johnmclean1984 Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Hi everybody, so glad i found this site! 2 years ago my granda got an african grey for his birthday, beautiful bird, very good talker, seems quite intelligent.... but to cut a long story short she's never really had any good toys in her cage with her, so she plucks her feathers, not really noticeably, but i can see them lying round the bottom of her cage and on the floor when she's out on her perch. now im looking after her more, im trying to introduce her to new toys, but without much luck, shes scared of anything remotely colourful or much bigger than her, i was just wondering if anybody had any ideas about ay sort of toys i could give her to play with? she loves shredding pieces of paper and catalogues etc, she also loves battering bells, but id love to just be able to put any toy in with her fo her to destroy the other thing im concerned about is her diet, she is very very very limited in what she eats, she leaves most of her normal seed mix, and won't eat any kind of fresh fruit or veg, is there anything i can do about this? thanks very much, id really appreciate it if anybody could help me with this!<br><br>Post edited by: johnmclean1984, at: 2007/08/25 17:36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Welcome to our family, we have a welcome room, we'd love for you to post an introduction in. It is wonderful that you are taking the initiative on helping your granda's bird. They are often very scared of new things. So maybe just leaving a new toy hanging around near her cage for several days or more, will help her to get used to it. If you make a big deal out of it, and pretend to play with it, that helps as well. In the meantime, give her whatever she likes to play with. Does she get any out of cage time? She needs that as well. As far as her diet, introduce her to foods that you eat, and hand feed them to her as you are eating them.Good luck, please keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tari Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 I would like to add that you playing with the toys in her sight but out of her reach well get her more interested. Birds seem to want what they can't have. As far as getting her to eat new things you just have to keep putting it in there. Try hanging food from the sides of the cage. Try different styles. Chunked, shredded, mashed, ect.... Also once again birds want what they can't have so eat good things in front of her but out of her reach when she is doing everything she can to get a piece of it then give her a bite or two in her bowl. Good Luck<br><br>Post edited by: Tari, at: 2007/08/25 14:43 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeasarsDad Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Hi there and welcome to our family.. Talon is right on about the toys.. Follow her instruction and you will see that your Grey will be less afraid in no time.. Regarding you birds diet.. Lets first start by finding out how much your bird weighs.. Do you have a Gram scale? If you don't you need one as this is necessary equipment for anyone that owns one of these birds. Their weight is so important.. After we get a baseline weight we need to have you start the conversion process to get your bird off seed and onto pellets.. WE all can help you do this so don't worry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest briansmum Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 hi there and welcome. great advice from talon, im sure you're doing an excellent job. i can only say what talon has really, leave toys about and make them seem interesting by playing with them yourself, she will come round. with the food you could try chopping cooked veggies really small or mushing them up, most greys seem to like warm soft food. get them in a bowl and have a spoon and pretend to eat them yourself then offer her some on the spoon. it's a good way of gettin much needed nutrition in them. you can try making games out of food, or toys. get some baby carrots make holes in them, and thread them on some rope. you can work on the toy and food thing at once that way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Try spoon feeding her some oatmeal with a little baby food veggies mixed in, and also offer her some off your plate at mealtimes. If they see you enjoying it that helps them to try it, show her how fun and enjoyable it is and that will encourage her to try it. Most greys are scared of new things, so like Talon said, place them near enough to not scare her but let her get used to them and eventually you can put it inside the cage for her to play with. And show her how to play with it, make it fun for her. Rotate the toys from time to time to cut down on the boredom factor. Maybe a vet visit is in order to rule out any physical reasons for the plucking but boredom is a common reason some pluck. I commend you for taking on this task, and we will help you in any way we can to insure she is getting the help she needs to flourish. Please post in the welcome room and introduce yourself and tell us a little more about you and this grey, like what is her name. If you have a photo of her that would be great too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Hi & welcome, I'm so pleased you are trying to help your granda. As Talon has rightly said, as for the toys she will be wary of anything new,let her see you playing & enjoying the new toy,dont hang anything unfamiliar in her cage at this point, if she sees you curiosity may get the better of her & she may well show some interest. As with the toys do the same with the fruit & veg, keep offering them to her in her bowl, she may only play with new food or throw it out but she will have a little nibble at some point. Try a variety of things until you find what she likes. Has she has a vet check up lately ? I think it would be beneficial if you could take her for a general check up. Please let us know how things go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmclean1984 Posted August 25, 2007 Author Share Posted August 25, 2007 wow, thanks very much guys, i really appreciate all your advice, wasnt expecting it so quickly! just a quick reply to a few points, she gets a lot of out of cage time, every time i go into the room with her all you hear is "do you want out? do you want to sit on your perch?", she seems to really enjoy being out! I didnt realise I'd need a scale, I'm not even sure how I'd make her sit still on it, way too jumpy and nervous but I'll look out for one over the next week also the bit about "wanting what she can't have" sounds really great, I'll have to try that over the next few weeks and see if she comes around! thanks for all your suggestions, I'll definitely keep you all updated! any more hints would also be great, thanks again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest briansmum Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 we aim to please they do enjoy being out, they're flock birds and in domestic situations will see their human companions as their flock, and who wants to be behind bars when the rest of the family is out? as CD said scales are the best way to monitor a birds health, i have a perch on my scales as mine wouldnt sit still, you can buy these epensivly or i'm sure you could buy a cheap gram scale and "modify" it if your handy enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Your welcome, Any advice or questions you may have please post & we will try to advise with out combined knowledge & experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Monique Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 You've got so much good advice here I really don't have anything to add. If Sunshine is still with your gram part of the time you'd probably have the most luck if you both treat her the same. It might be very stressful for her to go back and forth to environments that treat her significantly different from one another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imran Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 hi john.. welcome.. hope u find a lot of info. here.. i got a lot of info abt greys here.. hmmmm all gave u perfect advice.. regarding toys my grey also doesnt play with toys but loves to chew on wood and paper... about food my grey is fussy he only loves seeds.. so i cut veggies in small size and mix them with his fav. seed... he used to throw the veggies out he still does it.. but i never give up.. try the same thing.. put apple,carrot etc in small pieces with his fav. food. dont give up.. one day he ll start eating.. i am happy u helping ur grandpa.. it takes time.. so have a lot of patiences good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblhelix Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 Hi John and welcome. Great advice here not much to add. Don't give up. Patience and repetition are your best friends! You really need to keep exposing the bird to new foods and toys. Not to the extent it stresses them out, but you need to keep at it. Over the long run it will make them more balanced pets accepting of inevitable change. Same is true for diet. Keep offering foods, show them they are good...all of a sudden you may find you bird enjoying something they previously would not touch, but with some it can take months or even years! Dont give up, its worth it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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