coachdes Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 My African grey has occasionally tried to nip at me and yells when I go near her cage. She growls at me and has ven lunged at me before. I am very sweet to her, I am the one who feeds her and cares for her the most but it is obvious she prefers David and son Zack. If I act like what she does isn't important and ignore her behavior, will it go away? I've had her for five weeks now and this is somethig that started over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Greys unfortunately do pick a human they see as their friend/prefer & there is not an awful lot you can do to change their mind.continue to be the good guy so to speak.Ignore all bad behaviour, dont react in any way,if your grey gets no reaction it may be possible he/she may not continue the bad behaviour.Speak as you approach the cage,reassuring your grey all is ok,Patience & time & im sure you will have some kind of realtionship with your grey even if its not to the same extent as your partners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NerfGunWarHero Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 The thought of a bite scares me, but I think I will be able to handle it. I get startled very easily, well the other day I was in the house of a breeder in the next town over, and I had my back to one of the macaw cages. A little boy stuck his foot out grabbed a piece of my blond hair, and then gave me a little beak nudge. Normally being touched of grabbed in anyway scares me to death, but I am getting much better. I just turned around and said you like girls huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Rachel if you are afraid of being bitten then maybe you will need to rethink your decision to get a grey because you will get bitten at one time or another, just ask anyone here. I have been nipped but not truly bitten YET but I know my time is coming as my grey is only 20 months old. If you show fear when you handle your grey he/she will pick up on that and the bites could be worse. You need to be sure of yourself so that confidence shows when you handle it and you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblhelix Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 You'll be fine! Dont be afraid, be aware. You will get bitten at one time or another but most bites can be avoided if you are in tune with your birds body language. They can sense if you are scared and this can make them uneasy as well leading to an even higher likelihood of a bite. Relax and they will too. When you do get bitten, chances are it wont be all that bad...though random accidents do happen :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachdes Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I don't know if this is still a viable thread but I wanted to let everyone know that Gismo and I are bonding more. I think as she gets older and is into more things, I am appearing to be more fun for her. I have started announcing "broadcasting" everything I'm doing while I am around her and I think she actually acts interested. We read a book about Greys being animals of prey and therefore being a little more nervous than other birds. Gizmo needs constant reassurance and now that I've figured that out and can provide that for her, I think she likes me more. Now if I could just get her to start weaning... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Thats great news Coachdes!! You are so patient and loving. It is good to hear it is paying off and a relatioship is developing. Thanks for updating this post. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Yes a lovely up date im pleased it's going well There are many topics on weaning, you can enter a search at the top of the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinyTimneh Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 It's normal. There's no trust or anything between you two yet. As much as I hate to say this, really, the only real way to quiet your fears of being bitten is to be bitten. Or nipped, or nibbled, either way, let that beak come into contact with your hand. The reason you are so nervous is you don't know what it might feel like, once your hand touches the beak, or vice versa, you've experienced it, thus aren't half as scared. If you are really afraid, try slipping the sleeve of a sweatshirt over your hand and trying for a step-up, it will give oyu more confidence because you feel a little more invincible and through your (calm) confidence, the bird will be less nervous too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_mint Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 My experience is kind of the other way round. I started out not at all scared of Nicky , but he bit me quite badly last week (still hasn't healed up) and now I jump every time he lunges at me. And he lunges ALL THE TIME. Even if I'm offering him a treat, he tries to grab my fingers instead of taking the treat. The little monster's given me a complex! I simply can't make my hand stay in place now. Every time his head darts forward, my hand jumps back by itself. It's turning into a vicious cycle. I'm thinking about getting a glove... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broomer Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Hmm, though i've never had a bird, every time I see loki I spend a portion of my time playing with his beak. Making little "Boop boop boop" sound when I lighty touch it. My philosophy (for now) is if I play with his beak a lot, he might figure out that I'm not scared of it. Though Kim keeps saying "One of these days, you're going to lose the tip of your finger" Eh, my own fault if it happens. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 Just an overdue update on this topic. I ended up following my instinct and not getting this bird. It turns out one of the store employees later commented on, "what a neurotic bird" it was. I waited and picked up many more African Greys in the next year since then, and lo-and-behold I picked up Brutus. We had an immediate connection. He was so calm, strong, and steady. I KNEW he was the one. We are now a happy family. He brings us so much joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janfromboone Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Oops! I didn't go to the last post. Congrats on finding your bird.<br><br>Post edited by: Janfromboone, at: 2009/07/21 09:12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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