companion. Thanks everyone!