neoow

Oh that's awful. I'm sorry you both had to go through that. Fingers crossed for no permanent damage

If Cosmo strongly reacts to the new perch you could try leaving it nearby within his sight (but at a distance). I've found this sometimes helps when introducing new toys that Alfie doesn't like. I'll leave them near his cage (but not in or on it) so he can check them out and make sure they're not going to kill him. I usually find it's easier to then add the toy to his cage. I've never really had a problem with perches though. I usually just add them in to his cage and he accepts them readily enough. Hopefully it all goes smoothly for you! (and Cosmo)

Aw he's a cutie!!

I managed to get a sneaky photo as Alfie was stretching and getting ready to sleep. It's not great but hopefully helps to show what I'm going on about. When his wings are down you can't see these feathers. But he preens them a lot and you can see they are quite separated and tatty compared to his other feathers. I don't think he's plucking them out as I can't see any bald areas. I'm fairly certain any feathers that do drop out are due to a natural moult and not being pulled/plucked. I've never noticed any damage to the feathers I have checked after they fall out. It's been like this for as long as I can remember and he's always preened himself a lot in that area (on both sides). He preens the rest of his feathers too but nowhere else on his body looks like this. I'm not sure if this is anything to worry about. He baths in his water bowl (refuses to bath in anything bigger despite my best efforts of finding an alternative!) and I try and mist him regularly- though perhaps I need to do this more often. Under the wing is the trickiest part for me to get as he rarely opens his wings for me to mist and he will always put his face in the way of the spray.

Hahaha! I love the relationship you have with your birds- especially with greycie.

Do any of you have a social media account for your birds (or other pets)? I usually post regular photos of my cats and Alfie to my own social media accounts. It might seem a bit daft but I recently decided to start a twitter account for Alfie - which is written as if he is posting the content. I have actually found it to be quite fun and I have connected with several other pet accounts (and regular human accounts!). It allows me to share some of Alfie's antics and see what other people's pets (mostly birds) are getting up to. I just wondered if anyone else here does similar?

I bought an aloe vera plant recently (mainly because they are supposedly easy to look after and I'm not normally very good with plants!). I've had it several weeks now and it hasn't died yet...!! I have read about the qualities of aloe vera and know you can use 100% aloe vera juice/gel with birds. Can I use the plant itself for Alfie in any way? I've seen mixed comments about birds eating the whole stalk so I'm not likely to try that. But I'm assuming there is a way I can safely extract the... sap(?)... from inside the stalks? Can I then mix that in Alfie's water occasionally? Or mix it with water and spray him with it? ...Or am I better off sticking to buying gel and juice and keeping the plant as a decorative feature? 😁

Amazing, thank you! I knew Greycie wouldn't let me down! 😁

I have a weird request. 😂 Has anyone got photos of underneath their grey's wings including the body? I've always suspected that Alfie 'over-preens' that area, as the feathers on his body underneath his wings always look a little tatty and he often preens under there- more so that other areas. I'm just curious about what that area looks like on other birds. His wings look ok from what I can see (I only ever see them when he stretches as he doesn't let me handle his wings). I don't think he is plucking, as such because the whole area is covered in feathers and doesn't look patchy or sore- the feathers are just never as neat as the rest of his body. I also don't have a pile of feathers left at the bottom of the cage.

Exactly the right attitude- work at his pace. If he's showing signs of fear or aggression when you're up close then take a few steps back until he relaxes and is comfortable. Get him used to you and your family being in the room with him and moving around him. Get him used to your voices as well- so just have a chat with him and let him know what you're up to and why. If he's not used to being handled much then this is going to be quite new and probably scary for him - so always watch closely to see how he's reacting and back off if needs be. Slowly build on it bit by bit, getting closer- hands closer etc. Maybe offer him a tasty treat and see if he comes towards you to take it/investigate. The feather chewing can be caused by a number of reasons - it may well be a habit that is going to be difficult to break or he may settle in with you and stop doing it as it may just be a stress response. Others here may have some extra advice on this. There are lots of threads about plucking/feather chewing available on this site so it might be worth searching through those to see what others have suggested previously. Don't forget- he's probably trying to figure you out as much as you're trying to figure him out!

The cage looks awesome! Your new grey is going to love it in there! I echo what others have said, pellets are great for a daily go to but it's also worth supplementing with lots of fresh veggies and fruit etc. It's better for them to have lots of different options for food so they don't get stuck on one brand/food type.

Thank you for taking in a rescue bird and welcome to the forums! Poor little guy seems to have been through a lot! Grey's are particularly sensitive animals and can be a bit change adverse. He has been through a number of major changes over the last few years and it's probably taking him a little while to get used to this. This latest change is a total change in environment and humans so there is a lot for him to get used to. It sounds to me like you're doing all the right things. The important thing is patience. It might take days, weeks or months before your new addition trusts you enough to step up. He might not find this the easiest thing to accomplish due to the damage on his toes so he's probably happiest with a nice stable perch rather than a hand right now. But patience is key. Don't give up on the little guy and you will be amazed how much he can offer as time goes on. He will start to come out of his shell and show you more and more of his personality and traits- but it will just take time for him to have the confidence to do this.

I see Huey tried to chew the note as well! 😂

I would not advise doing this just for a nail trim. Is the vet experienced with birds or an avian specialist? If not, that may be why they are making that recommendation. Alfie was gassed by a vet once so they could help with his beak (it was growing longer on one side and causing the beak to grow out wonky). They gassed him and sorted the beak but Alfie was sick after the procedure and very dazed/out of it from the gas for a good few hours. I found another vet who is further away but obviously has a lot more experience with birds, as he is able to handle Alfie a lot better, with a lot less stress and most importantly- no gas. I have never been back to that first vet and always travel the extra distance to see the vet that I trust. I would personally seek a second opinion from another vet who is used to handling/treating birds. The risk and stress isn't worth it for a nail trim. It should be achievable with an experience hand and a towel. If you have any doubts about the care being provided by a vet then you are better to walk away and find another vet. It's always important to be able to trust the person giving care to your beloved pets.

I think you're going to have your hands full with this little guy! Rojo is a lovely name. I hope he approves of a name soon.

Thank you for the photos, your grey is adorable. I'm hoping someone else will come along soon who can offer more advice. Please do keep checking in as I'm sure others will have something to add. It's been a long time since I've handled a baby grey as my bird Alfie is now 15 years old. As you probably already know, grey's can use their beak almost like a third hand/foot. If the surface/perch they are standing on is unstable then they may reach out and grab with their beak to steady themselves and try not to fall off. This can be a little surprising at times because they can react quite quickly. As your grey is so young he's probably still finding his way around and probably doesn't know his own strength yet! Is your hand/arm/shoulder wobbles then you may find your bird will bite to hang on and steady themselves. The trick here is to try not to pull away, as this may result in them hanging on harder. Some birds are "no shoulder birds". My bird, Alfie is a "no shoulder bird" because I cannot trust him to remain on my shoulder without trying to find something to play with/nibble on ... which is usually my ear. Therefore i discourage him from sitting on my shoulder. He sits on my knee or on my forearm. If he starts creeping up my arm then I put my other arm in the way and usher him back down to my forearm. Some people have had to put something on their shoulder (like a stuffed toy) to discourage their birds from climbing up to their shoulders. If he bites every time he is on your shoulder then I would discourage this until he can be trusted not to bite. It is very difficult once bird does start to bite as it can be discouraging and scary. It may be worth looking up some parrot behaviour books or videos to see if you can get some useful information from those about training your bird and understanding their behaviour a bit more. Does your bird have any favourite treats or toys? You may be able to start training your bird about acceptable behaviours with these.

It's possible that the previous owners had his wings clipped to try and prevent him from flying. So long as they didn't totally butcher his wings in the process then hopefully his missing feathers will grow back over time. the ones which are broken may drop out (moult) naturally and regrow. Depending on what happened to him they may not grow back though. Wing clipping is always up for debate and I believe every bird/flock/home is different and should come to their own conclusions. Personally I have a fully flighted bird because that's what works best for Alfie and his home environment. I second the recommendation of putting blankets/pillows around his cage/perches if he is trying to fly. At least that will soften the blow if he does crash land.

If you decide to get another bird then I second what others have said above- bear in mind that there is a chance the two birds might not get along. They might tolerate each other enough to spend time out of the cage in the same room - but they may also need to come out separately. I always think introducing two animals is a 'plan for the worst and hope for the best' situation. You never know how they are going to get on and you must have a plan in place if they cannot tolerate each other at all. Otherwise you run the risk of creating a very unhappy environment for all concerned (including yourself). Do you have the time needed to look after two birds if they do not get on? I have often thought about getting another bird in my home but I have two indoor cats as well as Alfie, my African Grey. My cats are quite often my second shadow and do demand quite a lot of attention compared to other cats I have known. I do not think I could offer all of my animals enough quality time if there were any issues with them not getting on. Some days it's already a bit of a juggling act making sure everyone gets the attention they need. So in my personal situation, I do not feel adding another bird would be sensible at this time. It's all about your individual environment and time constraints really. Each home/flock is different. I do not think another bird is a bad idea at all - but I always advise making sure you have that backup plan in the back of your mind if things don't work out as smoothly as you'd hope for.

He is still trying to pick out all his favourite bits from the bowl. I haven't tried him on chop only yet as I suspect he will reject it if he can't see any tasty looking morsels in there.

I'm not sure I can offer much help or advice with this one - but hopefully someone with more insight will be along soon to help. Was this a sudden change in behaviour or a gradual one? Have there been any changes in your birds environment recently that may have upset him? Think hard about this one, as African Grey's can be quite change adverse at times. I've heard about birds who took exception to their owners wearing hats or glasses or changing their hair colour. When does you bird bite? Is it just because you're trying to move him off your shoulder or get him to step up? Or is there a certain behaviour that happens before a bite? Is he getting over excited or displaying mating behaviours before he starts showing signs of aggression? I read a good article about this type of agression: http://www.northernparrots.com/parrot-excitement-that-turns-to-aggression-blog606/ Are you the main caregiver or do your family get involved too? Is there any person that is able to handle your bird without being bitten?

Alfie is currently picking through his bowl trying to pick out the nuts from the chop. 😂 I think he is accidentally eating some chop in the process though.

I say some.... I made quite a lot...! But I'm freezing it and taking it out when it's needed so it should last a while. I went shopping and bought an assortment of fruit/veg to throw into it. I basically grabbed anything that was available from the shelves. I got: sweet red pepper peas (I shelled these) sweetcorn (removed from the cob) sugar snap peas (left whole) kale butternut squash (only half used) apples mango beetroot carrots brocoli sweet potato blueberries The nuts are to sprinkle on top of his food or to use as a treat. These weren't mixed into the chop. It took roughly 2 hours... or thereabouts... but that was with various distractions. It's the hottest day of the year so far today and the kitchen is the hottest room in the house, so I did have to keep stepping away to have a drink and cool down from time to time. I got 19 bags (plus whatever I chucked in his bowl already) out of it! Alfie hasn't tried it yet so I'm not sure if I have the beak of approval yet. I've dabbled with chop on and off before but this is the first time I've made a biiig batch of it like this. Most of it normally ends up on the walls and floors. I'm hoping that Alfie takes to it I can sneak more veggies into his diet. (he's very picky!)

Thank you for taking in and rescuing this poor bird from such an awful environment. Sit back, relax and get ready for many wonderful years of learning about your new addition and enjoying his company. I'm going to steal something I wrote on another introductory post as I think it may be helpful here: "One thing you will learn quite quickly is a little thing called "grey time". This is the time it takes for a grey to adjust and accept changes. This can be changes in routine, toys, location, people etc etc. Your bird has just undertaken a very big change and everything is still very new. Your bird is trying to adjust to a new home, new humans, a new routine, new sounds, new toys... everything. This can be a bit overwhelming for a grey as they can be a little change adverse at times. It can take days, weeks or sometimes months for a grey to adapt to these kind of changes and come out of their shell. This is what we call 'grey time'. Some changes may be more readily accepted by the bird than others... so there's no telling how much 'grey time' is needed for different changes. The important thing to remember is that the grey will show you when they are ready to accept a change or a new offering. They will also show you when they are not ready. A lot of this is shown via their body language- so pay attention to what your grey is doing... especially if you receive a nip or a bite...e.g what were the eyes doing, how were the feathers being held? There may be some subtle signs that your bird gives you before he resorts to a bite. Given enough time, you will start to be able to read your birds body language and will be able to know when the bird has had enough or is happy to progress." Allow your bird time to settle in and get used to the comings and goings of his new home. Talk to him often, tell him what you're doing, tell him why you're doing it. Maybe read some books to him or ask your children to read to him. This helps him get used to you being around him and gets him used to all of your voices. He probably doesn't like the dowel rod because he's never seen it before and it's coming straight at him. He will probably bite it in protest of it coming near him. Again, it's going to take 'grey time' for him to get used to it. There is a massive amount of information on these forums available to you so please feel free to look around and use the search tool. If you don't find an answer to your questions then ask - someone will be able to help out. In regards to vets- ALWAYS take your bird to an avian vet. Never take them to a 'regular' vet who isn't qualified or trained in avian care. They won't necessarily know how to handle your bird or treat him and this can lead to unnecessary stress for the bird or incorrect advice being given. I recommend looking into what foods are/aren't safe for your bird. Start giving him some different choices of foods. It may take a little while to wean him off a purely seed based diet but do persevere. He'll find something he likes eventually! Lastly, we like photos. As and when you're able to, we would love to see some photos of your new feathered friend.

Hello! Welcome! Congratulations on your new addition!

Glad to hear things seem to be moving in the right direction! Fingers crossed that they get along or at the very least, that they can tolerate sharing the same space! I know you'll give them both the time, love and attention they both need.