My first Grey - and he's 2yrs old.

[MyGrey-Gary]

Hello All,

 

I'm very excited I ran across this forum and that I may be bringing home my first Grey. My first Grey's name is Gary. He's 2 yrs old and has not ever been trained. He seems to be very nice to guys but does not like women or pets. I've got a lot of information from the owner and I wanted to get some thoughts from owners on this website. The owner says Gary seems to be extremely smart. He can speak and mimic several sounds found around the house.

 

I was thinking of bringing home a baby so I can make sure I can train from a very young age. But 2 yrs is still young enough.

 

I'm hoping people will give me advice here - here are some of the questions I'm wondering...

 

what re-homed stress will I expect to see?

Should I start clicker training same day? wait a day or two?

Once Gary realizes what the clicker is, how do I get him to be nice to my wife?

How long do you think it will take Gary to get used to his new family?

I saw the potty training post - since he's not potty trained - can that be the first real training after he realizes what a clicker is?

 

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated! I want Gary to be as comfortable as possible = I do not want to stress him out by moving him into our home. The two most important things after that would be for him to be nice to my wife AND to be potty trained.

 

 

Thanks everyone ~!

Edited November 15, 2010 by MyGrey-Gary

[Malikah]

::::: Disclaimer: I am not an expert, but there are many here who are. :::::

 

Just so you know, parrots go through the terrible twos just like children. Gary may take months to feel at home with you. He may never like your wife, or he may choose to bond with her and not like you. If you own a bird you will get pooped on. That's pretty much a guarantee. I'm sorry to be a party pooper (sorry bad pun), but it's best for you all if you go into this with your eyes open.

 

Many people will tell you that it is not healthy to try to potty train a bird. Sometimes they can injure themselves because they will not "go" unless someone tells them to. As you get to know your bird you will learn his body language right before he goes so, if you are dilligent you can usually put the bird on a stand or hold him over a wastebasket where you want them to go every 15 minutes or so. Some people are lucky and their birds will fly to the potty area as neccessary and fly back to them after.

 

I would say as long as he is not chasing and attacking your wife there isn't an issue right now. It will take time for both of you to establish a relationship with Gary. Many times there is a honeymoon period that may last a few days or weeks followed by a few months of not so happy times. If everything goes well when you come out the other side you will each have a unique relationship with Gary and he will be happy and know the rules and obey them when he feels like it. LOL!

 

The good news is that if/when you do decide to bring Gary home, you have found the best place for advice on the planet!

[Georgiesmum]

Just curious to know if he minds been handled as you mention he has never been trained?

[Lyric]

It's good you are so excited about bringing home this grey but I'm wondering, do you have any experience with parrots? You will need to give Gary some time to settle in to your home and adjust to you and his new surroundings before you even begin a training program.

As Georgiesmum mentioned, can Gary be handled? Take things one step at a time and move at Gary's pace. If he seems uncomfortable or upset by a situation you will need to back off and move a little slower.

As far as his relationship with your wife goes, there is no way to know how they will respond to each other. She will need to try interacting with him by offering treats and talking softly to him...start there and see how things progress.

This forum is a great place to get advice and info regarding greys, keep learning all you can and ask questions any time you need help.

[Azzie]

I would highly recommend you investing in a DVD from a company called Good Bird Inc. It is called Parrot Behaviour and Training - an Introduction to Training, by Barbara Heidenreich. Now at risk of sounding like a paid commercial here....I just received my DVD yesterday and watched only the first 20 minutes (because I need to go back over it and make sure I understand the concepts), but as far as training and getting a bird used to the basics, this is really amazing stuff. I think the DVD was $22. You can do a search on Youtube on Barbara and check out some of her free short intros to other things, just to get an idea what this woman is all about.

 

By the way, she covers clicker training too.

[Luvparrots]

Well MyGrey-Gary, glad you found the Grey Forum. Do you have any experience with parrots at all, or birds in general. They do poop and they poop a LOT!!! My grey will not poop directly on me, BUT has no problem with pooping on the back of my desk chair, my floor, on her toys and anywhere else she might be. It is a ritral. poop, flap and fly!!! Birds/parrots also fling their food here and there and drop what they don't like at the moment. Don't expect them to care or pick it up!!! That's your job. I have three parrots and they all do this rather I brought the bird home as a newly weaned youngster or 2 1/2 years old, or over 10 years old. Parrots are work and if they want something they scream for it if you don't get their message right-a-way. I don't want to disillusion you but you should not go into being a parront without knowing the real truth. Parrots, actually any animal chooses who they will like or dislike, and there is not anything anyone can do about it, no matter how much that person may want to be liked/loved the heart wants what the heart wants. You MUST have a true love for greys/birds/parrots to be a good parront. Please ask questions and read the many, many threads here about greys and the problems people have had/are having. Welcome to the Grey Forum!!!

[Dave007]

The problems that you think will be existing really aren't as long as you know what applies to what you're thinking about.

 

Clicker training has nothing to do with potty training. A bird goes when he has to go. Birds don't hold in droppings if they have to go. You can do that with a kid but only for so long. You have a kid--you're going to visit Aunt mary--you tell the kid to take a leak before you all get in the car--the kid can't take a leak because he did 1/2 hr ago---you get in the car and 1/2 hr later, the kid has to take a leak--you tell the kid to be patient because there's a gas station 2 miles away--the kid can hold it in. Birds don't have that ability. They go when nature calls. People say that their bird is potty trained because it was taught to do it. What those people don't say is that if the bird isn't rushed over to an area that he goes in, the bird will immediately let go of his load no matter where he is. Clicker training doesn't make a bird go. Greys are wild animals and nature controls that function. Clicker training is used to trin birds to go from one place to another and land on specific areas and a few other things that have nothing to do with dropping a load.

"""what re-homed stress will I expect to see?

The bird is only 2 yrs old. You really shouldn't see much stress unless you don't leave the bird alone. The bird has to get used to all the visuals, all the sounds, all the movements, all the people's new faces, the people's daily habits. other pets if there are any, the new cage if one is being used. A bird gets used to most of these things from the safety of it's cage. That amount of time varies according to the bird's interest in things.

Nice to your wife?? That can happen with a process called *socializing*. All the people who live there deal with the bird on an equal basis. Feeding, talking, treat giving, cleaning up. Will the bird like your wife after that? No one here can answer that question because all greys and other parrots have different mentalities. All are individual. My grey is different than your grey who is different with the next grey which is different than the next grey etc etc.

 

So, start off by leaning these basic things before thinking about doing things that are gonna possibly bad for the bird. Then ask more questions

[MyGrey-Gary]

Thanks for all the info - I'm sure some of you have seen my other post by now. We have decided to rescue the bird (which you would know what I mean if you read the other thread). Anyway - My mom has a parrot named preacher and she has had him since I was a freshmen in high school (long time ago). I really was asking all the questions because the bird has been abused. So I have a little experience but not a "real" previous bird owner. I also understand a bird poops - and poops often and everywhere. But I would like to (over time with lots of patience) train my grey to fly to his spot to potty.

 

As far as my wife - Since the abuser was a women, I wasn't sure if the grey would associate that with my wife. But turns out when we went to visit him - (and learned about the abuse while we were there) the Grey was about to step up to her but the owner didn't allow it by trying to take over....

 

I'm so glad that I ran into this forum. Even though I ask my mom - I'll still have the same questions here just to see if I get the same responses or maybe open it up to other possibilities.

 

Thanks again for all the responses!

[Malikah]

Wishing the best for your family and new flock member. I'll be looking for pictures!

[Greywings]

Best advice I can give you is go slow and win his trust, don't rush him Greys in general take their time getting settled in and used to new surroundings, new foods, new toys. All will be changing for the better but he has to decide that for himself, speak kindly and often, offer treats once in a while and just let him get used to the new digs and the new flock (your family).

[judygram]

Best advice I can give you is go slow and win his trust, don't rush him Greys in general take their time getting settled in and used to new surroundings, new foods, new toys. All will be changing for the better but he has to decide that for himself, speak kindly and often, offer treats once in a while and just let him get used to the new digs and the new flock (your family).

 

Jill about said it all and you can't go wrong if you follow this advice.

[hammco]

from my experience....BE PATIENT AND TAKE YOUR TIME!!! Look at any of my threads here and ask anyone, I learned the hard way!! Ha Ha!!! Ive had Timmy going on 2 months (he is 4) and wasnt a speaker and bit. Well Ive made so much progress, and it is worth the wait and time invested! Timmy told me to shut up this morning a few times, so be ready for an attitude as well...Greys are as smart as us I think!! LOL

 

Good luck and fire off questions as fast as you can...this is a good group of people!