questions about my grey

[melinda0269]

I have an Grey, her name is Shelby, and she is about 21 years old, she pretty much has run of the house, she gets on and off her cage as she pleases but she has choose to hang out in my kitchen so I have put a cardboard box in the kitchen for her to play in and chew but when we go into the kitchen she chases my kids out of it and now she is starting to bite my feet if I go in there, I am one of the very few people that can touch her and she Im not sure why she is bitting me now. She has been laying eggs about 1 to 2 times a month and since she has been doing that she has been getting more aggresive. She is also plucking. I would love to find a male to breed her with but I dont have the money to buy one. Is her being aggresive because of her egg laying or have I done something to upset her. Any info would be great!

[judygram]

Hello Melinda and welcome to our family.

Shelby is very much a mature grey and since she has layed eggs before then I think she is nesting. The box you provided her with is sort of encouraging her to nest and she is protecting it therefore she is biting you when you come into the kitchen. I would suggest you remove the box and find something else she can get on like a playstand, something that is nothing like a box, she might be plucking herself to have material for lining the nest as some birds will do that.

Forget about trying to find a male for her, she is a pet and the liklihood that she would be receptive to a male is highly unlikely, even though they are flock creatures they do not get along with other birds especially their own kind unless they are nest mates. The egg laying and her being aggressive are directly related.

[Dave007]

When greys do that constantly especially at that age, you'll need to bring the bird to the vet. Over active glands are definitely at work. Laying all those eggs is depleting all the natural calcium in her body and that's not good especially for a grey. You should consider the egg laying as a serious problem.