Yeah I finally got in!

[KawaGreen]

Hi everyone,

 

It took me about 3 months to register to this forum. I kept getting an error with a spam question :confused:, contacted vBulletin but they didn't want to notify the forum admins. Also could not contact an admin as it would use the same sort of validation as a registration.

 

Anyway I finally got in, so I'm happy

 

Here's our story, sit tight.

My name is Glenn, I'm 23 year old and I've got an African grey of unknown age.

My dad found him 7 years ago, he flew in front of his car while driving in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night in November, pretty cold. He was really exhausted and in a lot of stress (he was growling) so my dad catched him and took him to our home. We called animal protection and police but they were unable to identify him as he was not wearing a ring or chip.

We had put him in a temporary cage with food and water, and we went from door to door in the area asking for a lost parrot. We even printed out pictures and displayed them in local supermarkets.

But nobody contacted us.

So after a couple of days he started talking, I will never forget that moment. We bought him a bigger parrot cage and he was very quickly adapted.

After some time my mother could do really anything with him, she would take him out of his cage for hours and do all sorts of stuff with him. Of course my dad and I were very jealous about this as he would bite us when he had the opportunity. So we just sticked to feeding him and maintaining his cage.

 

Some really strange thing happened a year and a half after we found him. My parents were driving home from friend on my dad's motorcycle when my mother had bursts of very strong headache, my dad had to stop and had to call an ambulance. She fell unconscious and was diagnosed to have a cerebral hemorrhage. She had surgery and although the doctors said there was a big chance she would be paralized, she fully recovered in a couple of weeks.

Now the strange thing, it happened in the exact same spot my dad found Jacko. Creepy isn't it?

 

Anyway, since a year or so I've been researching a lot about parrot behavior and how to train your parrot. So I'm proud to say I can take Jacko out of his cage and pet him (but only when he wants it ).

To end, some pictures of Jacko:

[BaileysPapa]

Hello Glenn & Jacko. It was so nice of you to try so hard to find his family. That means a lot to people here. Jacko is a good looking bird. There are a lot of good people here, who know a lot about Greys (& other birds), and are very willing to help. Read through the forums, there's much information. Plus, everyone loves pictures! I love the one of him bathing in the pan.

[Ray P]

Hi Glenn and Jacko, Welcome to the grey forum.

Jacko is a good looking grey and looks very happy, also great pictures as you will find out we love pictures.

Your story of how you got Jacko is awesome.

[danmcq]

Welcome Glenn and Jacko! What an interesting story of how and where Jacko was found and your mothers hemorage at the same spot. I hope your mother is ok now. The photos of him are beautiful and show a very happy and well adapted grey loving where he is. Kudo's to you. I look forward to hearing more.

[Seni]

Welcome here Glenn and Jacko! What a interesting story about how you got Jacko! Very nice that you didn't gave up on Jacko when only your mom could handle him. Excellent job that you can now pet him, some times, and get him out of his cage.

 

Enjoy the grey forum!!

[judygram]

Hello Glenn and welcome to our family.

Thanks for taking Jacko into your home and many thanks for doing all you could to find his previous owners for surely he belonged to someone. He looks like a well adjusted grey and you are approaching him the right way to get him more accustomed to you since you are not his favorite person, you may not be able to ever handle him like your mom does but you can still have a good relationship with him on his terms, its always on their terms for we all know the consequences if we try to make them do something they don't want to do at that particular time.

Thanks for including some pictures of Jacko in your intro post, we love seeing our member's greys and I especially love the one where he is trying to take a bath, love that wingspread.

[Brat Birds]

Welcome!! Great story. ((hugs)) to your family for taking in Jacko and giving him such a wonderful home. He is one very lucky bird!!

[Timbersmom]

Hello and welcome! What a cool story about how Jacko became part of your family! Very nice pics too, thanks for sharing.

[Kizzybird]

Hi. Nice to hear an amazing story of a rescue. Jacko is a cool bird!

[KawaGreen]

Wow what a nice warm welcome! Thank you all.

I'll hope to learn a lot on this forum.

 

I have a couple of questions right away:

• Do you think his beak is too long?
  
• What do you guess his age would be?
  

 

He has in my opinion a long beak, but in my view he has no trouble with it as he eats normal. His beak doesn't become longer it's always the same length and he has no trouble climbing or holding on with it.

I'm guessing his age would be around 14 years ( we got him for 7 years now ). He's a lot more active than other grays I saw.

Sometimes he tries to feed me, it takes a very long time before and even if some food comes out. I have read different approaches to this, but what are your opinions?

[murfchck]

Welcome! The first thing ( after seeing how cute he is ) i noticed was his beak, i can't say it is too long but it looks like my guys. I have not seen another like his until yours. But then in Jackos side picture, it looked normal. I have to have Bongos beak trimmed 2-3 times a year but he has trouble eating and has to go at his food sideways if it gets too long. It grows out from his face and then down and very thick, not small and pointed like other greys. He learns to compensate for his beak and doesn't have trouble with it at all, however he will not eat nuts or chew wood at all.

[Greywings]

As long as he can eat properly it should not be a problem. You can give him lots of things to shred or chew to help wear that beak down naturally. So glad you found us and I really appreciated his story.

[KawaGreen]

Welcome! The first thing ( after seeing how cute he is ) i noticed was his beak, i can't say it is too long but it looks like my guys. I have not seen another like his until yours. But then in Jackos side picture, it looked normal. I have to have Bongos beak trimmed 2-3 times a year but he has trouble eating and has to go at his food sideways if it gets too long. It grows out from his face and then down and very thick, not small and pointed like other greys. He learns to compensate for his beak and doesn't have trouble with it at all, however he will not eat nuts or chew wood at all.

 

His beak is like this for as long as we have had him. So I don't think he will need a trim (unless someone more experienced says so).

He also has lots of things to chew on, like ropes and wood.

And he uses his favorite resting stick (don't know the proper word in English) to sharp his beak, it looks like this one but much thicker:

[katana600]

Welcome to the forum Glenn, thanks for being persistent and never giving up. Your description of Jacko and how he came to your family is like a story in a movie. You have been lucky to have such parents to stop and rescue a distressed African Grey and to put so much time into seeking his heartbroken former companions as well as for taking Jacko in and learning to provide for him. It is eerie that your mom had a life changing moment in the same area and I am happy to hear she has recovered fully. That location is surely your place of angels. Congratulations for working hard to become his trusted friend. He is beautiful and has a happy life with you. There doesn't seem to be a way to determine the African grey's age once they reach maturity. As babies their eyes are black and change to silver or grey after a few months, then to a yellow color and get a little lighter the color of golden straw at somewhere about three. I am only repeating what I have read, I have an older rehomed Timneh and don't know how old she is either.