sheldon Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Hi, I just adopted a 15 year old african grey. I am very excited about this. His name is Sheldon, or shelly for short. He came home with me yesterday. I adopted him from the local SPCA. They told me his previous owner used him for breeding. I am not sure of what kind of life he has had so far. Since he's been with my family and I, Shelly seem to be adjusting well. We are giving him his space letting him get used to his home. I have spoke to several people for advice on how to introduce Shelly into my family. I am writing today in hopes of getting more advise from you, other Grey owners. Any info you have would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Hello and welcome! I've only had my rehomed TAG since the first week of June, and I can tell you that just reading through the forum posts will give you a lot of help. I read all the stickies and the rescue bird haven threads first, then the health room and bird food threads. Now I've read pretty much all of them and just hit the "new posts" link. My personal advice is just to go slowly and let Shelly set the pace. Grey's are cautious by nature, so give Shelly plenty of time to get used to his new home and the other people/animals in it. If you have a specific question, just ask and several people will give you their suggestions. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) S-L-O-W-L-Y lol Everything is about grey time w/all issues. That almost always means slow motion. Welcome Shelly into the flock. Be around him doing quiet, non threatening activities & interact from a distance until he lets you know he wants more. Vocalize to him like he's part of the family. Talk/whistle/sing. Make eye contact that would include him, but don't stare because well, that makes everyone uncomfortable, right? Once you see that he's comfortable in his new home, you can start to make him comfortable w/his new flock. Once you get to know his body language (watch his posture, feathers & eyes) he'll let you know a lot about how to proceed. Just don't ask too much too soon & you'll be off to a greyt start. After that, it's a matter of working w/what he gives you & taking it one thing at a time. Once you start to post about specifics, we can suggest some more helpful tips. In the meantime, welcome to the forum. Congratulations to both you & Shelly. Edited August 10, 2012 by birdhouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLB Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Congratulations to you and Shelly! I am also fairly new, having rehomed my CAG almost a year ago. My advice is to keep an open mind about your new relationship with Shelley. I believe I had some unrealistic expectations up front and was quickly disappointed. Had I had a more open minded approach, I could have saved myself from some of that distress. Read everything and you will quickly see that every one has a different relationship with their birds and each bird is a unique individual! BTW.....pictures are always welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Welcome to the forum and congratulations on finding Shelly and bringing him into your home. My rehomed grey Gilbert is a Timneh and he is about ten years old. I had some experience with other parrots before bringing him home. I had some idea that it was going to be challenging but no idea just how long it would take for him to relax. We have had him with us almost eighteen months. Some greys will come into a new home and just thrive and some take more time, patience and understanding. I agree with others that taking it slow and easy is the best thing you can do. If you can approach his cage without him growling, you are doing fabulously well for a beginning. As you get to know him, you will learn to follow his lead and it may take a long time and a lot of patience. With that said, when you win his trust, it is better than winning a lottery. It is worth all the time and efforts. Reading forum posts, finding a common ground with someone who shares your approach and will guide you to finding your place in Shelly's life will be invaluable. Thank you for giving Shelly a chance and your love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Welcome and thank you. All the advice you've been given is worth it's weight in gold, if your baby was a breeder, you need to speak with Dave007, thank you again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldon Posted August 11, 2012 Author Share Posted August 11, 2012 Thank you all very much for your words of wisdom. I plan on searching though the forums to gain more knowledge. From the diet /food sections I've read, I can see I'll be making more trips to "trader joes". Trader Joes is a heath food supermarket not far from me. It's funny when I eat, Shelly eats. When my lhasa apso barks at Shelly, Shelly sounds of back at her. She growled at me the first day when I got near the cage. . Now she's not growling when I approach the cage. I am just worried because I am taking here to the vet next week to have a new pet evaluation. The part I'm worried about is having to physically remove her from the cage. I know that's not going to be fun for either one of use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Our emotion is contagious for our fids. So, you always want to be as calm & confident as possible, especially w/tough situations. If Shelly will come out on his own, that's best. It would be good to see if he's willing before hand. Maybe this weekend? Give yourself as much time ahead of time as possible. It may be less traumatic to let Shelly sit in the carrier for longer & acclaimate than to try to rush him out of the cage w/limited time. If you have to towel him, then show him the towel, talk constantly & soothingly. Move slowly & be open about your approach. You'll have to do the best you can for now. But you might want to ask the vet to show you the least stressful way to do it for the future. As bad as toweling looks, birds get over it pretty quickly when it's done right. Let us know how it goes. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldon Posted August 13, 2012 Author Share Posted August 13, 2012 So far so good. I am starting to feel that shelly is more relaxed then I anticipated him being. I decicded to open.his door yesterday. It took SHELLY all of 10 seconds to start making his way out. He climbed up the outside of the cage and hung out. I later enticed him back in the cage with some watermelon. This is so cool!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 That is a great approach, patience & rewarding the behaviors you wish to repeat. Good job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 So far so good... This is so cool!! ...and this is only the beginning!! Good work! This is good news. Hopefully it will make you feel a little more confident about rounding Shelly up for his vet appointment. That will make it easier on both of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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