new young and never owned a parrot personaly myself need help please

[Guest bailey3209]

heya guys im new to the bird owning thing ive just rehoused a 24wk cag and from what i was told by the previous owner he sounded like was neglected being left in a room buy him self with nothink but the tv for company while he was at work

now i know it might take him some time to adjust with a new family and enviroment

but i was just wondering if i could get some advice..like why does he shake like he is cold when we talk to him and what does it mean when he growls?

any help would be wonderful..he does have a full house of people as i have recently moved back to my family home after leavin the army so there is always someone round for company.

will he be ok thanks

matt

[judygram]

Congrats Matt on taking in this grey and giving it a new forever home, as it is a very young bird the adjustment period should not be as long as with an older bird so not much baggage.

It will take some time for him to adjust to all new surroundings, new family and such so give him time and be patient with him as he settles into his new home, let him make the decision when he is ready for more interaction from you and your family. Open his cage and allow him to come out on his own before you try to get him to step up onto your hand as some greys can be territorial about their cage.

About the shaking, if he is shaking all over that means he is scared but if the shaking is only in the chest area that means he is feeling emotion or contented so be sure to observe which it is. His growls mean he is afraid of you yet or you are too close to him, back off some for the time being and let him get more comfortable then try again later.

If there is a lot of people around he might need a corner of his cage covered somewhat so he has somewhere to go to when he wants left alone or some privacy but lots of people around will help to keep him company and occupied. It is not unusual for him to be left alone for hours at a time as most of us work full time and our fids are alone while we work, I leave a radio on but I have 3 birds so they are somewhat company for each other even though they are in separate cages, after all someone has to bring home the bacon.

I think your grey will be just fine if you let him set the pace for closer interaction, when he is ready he will let you know but the important thing is not to rush him for more than he is willing to give right now, you want to earn his trust and you do have to earn it as it is not freely given.

Pictures would be more than welcome and what is his name?

[Guest bailey3209]

well thank you for that and the shakeing is preety much in his chest area.he doesnt growl at me so much as my mum and the other women in the house

he is starting to settle in he has taken some fruit and monkey nuts out of my hands but only me so far

is it normal for them to go through periods of silence aswell but we havelet him out a couple of times but when we do he just goes to the top of the curtains rail and stays there not goin to his cage even at night or to eat

his name is jerry by the way and when we do go out we always leave the tv on or some music but its never or more than a few hours

i do have a few more questions if you can help me...how is the best way to go about to wash him

is it normal for him to just rip up the monkey nuts and just chew them up

when he squakes really a high peiceing kind of one does that mean he is unhappy

is it really important for a set routine as in we covering him for bed about 10-ish and he gets uncovered bout 7-8-ish

we have wildlife programs on during the day while were sat with him talking to him and stuff

and he looks like he is yawning a lot is that normal

sorry if im asking loads of questions that seem stupid but i really want to make him as welcome as possible andwant to do it right

[judygram]

About the bathing please read thru several threads in the Health room for ideas and ways to introduce bathing as some greys love the water and some not but the bathing is necessary.

Yes it is normal to just rip up the nuts but he may find out soon that there is something to eat there too, you will find he will love ripping up stuff.

Greys go thru several periods of vocalizations during the day, they will be rather quiet in between them but when they get chatty they will go thru their vocabulary of mimiced sounds and just being vocal, pretty soon there will be words and sentences. He may be just trying to get your attention with the high pitched one or you may have just left the room, if so then call back to him to let him know you are still around even though he cannot see you but don't come running when he does it or you will find he will do it more and more, ignore the bad and reward the good.

He will yawn some during the day as they all do it from time to time, if you think it is an excessive amount you can always give your avian vet a call, he should see a vet at some point to get a checkup to make sure all is fine.

Do not worry about asking too many questions and no question is stupid, you want the best for Jerry as do the rest of us so ask away and do read thru as many of the threads here as you will find the answers to some of your questions there.

[Guest bailey3209]

thank you very much for your help and yeah ill have a good read though as much as possible cheers again