Please I Need Some Advice

[chrisgraham3374]

me and my partner have just adopted a 13 year old congo african grey he is called bobby and is a lovley bird

UNTIL i try to get him to step up and come out of his cage. He was fine the first day he came to live with us

but now he seems like a different bird. you can stand next to his cage and ask him to come and he will climb

the bars to see you and take treats through the bars but when you put ya hand in he goes nuts i tried to just let him let him bite me like i have read on other forums but he got the end of my little finger and broke it PLEASE can

any give me some advice or help me with this small porblem

 

thankyou for reading chris:p

[Ray P]

Your New baby doe`s not understand why it`s in a new home with new people so he will need time to adjust.

You say he will take treats through the bars and that is a good start.

We just rehomed a blue fronted amazon (well 18 months ago) and we started with treats trought the bars every time we came to her cage and after a short time every time she saw us come near her cage she would go to the side of the cage that my stool was on whear I would sit a talk to her and give her traets..

Than we would leave the door open so she could come out on her own and she would always come over for treats.

They need to build trust and to know that when your around something good happens. Her cage is her safe place so let her come out on her own.

We also have a CAG that we had all her life

Good luck and welcome

Edited October 2, 2010 by Ray P

[Birdnut]

Oh, my, Chris. So sorry about the finger injury. These rascals do have some powerful beaks.

 

Could you perhaps try allowing Bobby to come out of the cage on his own when he's ready?

 

It will take him a while to settle in to his new home and to become more relaxed and at ease. Don't expect too much from him too early. Things may still feel a little scary for him right now.

 

I'm sure others will have some good advice for you.

 

And welcome to the forum!

[Jayd]

Here's a copy of our experience with one of our rescues.....Jayd

 

Rescue #1 JOEY

 

Joey: Congo African Grey Parrot

Present Age: Four years old

Abuse Type: Mental and Severe Psychological (No visible sign of Physical abuse)

Background:

We know the pet store that Joey had originally been purchased from. He had been weaned and clipped, never allowed to fly. For the next two years we had no record and we have not been able to speak to the previous owners. After purchasing Joey and with some help also with help from Joey himself, we have been able piece together some of his past history and his previous owners.

His previous owners were a well-established young couple. The female was never fond of any types of pets, did not fit her lifestyle. Joey had favored the male and there had been a bonding but it wasn’t a healthy bonding. Shortly after getting Joey, which brought problems to the marriage, the male was more interested in maintaining harmony than integrating Joey.

This brought about bickering over Joey between the two owners with the female getting more and more agitated, putting him in a small room by himself, being ignored by both of them except for cage cleaning, food and water. There was a lot of arguments that took place within earshot of Joey, possible marital abuse, yelling at Joey by both of them, cage being tapped, arguments about whether to keep Joey or get rid of him.

At this point, the owners decided, (not mutually) to get rid of Joey. So, at this point, Joey and his cage was taken to a pet store where the owner agreed to hold him for awhile and let Joeys owners visit him for a while (which was wrong). They only visited him three times over the next six months, arguing in his presence each time. At this point in time, we took Joey into our hearts and home.

 

The Homecoming:

We didn’t know this young Grey’s name, so we called him Jim (Kirk) to go along with Spock. At this time, we had enough birds for everyone in the city. He was a quiet bird and would sit in his cage in the back and be soundless. He would let you change his water and food (he had been on seeds only diet). He would also shake if you came near the cage and would constantly head-search while chewing his toe-nails. He was extremely neurotic…he was a small bird and looked like he might have been stunted from lack of a proper diet. We introduced him to everyone and we did not attempt to hold him. We talked to him and talked to our other fids in front of him. If we saw that he was being extremely nervous, we would go out of our way to stop and talk to him with a “Hi Jim” etc, and we were slowly discovering the depth of his psychological and mental abuse. We left the cage door open whenever we were home and awake which at this stage was 24/7.

One day, Jay left the room and in the most concerned voice, Joey called out “Hello! Are you okay?” When Jay came back, Joey was standing at the open door looking down the hallway, looking for Jay to come back. He would also say “Hello”, “How are you?” at this time. He also started talking to himself…bringing up his past two years. While shaking badly, he would say things like “Are you going to feed me?” “Get a lawyer”, “You can run but you can’t hide!” “LIAR!”

He would make crying sounds…he would do this while we were not in the room (plus other things too sad to say). During this period, we were introducing him to all sorts of fresh veggies and fruits. (It has taken over a year to get him to eat veggies and fruits)

Besides his ruminations, he also started talking, calling to the other fids, calling us by name, singing but always reverting to his old self and chewing his nails and shaking. Out of nowhere, as Jay and I were walking by his cage, he looked Jay straight in the eye and said, “I’m Joey, NOT Jim”. He told us this twice (imagine us with our jaws on the ground) and we had to start changing his name on our threads.

Now and into the Future:

Joey lets us hold him and play with him more each day. He is coming out of the closet so to speak…he is an ideal parrot in a number of ways but it is all from his abuse years. He has built his life on his own routines. He eats at the same time each day, he talks at the same time each day, he preens himself at the same time each day…he definitely has obsessive-compulsive tendencies. For the last two months we have not heard him say anything from his abusive past. He has a growing vocabulary and strong cognitive abilities which we believe has roots in his abusive years. He lets us hold him when he wants to. At times, he is very cage-territorial and he stays on his cage. He will perch and let you take him from his cage for a few moments only. We have a perch on the outside of his cage and he likes to spend most of his time looking out the window. He is extremely vocal and interacts with Spock and Salsa and lets both of them eat and drink from his bowls and he plays tail-chase with both of them on his cage. He is very insecure anywhere away from his cage. It is an ongoing process to try to get him comfortable enough to stay away from his cage. He has attempted to fly on four-five occasions to fly and they have been disastrous. This is definitely due to the fact that he was constantly clipped. (We have set out pillows on his common landing areas that is more often missed than hit.)

At times, he will revert to something that triggers his bad memories and will pin his eyes and draw blood out of the clear blue. Once he snaps out of it, he is very affectionate and loving.

The Future continues:

On-going Progress: In the last couple of weeks, Joey has made some amazing changes. To everyone’s surprise, when you open his cage in the morning, he will hang from the top of the cage, wait for you to support him with your hand and involve you in beaky play. He will hang with one foot and grab your hand with the other (Yikes!) and play roughly while talking to you. (Non-Sexual) He’s molting and he’s also found out that a human finger is excellent for rubbing the pin feathers at the bend of the leg where it touches the body. In the few moments that he lets you hold him, he has leaned against our chest (on his own) and cuddled.

Now and Beyond:

Daily, you can still see the pain that he has endured. When he thinks we are not observing him, he reverts to his shaking and nail chewing to a lesser extent. His most recent trait that the past is still current in is memory is when we have to leave, he will let out a couple of loud contact calls and puff up to almost twice his size and stare and you and call while you are leaving. It is so sad…

They NEVER forget…any abuse is a major and daily part of their lives and they live with it….it is always there to haunt them.

 

Jayd and Maggie

[Ray P]

That sounds a lot like our amazon Cricket who was about 12 years old when we got her.

It did not take too long befor she came around and she has turned out to be a sweetheart

Thanks jayd for your story..

[Arjadaga]

Oh, Jay, you really do know your fids. I hope that when I have my fid there will be as strong bond as you & your fids.

[Jayd]

Thank you, I know you will.... Jay d

[chezron]

Thanks for the great story Jay'd! I love reading happy endings.

[Guest]

Chris,

 

Keep in mind an African Grey has a high level of intelligence (some say like a 3-year-old child, some say like a 5-year-old child, etc) so your Bobby has arrived at your home not knowing anything about you, the other people in the house, or any other animals that are in the house. He doesn't know your home, your environment, the noises and rhythms of the household, or if he is in a safe place. He knows he is in a new unfamiliar place with unfamiliar, scary beings in it. Give him time, as much as he needs, to observe his new home and allow him to come to the conclusion on his own that he is safe.

 

Right now, his cage is where he feels safe and comfortable and he may well feel threatened by you approaching him or entering "his" home. So give him his space and be very very patient. I know it's exciting to have a new bird in the home but for the sake of the relationship, let him develop his trust on his own schedule.

 

Giving him treats and talking to him and moving your hands slowly are good ideas for now. Don't expect too much and just let him find out on his own that he is indeed in a safe place - might take days or months.

 

Good luck to you and welcome to the forum and please keep us posted on Bobby and your progress.

[Guest Kali_the_Destroyer]

I have a 13 year old green cheeked conure that is all love & snuggles out of his cage, but a ferocious, vicious monster within it. He would take lumps out of me if I put my hand inside his space: I have to pick him up on a perch/stick. I don't have the inclination to hand-tame him all over again (he was fine all year until he came into season every January, and he's gotten worse since I got my CAG).

 

Persevere, good luck