some advice please

[bigben143]

Hi

I'm new to this forum my mother has had a grey from 6months old in 2000 so she is 12 now.....I have now got the parrot how will i train her as my mother never really bothered with her she is always been in a cage so how do i change a 12 year old birds habbits??? any help wil be greatfull.

 

cheers Ben

[judygram]

You may be able to alter her habits somewhat but a 12 year old grey is pretty much set in her ways but you can work on it. It will take lots of time and patience on your part, first begin by allowing her to come out of the cage on her own, let it be her choice, she may view her cage as her safe zone but allowing her freedom with open up new possibilities. Give her plenty of time to venture further from the cage as she feels ready to.

Why don't you tell us more about your situation like did you have a relationship with this bird all along or hardly ever seen her? Is she flighted? Tell us about what you mean by training her? Do you mean tricks or just to adapt to your living arrangement? We need more info to give you a better answer.

[bigben143]

I have had interaction with gemma all her life... But never really handled her she has always been my mom but my mom did'nt pay that much attention to her after a couple of years it was like the novelty worn off.

 

my house is a bit of a mad house she hasnt moved homes she is still in the same place(mother no longer lives with me)......i'm not really looking into tricks at this stage mainly wonna handle her, i.e get her to come to me and behave lol...... when i open her cage she does'nt wonna come out at all, When i put my hand in she puts her head down like she is going to bite me or she just moves away from my hand.......if i put my finger in the cage while the dooor is closed and i say tickle she puts her head down and lets me stroke the back of her neck.... but some times she will bite lol

 

 

ive been there since she was 6months old so she knows me and i do try spend a bit of time with her but she was'nt my bird at the time to really bother with..... hope this info helps.

 

cheers ben

[greyturkey]

Ben, being a new AG owner i cant specifically answer from a grey point of view, although i can answer from my past experience with a amazon. Do you know any of her favorite treats? My amazon opened up to me when i gave him treats, or when i would let him out of the cage just to look outside and see the world. He slowly got used to being on my shoulder which then turned into a daily thing. It did take months, but the thing that mattered most to me was that it happened.

 

I don't want to bash your mother one bit and in this next sentence i am not trying to do so at all so don't take it personally its just a question.. why would she keep a bird locked up if she couldn't be bothered with taking her out of the cage and allowing her the socialization she needed. I am glad your re homing the AG and i wish you all the best luck with her. I cannot stand seeing a bird always locked up, i have a friend who has a amazon who used to always be out of the cage and socialized, then she met her new boyfriend and she never takes him out of the cage. I go over there and try to socialize with the bird and take him out of the cage but hes to the point where he just wants to be left alone and not bothered. A couple of months ago i asked if i could purchase him, but she decided that she was going to keep him.. Luckily she is giving him to a person who is willing to work with him, as she doesn't want him to got to any friends.

 

Back on topic..

 

Do you have her by a window or is she in an area where she is near a wall? The best suggestion might be putting her cage near a window, opening her cage and letting her come out when she is ready. It will take time and patience as judygram said but slowly she may open up to you. Give her treats and make sure you talk to her alot regardless of what your doing (for example: if your cooking supper - speak to her) It might help her loosen up..

 

Good Luck.

[birdhouse]

Greys are very intelligent, curious & emotional. But Gemma hasn't had many things to stimulate her. So, her first reaction may be to be suspicious of your new attention, to freak out about new toys & to shy away from new activities.

 

But she also probably wants the chance to do more than sit in a cage all day. Slowly offer her the opportunity to do some new things w/o being overwhelming. Do not expect her to jump at the chance. Be very sensitive to anything that scares her or even makes her nervous, especially at first. Let her decide what she can handle no matter how long it takes.

 

It may be easiest if you start by just trying to make friends. You do have a long standing relationship w/Gemma. You didn't say anything about it being negative. So you've got a nice head start here.

 

Talk to her, sing to her, keep in contact from a distance, but not too close at first. Hang out & do quiet things near her cage, until she seems like she wants attention. Like others have said, leave her cage open so she can come out when/if she's ready. Praise her & offer her treats whenever you can think of a reason. btw, just because is a perfectly good reason. lol

 

So start slow & see where it takes you. Give her every opportunity to get to know & especially trust you. Trust is the key. Patience & sensitivity are the things that earn trust. Some fids are harder to convince than others. But they're all worth it!

[bigben143]

ok thanks for advice will start over the week end and i wil keep you all updated.....cheers for advice

 

 

 

As the question of my mother she is a selfish person tbh

[JeffNOK]

You know, I am encouraged that she allows some scritches--even if she bites at times. Also, when you put your hand in her cage and ask her to step up, the fact that she just puts her head down or moves away shows she is not an aggressive bird at all--she is just expressing her wish to be left alone. If she was aggressive you would KNOW it and have some bandaged fingers! She may be set in her ways to some extent, but from what you describe, I am hopeful that with time, patience, love and baby steps--you may very well be able to form a very nice fulfilling bond with this bird. You are in the right place in this forum and you will learn loads from all the experienced Grey parronts here. Good luck and keep us updated.