George's Story

[Jess01]

Hi,

My name is Jessica, I work at a huge animal hospital in Norco, Ca. The hospital is owned by Dr. Stoddard who is the inventor of the Avid Microchip used in animals. He is retired, but from what I understand he had a bird, and African Grey Congo named George. George lives at the hospital and apparently Doc comes to see him in the mornings and whenever he is there, the rest of the time, George is in a facility made up primarily of all women, he does not like women. But! he happens to get along well with me, he will talk to me when I enter the room and he will let me touch his feet, wing and beak inside and outside of the cage. I feel I am making progress, he doesn't like the other women, I think because he is scared. My goal is to be able to take him out of his cage, he is in there ALL DAY, everyday that I work, he does not deserve this. I have fallen in love with this little bird and I can't help but want to bond with him. Please help.

[Greywings]

You are doing great a slow approach building trust is exactly what you need to do. You can add giving him a little treat to your routine, sing a little song to him. If he allows touch he may allow a step up if he knows what that is.

[Luvparrots]

Hi Jess, just go slowly like you are. I think you already have the hang of things and so instinctively you are taking the right steps. I have a re-homed amazon who belonged to the husband and when the husband became sick the women in the home put the zon outside. They told me he was "wild" when I purchased Louie. I have had Louie for a year and he slowly, very slowly starting to trust me. Louie does not know how to step up so this is a challenge and he is a biter. Time and lots of patience are all I have to work with, well that and a parrot who really wants to belong. I look forward to hearing more about George and seeing how things go for the two of you. I am a great fan of the microchip and my pets are all microchipped. Welcome to the Grey family!

[danmcq]

Welocome and thats wonderful!!!

 

Just maybe he is warming up to you enough that soon you will be able to let him out. That would be wonderful. :-)

[Jess01]

Well, I am trying! I am not sure he knows step-up, he'll put his foot on your finger, but he doesn't realize what you want him to do or maybe I should try the word "Step-up" He might know it. I will keep everyone posted on George and the progress. Oh, and he is a plucker, how can I get him to stop that?

[JeffNOK]

Jess, like the others have said, you seem to be doing the rights things. Baby steps today will hopefully lead to steady progress. As for the plucking, this habit may be long entrenched. Sometimes it is a medical problem which can be checked. Hopefully if he is stimulated and his life becomes more enriched, he may naturally stop plucking. In the mean time just love the little guy and keep letting him know he is special. Good for you!

[Luvparrots]

If you look on the internet, you will see information about hemp seeds helping with plucking. I know of an older ekkie that is eating sterilized hemp seeds now and he is re-growing feathers on his back, neck and chest. Just a thought to look into.