Problems with my Grey

[Nickp]

Hi, My name is Nick and i have one or two problems with my African Grey, Jasper.

 

Jasper is about 7 now and is very healthy. We are a family of four, but Jasper has taken to me more than the others. He is very gentle with me, and i can handle him easily.

 

The problem is he is quite hostile towards my parents and my sister. My father can handle him, but he has to be careful, where as my sister and mother can not get near him without him biting them.

 

I am going traveling to New Zealand in September for a year and am very concerned that he will be left in his cage whilst i am away and not get any attention.

 

What i am trying to do is get Jasper more friendly with everyone so he will get played with when i am away. I am sure that if we all put some time in with him then we can achieve this over the next few month, just i am at a loose how to start this.

 

My second problem is that my parrot has very sharp claws. So much that i have to wear a jumper when handling or my arms get cut to ribbons. We have bought him a couple of perches that are supposed to file his claws off but they are not very effective. I want to file them myself but i don't want to put him under any stress, i.e under a towel.

 

Finally my Parrot is very demanding. If he is not the centre of attention then he will throw out his water, then his food, then repeatedly bang his cage together until he gets what he wants.

 

I would be very grateful if anyone can help me out, or point me in the right direction of some training material.

 

Many thanks,

 

Nick

[Maiosameru]

What I actually did to get my grey used to my husband when he moved in was to have my husband feed lots of treats and play with him (dancing and mimicing in cage) and when he was finally comfortable enough to step up onto my husbands arm we transferred him between my arm and his for about 15 minutes till he started relaxing, with me talking to him soothingly the entire time. Also when he is in need of food or water or needs to go to the groomer..I always put him in his carrier and have him associate me with bad situations. For instance he had gotten ahold of a food he shouldn't really have, and I was the one to take it away from him even though my husband had given it to him. Therefore the bird saw him as the good guy.

 

I'm still working on it daily, as is my husband and its a slow process..but it does get better everyday. He got bit the other day pretty hard, but he didn't give up until the bird had done what he wanted and then left him alone to chill.

As for the nails..I would suggest getting them done by a professional..they get it done quick and easy. Yes..the bird gets really stressed out for a few moments, but its better for his overall health. That and I've been toweling him gently for a few minutes till he calms down and releasing him to make it less stressful.