Acquired a pair of African Greys very recently

[mills]

These guys seems to be completely wild, growl and scream and show all signs of nervousness when someone walks close to their cage and even on changing water and food. I have acquired them 15 days back and would need your expert advise in settling and calming them down so that they can start to feel more comfortable with us at home.

[Georgiesmum]

How old are these greys??? It usually takes alot more time and patiences for older greys to settle in. Just give them there space for a few days and let them get used to there new home. Do you know if these birds were like this before you acquired them or just since?<br><br>Post edited by: zzzelama, at: 2010/01/04 14:51

[mills]

These guys look like fully-grown adults, might be between 3 to 5 yrs. The petstore owner was also clueless since he had also got them from somewhere, I have their DNA sexing docs but it doesn't mention their ages. Petstore guy told me that these guys are wild and would be good if kept inside the cage however I let their cage doors open over last 03 days and they would quickly find the way out on top of their cage and sit there all day long trying to explore the locale and again showing all signs of nervousness. I have strategically placed their cage so as to have them get a clear view'n feel of all the happenings in the house.

[AbbysDaddy]

Well I wish you luck Mills, I'm sorry this might be mean but I dont think any "pet" store should be allowed to sell these birds ... if the store doesn't know anything then what has happened to the birds be for now .... what if they really are wild and made their way into the states .... sounds like the guy who had the pets store didnt know what he was doing when he got them .... he should have been giving them the time of their life while they were there... every BIRD store I have seen has the parrots out all day ... they play with them and keep them happy not like this guy describes. Sorry just my 2 cents worth ... hope things go well for you Mills .... people in here know what they are talking about.

[mills]

You are absolutely right and that's the way it should be here in India as well, but after many months of research, I could acquire these babies. What has happened is history and I will do all I can to make this phase the best in their life and give them all the love, care and affection they truly deserve and that's why I'm looking upto this forum for help & advise as I move along in this new journey.

[Debandbella]

The only advice i can give is just to be their friend, talk to them, sit near the cage eating something healthy for them and if they show interest in it offer them some. Dont try and physically handle them, you will only scare them more. When they feel they can trust you and it could take a lot of time and patience they will then come to you. Let them do things in their own time. Congratulations on taking the committment of them, they will be more than worth the effort you put into them in time.

[Spinner]

As Debandbella said, be patient and sit with them, talk with them. I have a pair of rescue birds where one is very aggressive and the other is cowardly. It has taken me almost a year to get where I can give each a head scratch without the fear of a nasty bite. I need to emphasize that these birds would have preferred to just tear me up on that first day, so I think huge progress has been made.

 

Be patient and consistent - it will come.

[pearllyn]

Good luck Mills. I can't offer any advice as I'm a relatively new grey owner, I do know though that patience will pay off and more than likely give you a wonderful pair of birds.

[Luvparrots]

Karma to you Mills for taking in this greys. Your patience and love will win over their fears.

[mills]

My heartfelt thanks to the forum for making me feel worth my greys. I have named them Allen & Casey, Allen is aggressive and Casey seems to be more benevolent and observant. I greet them with their names softly and very frequently whenever I'm home. I talk to them sweet nothings, praise and appreciate whatever they do to get them relaxed. I'm feeding them with mixture of pellets, seeds, fruits & vegetables alongwith fresh clean water.

[Acappella]

Hello Mills and welcome to the forum. I was reading on your profile page and you mention that there is a nesting box attached to their cage. Are they a bonded breeding pair? If they are I think it will be that much harder to turn them into pets. The forum member here that has the most knowledge and experience with breeding greys is Dave007. You might want to look him up by clicking on the members tab and sending him a private message. He may tell you to remove the nesting box if you don't want to breed them (and breeding is a difficult and complicated process that should not be done by novices, IMHO), but don't do anything until you've contacted him.

 

In the meantime, do like the others have said. Sit by them and talk, let them observe the household and the members of their new flock from the safety of their cage, offer them fresh food, even sit by their cage while you eat. Eating together is a common flock activity and a good way to start to bond with them. Good luck with your new grey friends:)

[Dave007]

A few things are wrong with this picture. DNA only applies to what sex the bird is, not the age. Visually, full grown greys look that way from the time they're 1 yr old. If they're 3, 4, 5 yrs old, they're much to young to breed. The box should be immediately removed. Each bird has to have it's own cage. Any bird will show nervousness when it's put into a new home and that lasts for much more than 15 days. After separate cages are put into place, each bird must be socialized into the family by itself. It came with a box hooked on. That would say that the previous owner/owners had only one thing in mind--breeding them and obviously, he didn't know about maturity.

So, what have you got going for yourself. Well, first off, the birds are still young and it's easier to break that bonding of each bird to each other. If those birds were much older, you'd be having lots more serious problems. Yoy wanna keep them as pets? Separate them quickly. Treat each as an individual. Let each one develop it's own personality. I will tell you that i'll take a while because those birds shouldn't have been raised in one cage. Bad, bad idea.

 

I should add something else---pairs of greys that are presently breeders and/or pairs of greys that are potential breeders are totally different than pet greys. There's a world of difference between breeders and pets. Breeders don't like people. They only like their mates. They've bonded together and left the human owners completely out of the picture and as they get older they'll even become more aggressive. So, think about that other cage and think about treating each as an individual. Believe me, there's huge difference in the lifestyles of breeder

greys and pet greys.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/05 19:23

[Summerc25]

Good luck Mills! Karma to you for wanting to give these babies a new, loving home. I hope that you will be able to create a bond with them over time.

[mills]

Dave007 & Acappella, your suggestions have been implemented. I observed their aggression & nervousness was visibly reduced ever since they came over in my household. However per your valuable suggestion, now Allen & Casey are in separate cages and the nestbox has been removed. These guys look very much bonded and inlove, they have been crying out loud ever since they've been separated and they are showing more aggression and nervousness ever since their separation, should I get them back together still keeping the nestbox away?

[Dave007]

Don't put them in one cage. They should have never been kept in one cage. You're already seeing how they are because they were in one cage. It doesn't matter if the box was never in the cage. They didn't try to bond with each other just because there was a box on the cage. They were doing that simply because they were in one cage. Don't worry about their crying. As long as they can see each other the *crying* will subside.

[danmcq]

Welcome Mills and Kudos to you for taking in these two Greys.

 

As long as you follow the comments by Dave (decades of experience) you will not go wrong.

 

Looking forward to further updates and photos. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2010/01/06 21:05

[mills]

Dave007,

Understood Sir. Done just as you said, no nestbox, separate cages, fresh fruits, veggies, pellets, seeds and water. Lets' see how this goes ... Keep talking to them whenever I'm home but they get scared and nervous when they see me approaching which is very disheartening but thats' no deterrent to my patience and commitment. They keep making all sorts of sounds (screeching, whistling etc.) all day long, what does that mean?

[kittykittykitty]

Glad you have come to this forum. Keep listening to the experienced members like Dave and you will succeed.

[ramsabi]

How sure are you that they are between 3 and 5 years old?

 

I am asking because it is quite possible that they ARE a much older breeding pair, in which case you will need a lot of advice and help from Dave.

[mills]

Ramsabi,

Its just a wild guess looking at the brightness of the yellow-rings around their pupil. I'm looking upto the forum's experience for a thorough understanding of these guys. Update so long is that they seem to have mellowed down but still are showing signs of nervousness and howling when anyone walks close to their respective cages and even when I change their food & water twice daily. Needless to mention, they make all sorts of sounds whole day, especially during mornings and evenings.