vicky022389 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Hello everyone, Well I recently bought an african grey who is 3 1/2 years old. I do have prior experience with parrots. Well My new african grey growls if anyone goes near her cage, and it is a really loud growl. She will not step up, she tries to run away from everyone, she flaps her wings and tries to fly in her cage when someone approaches her or tries to get her out of the cage. The other day I went out and my boyfriend wanted her to come to him and she ended up jumping out of her cage and hiding in a corner, my boyfriend had to towel her to prevent her from hurting herself. Now she does not like my boyfriend at all and she seems to favor me a little more, but she still growls and frets. I have had her for about 2 weeks (I know its still early). I bought her from this guy who I just had a very bad feeling about. I really need help, I just want love my feathered friend and make her a part of my family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Hi Vicky, first of all, you will have to relax and just give your new friend some time to get use to her new surroundings. Talk quietly to her and just relax and let her get use to where she is and having you around. Offer her treats and let her come to you. What is your new companion's name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicky022389 Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Her name is Gracy. I'm just worried because I have never seen a parrot so frightened. I have a macaw at my parents and have had an african grey before and I have just never seen this behavior before. I think her previous owner just left her in the cage all the time because she does not like to be with people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawL Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Her name is Gracy. I'm just worried because I have never seen a parrot so frightened. I have a macaw at my parents and have had an african grey before and I have just never seen this behavior before. I think her previous owner just left her in the cage all the time because she does not like to be with people. Hello Vicky, and Gracy. It sounds to me like you are definitely pushing too fast, too soon. You have had her for 2 weeks, and this is a HUGE change for her. You definitely need to understand, while I am sure you are excited to have her home, she does not currently share in that excitement. She has lost everything familiar in her life. You must not push her. Open her cage, but do not reach in. That is her safe area, and you must not invade it at this very delicate time. Give her the choice to come out on her own, do not force her. Talk softly to her, offer her treats through the cage bar, and then work your way up to giving her treats with your hand inside the cage. Do NOT towl her unless ABSOLUTELY neccassary. In the situation with your boyfriend, that is a scenario that I would consider NOT neccassary. He should not be pushing her to come to him, or forcing her out of her cage. If you don't do that, she won't need to be toweled. Also, if she does come out, and gets onto the floor, just watch her. More than likely, she will climb back onto her cage on her own. Do not approach her unless you absolutely have to. Let her get a feel for her surroundings. Her previous owner may have very well left her in her cage all of the time, but I think that will time and hard work, you will earn her trust, and she will make a great addition to the family....more than anything, just tell yourself "patience is a virtue". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Yes, you must let this grey adapt at her own pace. NEVER push or hurry along when trying to start a relationship with any bird. This bird has no idea what has happened to it. Everything it knew is gone and it's been moved to a new place, new faces, new sounds, new surroundings, etc. It will take time, his own time to adjust. He may not come out for weeks after the frightening event with your boyfriend. Back off, talk sweetly to him. Offer him treats SLOWLY thru the bars of his cage. Spend quiet time reading or gently talking to him all while reassuring him that you are not a threat. He does not yet know if you are friend or foe, he will figure that out in his own time with your tlc. Please keep us updated, and be VERY patient, if you do remain patient, you will soon see that what you want from this bird, to love you,spend time with you and trust you as well as bond with you WIll happen if you don't push yourselves on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 The others have given you great advice. Right now you can't force her to change her behaviour. You can only change the behaviour of the people around her. I brought home a totally cage-bound bird in the fall of 2007. Once I got him home and inside his familiar cage, I let him hang out for a couple of weeks before I even started leaving his cage door open at all, even a little bit. Just having the door open a few inches would make him shake, even if I wasn't approaching him. I set up a tv and a comfy chair beside his cage and we just hung out together for weeks. I actually remember the first time he got brave enough to stick his head out of the cage himself. I was sitting on the floor in front of his cage and he peeked out to see what I was doing. I didn't pounce on him and try to force a physical interation, I just made a big deal about how brave he was, and let him do his own thing. A couple of months later he started to come out and wander around on the outside of his cage. Then one day I was sitting on the floor again and he jumped down and walked over to me. Thanks to the great advice I got here, I knew I wanted him to feel like he was safe, so I asked him if he wanted to go back and he stepped up for me and I put him back inside. That was a key moment in our relationship because he seemed to figure out that I was letting him set the pace and not pushing him to do things he wasn't ready to do. After that he became increasingly curious about the world outside his cage. I tried to make sure I always returned him to his safe zone while being outside was still a positive experience. (You know the old saying "always leave them wanting more") It took almost two years before he would let me take him on my hand into another room. He only started stepping up for me from inside his cage in the last five months. It was sometimes hard logging on here and seeing other members playing with their birds and talking about having a bird on their shoulder while they moved around their house, but I kept reminding myself that a year, or two, or four, is no time at all when you're dealing with such a long-lived companion. Your little girl is so scared right now, she's like a child who has been locked in the dark all her life and is afraid of the light. It sounds like her life has taught her that humans are not to be trusted, and that she has no control over her days. Give her the time and space she needs to look around her and she'll start to see that now she's in a safe place. The trust you earn now is the foundation you'll need to build your relationship going forward. Coming from one who has walked the long and slow road with a grey I can tell you, it's sooo worth it. Remember, we're here to cheer you on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicky022389 Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Thank you acapella that was really nice! That has inspired me to be patient with my little gracie. She wonders out of her cage sometimes and I have heard her whistle and say hello. She doesn't seem to mind me too much. In fact yesterday my boyfriend walked past and she was a little startled and she jumped out of her cage and walked over to me and tried to step on my foot. I thought she wanted to step up so I put my hand in front of her but she was a little timid so she just trotted back to her cage. I will keep working with her, Patience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Patience is so important with these guys. The second summer I had Dorian we'd experienced a couple of setbacks and I was getting upset because I wanted so much to enlarge his world but, although he clearly loved me, he was still a very timid guy. I had an animal behaviourist come in and she watched my behaviour as much as, if not more than, his. One piece of advice she gave me was to approach him as if he was already the bird I wanted him to be. What that meant was that I always approached him happy and relaxed with no 'agenda', and gratefully accepted whatever he was willing to give to me in that moment. That, and the advice I got here about ending every interaction on a positive note, made the difference for us. Let her chill and observe, and have faith in the basic curiosity of a grey, and their need to be social and part of a flock. Oh, and train the humans around her to give a little audible warning before entering her space. It will make her environment feel more predictable and safer. You're doing great, and we're all here to cheer you on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hi Vicki. I was just wondering how it's going with your new-to-you birdy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Acappella I have goosebumps reading how patient you were with your guy! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. So gratifying to know how loving patience leads to a wonderful bond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fidsandfrats Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Patience, patience, patience. i know it is hard and you want to have that interaction and you will but you have got to be patient and let your grey get comfy. It could take weeks or months. They are very sensative and need lots of time. Take a step back and let him get comfortable. Sit nearby and read to him or speak genlty to him. He will come around eventually but it is going to take some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Acappella... LOVED your advise! It was amazing! I only did this as a newbie, because I was sick, when I first got our rescue Sunny. It was a fluke! I was sick for over three weeks when we got our rescue....it couldn't have worked better. Our rescued sunconure, went from being a bird that would " fly out, and attack your jugular", to a bird, with his cage opened... who was worried about me. I slept on the couch, because that was where I was comfortable. We bonded, while I was sick. When I got Sophie at two, I remembered what worked to bond with Sunny. Open cage worked for us. We had 24 hour coverage. We took advantage of the time we had someone here. Stepup or down, was never an issue, because, Sophie walked out to us. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicky022389 Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Hello all! I am doing much better with my little gracy, she whistles all the time when I come home from work, she has been coming out of her cage more and she even climbed on my shoulder the other day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Congratulations. I bet the Gracy news will get better and better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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