greyturkey Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Just wondering.. We purchased new bedding for our little turkey and she has been spending alot of time in the bottom of her cage scratching at it and picking it up in her mouth moving it around. She is a 20 year old African Grey that was only used to having one sheet of newspaper in the bottom which she shred into tiny pieces. As i am new to the African Grey birds, i am just wondering if this is normal behaviour? Is it a nesting behaviour? Also the lady who we got her from said that she HATES men, although her and my husband have this bond going on, and she seems to not like me too much? any tips on how to help her adjust to me. I give her her favorite foods and she takes it from me but she gives me this look like "i'm going to get you..come a bit closer" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenabrd Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 all i can say is be patient with her! talk with her, give her special treats that are just from you, not your husband, etc to show her you're an ok human. we rehomed kallie and she was "supposed" to be "my" bird. her previous owner was an older woman, who lived alone with 3 birds. the woman's family wasn't sure how she'd be around males, since no males lived in the home. however, kallie's decided that my husband is the be all, end all, of the universe! she lets me give her scratches, i feed her, clean the cage, find/make toys, etc, but she still loves my husband more than me, hahahaha! she just lights up when he comes home from work. she likes me well enough and shows me she does in her own way. yes it hurt at first, but i'm just so thrilled she truly loves one of us and i love her regardless of her choice in favorite human. we use newspaper in the bottom of the cage instead of bedding. once in a while kallie will go to the bottom of the cage and scratch around. i'm not sure what it means, but its cute! as for shredding paper, we roll up newspaper or get outdated phonebooks and place them either through the bars or on top of the cage for kallie to shred, this keeps her from wanting to shred the paper at the bottom of her cage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 20 yrs of developed habits, likes, dislikes takes much longer to change than a very young bird. Certain things you mention may never change or only slightly change. One thing you should immediately stop is using the oft bottom material. Your bird's behavior is nesting behavior and allowing a pet grey to do that is a very bad thing which can lead to other bad things. Go back to a few sheets of newspaper and never change to soft fluffy material. If there's no grating in the cage, your bird will chew on anything that's on the tray. It'll yake a while for her to accept things from you and that's natural. She has to really know about you, trust you, feel comfortable with you. Rehonmed birds have baggage which they bring along with them from owner to owner and it can't be gotten rid of. Baggage is basically habits and attitudes created in other owner's homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyturkey Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Thank you for your help both of you! I will take the bedding out immediately and go back to normal newspaper. I wasn't aware of the fact that it could start nesting behaviour and the pet store (for birds) assured me that it was normal to change it to this type of shredded paper bedding. Plus it was pink, so i thought it would fit her perfectly. I don't expect her to change overnight, i am just hoping she adjusts to me without any problems or concerns and i do understand that it will take time. Regardless of who she is more in favor of i still love her to pieces and wouldn't trade her for the world. Ashley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLB Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Ashley, My rehomed grey definitely loves my hubby most, but I adore her and my patience has definitely paid off. I now relish in any and all signs of affection she shares with me, be they big or small! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 We are glad to " take what we can get".While I care for Ryan's bird while he is away at college, a rescued sunconure, I spend more time with this bird. I always have. He loves me, but when Ryan walks in the room, he shakes his little butt, shows his feathers, and flirts like crazy! Ryan can put his finger in, Sunny steps right up. I find it amazing! If I put my finger in his cage, I wouldn't have one. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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