Just rescued our Grey...biting help?

[Mistyparrot]

I suppose Jaq'O is rather territorial in his cage and possessive of his food bowls! Very normal. This won't be a problem when he can come and go from his cage with confidence. Misty has his meals on a table by his tree perch. He gets a variety of shelled human grade unsalted nuts like cashews, walnuts almonds and pistachios. I also give human grade roasted ground nuts. If you give ground nuts it is vital that they are of good human food grade and fresh. If they get fungus from damp they will make your parrot very ill! Fresh fruit like apple, orange and strawberries together with slices of carrot and parsnips, green beans, peas is all good for a balanced diet. Misty prefers his veg lightly cooked. Some proprietary parrot foods are much better than others. Some cheaper parrot foods have far to much sunflower seed. Sun flower seed has a lot of oil that can lead to liver problems. In the wild Greys are able to burn of fats from seeds by flying but in captivity flight is restricted so it is vital to ensure there is not to much fat and oil in the diets. Have a look at out diet section for recommendations and also advice on foods to avoid, especially avocado and chocolate both of these can poison your bird!. Misty shares some of all my meals but I make sure to avoid salt. He enjoys a little fish and egg sometimes. Eating is very much a social activity for wild parrots but that may not be practical for everybody!

Aside from eating, Greys love to chew up things with their beaks. Give him branches or offcuts of untreated and fungus free wood to climb about on and to chew. Treated wood is dosed with fungicides which can make your bird ill. I give Misty off cuts from garden apple trees and sometimes even empty cardboard boxes. Greys may try to chew what ever they can get hold of so beware!

 

Steve n Msty

Edited May 7, 2012 by Mistyparrot

[Guest ilovemygrey]

thanks so much guys! i am going to love pleasing Jaq'O with good yummy fruits and veggies as I want him to be happy as can be and healthy as can be. He spends a lot of time beside me as his cage is beside my desk with a wall behind him for security. So far he has said "huh?" lol. So cute. I love when he bobs his head. Does this mean anything?

[Guest ilovemygrey]

Hey guys, I just put up four new pics of Jaq'O in my albums on here. These are his first. :cool:

[Mistyparrot]

thanks so much guys! i am going to love pleasing Jaq'O with good yummy fruits and veggies as I want him to be happy as can be and healthy as can be. He spends a lot of time beside me as his cage is beside my desk with a wall behind him for security. So far he has said "huh?" lol. So cute. I love when he bobs his head. Does this mean anything?

 

I don't think there is a direct translation for head bobbing. I think it means something like "I'm OK Look at me! You OK too ?" I doubt he would be doing it if he was unhappy or annoyed. Just my guess :cool:.

 

Steve n Misty

[Mistyparrot]

Hey guys, I just put up four new pics of Jaq'O in my albums on here. These are his first. :cool:

You have a very pretty little Timna Grey there. Congratulations.

 

Steve n Misty

[Guest ilovemygrey]

Does a high pitched "cheap" from my parrot mean good or bad? it sounds like an answering machine beep

[Acappella]

Could be his contact call. Is he doing it when you're in the room or out of the room?

[Guest ilovemygrey]

this chirp happens when: being draped for bed, when we open the cover in the morning, when i first met him, and right before my husband transferred him into the new cage.

 

What is a contact call?

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Sophie " head bobs", when she is ready to regurg. ( a sign of love!) Seems a little quick, but Sunny my sunconure, fell in love with Ryan my son, within three minutes of meeting him. He was a rescue, in foster care at my daycare. Sunny hated EVERYONE! Ryan was nine at the time. Sunny came home with us a week later and has been loving the ground Ryan walks on ever since. Ryan is 21 now. Nancy

[Acappella]

A contact call is something they do when their flock is out of sight. It's "I'm here, where are you?" Also "You haven't left me have you?" Important for your sanity that they choose a sound that doesn't drive you to drink If you're out of the room and Jaq'o makes a sound you don't like, DO NOT respond to it unless you want to hear it hundreds of time a day for the next few decades. When you hear a pleasing sound respond to it either with a sound or word of your own or echo his sound. btw, it's a good rule of thumb to not ever respond to something you don't like. For instance, if Jaq'o gets comfortable and starts to talk and you find out he has a potty mouth, like many people here with re-homes have, don't laugh or pay any attention to it. Grey's love getting reactions, the more dramatic the better. That's why you'll see people here talking about keeping a straight face until they're out of the room. It's called extuinguishing a sound and I guarantee it's something you'll have to do at some point in you're life with your new-to-you baby.

[Guest ilovemygrey]

thanks for sharing the helpful information. we are in the learning process and taking it easy :cool:

[Mistyparrot]

This is Misty's contact call. It's the first thing he taught me

 

 

Steve n Misty

[Greywings]

It sounds like a greeting to you they way he is using the sound.

[Mistyparrot]

It sounds like a greeting to you they way he is using the sound.

 

His usual greeting to me is "Hallo babe" and I return with hallo Misty. The contact call is what he uses in the morning before I have come into his room or if he hears me returning home. I always whistle it back to him when he calls out to me and he never overdoes it.

 

Steve N Misty

[Amali]

Amali's contact call is a whistle as well - either wolf whistle or the "Charge!" whistle. It is the first thing I hear when I walk in the door after work

 

Congrats and good luck, ilovemygrey. We look forward to hearing of your progress!

[Guest ilovemygrey]

Misty is soo cute! I love her call.

[Guest ilovemygrey]

OMG GUYS!!! Today Jaq'O said his first words with us! He said, "Come here!" ahahaha. It was wonderful! I was thrilled and got him a banana but he didn't do it again and has not since a couple hours ago. I am amazed. These experiences are so new for me and each step I am savoring.

 

Jaq'O's contact call is a whistle that goes up and then comes back down. Its cute. He still does this annoying high pitch tone at odd times though. Hard to figure out.

 

Just thought I would share the good news with you all! Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and advice. Means so much.

[Guest ilovemygrey]

Also...I just wanted to show where Jaq'O is coming from...literally.

 

Earlier I mentioned he was brought to us on a 20 minute drive in the back of a ford ranger in this ugly cage. Isn't that dangerous? I would like some feedback as to what you think about this. He is okay now though I'm pretty sure. He is beginning to really open up on day 5 with us. I think he's doing pretty well for a rescue. Here is the cage of horror. My baby was in there and that really hurts me. I am disposing of it and he will never ever see it again.

[Mistyparrot]

OMG GUYS!!! Today Jaq'O said his first words with us! He said, "Come here!" ahahaha. It was wonderful! I was thrilled and got him a banana but he didn't do it again and has not since a couple hours ago. I am amazed. These experiences are so new for me and each step I am savoring.

 

Jaq'O's contact call is a whistle that goes up and then comes back down. Its cute. He still does this annoying high pitch tone at odd times though. Hard to figure out.

 

Just thought I would share the good news with you all! Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and advice. Means so much.

 

Great news Jaq'O has your training well under way.

 

 

Steven n Misty

Edited May 9, 2012 by Mistyparrot

[Mistyparrot]

I think you and Jaq'O are doing very well after his rather inauspicious delivery to you. I am just glad you were able to take him from such an uncaring keeper.

 

Steve n Misty

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Unbelieveable, that was how he was delivered! Total abuse! BUT... he has found you, and life is about to change. Definitely... get rid of that old cage with memories of abuse. YAY!!! Here's to new memories and a family that can love him. KUDOS! Nancy

[Guest ilovemygrey]

Thanks everyone for all of your help with Jaq'O so far. Could anyone give me advice as to what to do with him on a daily basis? (ie: just talk to him and give treats here and there?) How long should we do that? What should our goal be right now? As of right now he will play with us looking at him and head bob and call when we leave the room, but we don't know what exactly we are suppose to be doing at this time on a daily basis. He is still very cage aggressive, anytime we change his water and or his food he moves swiftly towards us and attempts to bite us as we are changing out his food and water.

 

He will accept treats through the cage without being aggressive of course.

 

Would it be wise to say once hes not trying to attack us by changing his food hes doing better?

 

We want so bad to do the right thing...don't want to waste time. He's just so dang handsome I just wanna kiss him all over. lol

 

Thanks.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

The goal for Jaq'O, is to provide him with consistency and expectations on your part. You are his parents. That, in itself, needs to be established. Follow routine and consistency with diet, cage cleaning. Fufill his needs. Offer him toys, and time to come out. Your number one goal is developing trust. Open the door, read a book in front of the cage. Whether they come out or not, bedtime should be around 8pm.( decide if you want to cover cage or not.) Repeat over and over!

As a single mom of two boys and five other kids, ( three birds, two dogs), that puts me as being a single mom of seven. I had to make some serious choices for training. Luckily, my boys, LOVED the birds as adolescents, and love them just as much, as teenagers. They are 100% on board with training. It has worked sooo well! We have made decisions together. Nancy

[Guest ilovemygrey]

New question:

 

My husband has started a new ritual that includes opening the cage door sitting in my computer chair and sharing a banana with Jaq'O. So far, it has gone well. My question is, while they are sharing the banana my husband notices that Jaq'O seems to be shivering during this special time. Do birds shiver when they are scared?

 

Also, is Jaq'O going to love my husband more than me because he does more stuff since I am afraid of being bitten? I love him so much and he was MY birthday present! lol.

Thanks!

[Life is Greyt]

Shivering is usually related to intense emotion. So, what it means depends on the other body language he's displaying. Like, my Chickie shivers when I get home at night because she is so excited to see me. She also shivers after a bath cause she's pissed...lol. Hope that helps . As far as being bitten, if you are afraid of it, he will pick up on that. Just accept that you will probably, but not everyone is, be bitten at some point. Also, he may favor your husband now, and change his favorite later, or he may love you for some things and your husband for others. Try not to worry about it too much and just be natural with your baby.