My newly adopted African Grey :}

[dannybrah92]

Hello! As some of you know I had posted earlier saying that i'll be adopting a 8 y/o Congo Grey named Tony

 

Last night Tony moved into my house, however he was terrified because he was separated from his owner that he was with for the past 8 years.. and on top of that a completely new house and people. He has a bit of his feathers missing in his neck due to him fighting constantly with a Dominant Eclectus male in his previous home, so I think he will slowly be happier being here.

 

Since it was night time I immediately set everything up and let him go to sleep so he would relax as he went through something dramatic that night moving into my place.

 

So today is morning time and he's a lot more relax now, he has a very mellow personality and doesn't make much noise, I think it is also associated with him being socialized a lot from birth.

 

In the morning he rings his bell so that I let him out so he can chill on his cage hehe.

 

This is actually my first pet however I work at home and have lots of free time to spend tons and tons of time with him + researching about him.

 

Here is a picture of Tony:

Edited September 26, 2013 by dannybrah92

[Ray P]

AHH Tony looks awesome.

Give him time to settle in to his new home, take in the sights and get to know you.

Every thing is new and strange to him so sit and talk to him ,offer treats and kindness.

[Luvparrots]

Tony looks great. A little ruffled but as he settles in all will be well. Just follow Tony's lead, relax and let him set the pace for your relationship. Talk to him and let him know what is going on. Enjoy!

[dannybrah92]

Right now he wont let me touch him or anything, he will try to bite. But i'm sure it will get better, i'll let him show the signs for when he is ready

[danmcq]

Tonys a good looking cag. As the others said, let him get used to the new surroundings, people and sounds. He will venture out and request up close attention when he is ready. Congrats!

[Mistyparrot]

I am sure you two will get on very well. It may take Tony a little while to accept you as a friend but I think you have the right attitude. You and Tony are going to be best palls. There is nothing quite like having a Grey as a friend. It is a very special relationship.

 

Steve n Misty

[Timbersmom]

Tony is a looker! Congratulations and good luck!

[Cosmos_Friend]

I like to hear when someone who's caring adopts a Grey. Keep us posted on his (and your) progress.

 

~Rick

[dannybrah92]

Thank you everyone!

He certainly is nicely groomed, he touches himself up all day long.

 

One major question:

So since I have had him he DESPISES being inside his cage and only likes to hang out on the cage door.

 

Should I allow him to sleep here too? Will he own me / get used to it and never sleep in his cage?

Any recommendations.. This is only his second night here.

 

The first night he spent in his cage because when I took him out of the travelers cage; I opened it inside his cage and then closed it.

 

But it seems like he is going to want to permanently just hang out on top of the cage door as he has for the past 16 hours

[dannybrah92]

He is sleeping on his cage door tonight, any suggestions would be appreciated.

[murfchck]

Congrats! For his safety and your house's well being i would have him in his cage at night when you are asleep. It will amaze you how much baseboard, wall, furniture damage they can do when you look away for a moment let alone all night, lol. The only room i have left without wood damage is the master bedroom and even the footboard of the bed has little toe and beak marks on it. I may have 6 birds but it is just one grey doing this, Gabby.

[dannybrah92]

He slept on the cage door last night and didn't move anywhere throughout the night, he is a good boy so far.

The owner said he wont destroy any furniture

 

Any idea how I can get him to enjoy going into his cage? Picture

 

(This is the same cage he spent the past year in with his previous owner)

 

[Timbersmom]

Very interesting. When Timber gets sleepy he goes into his cage. I assume he feels safe and protected there. As murfchck said, I'd put him in the cage to sleep. Besides desctruction, there are other things they can get into if left out unsupervised for long periods. I would think that the cage door would be hard on his feet for sleep in the long run. I could be wrong about that though. I don't have a lot of experience myself!

[dannybrah92]

Very interesting. When Timber gets sleepy he goes into his cage. I assume he feels safe and protected there. As murfchck said, I'd put him in the cage to sleep. Besides desctruction, there are other things they can get into if left out unsupervised for long periods. I would think that the cage door would be hard on his feet for sleep in the long run. I could be wrong about that though. I don't have a lot of experience myself!

 

Ill try find out about the cage door.. if anyone knows if it will be bad for his feet please say so. The cage is a old version of this

http://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Hendryx-Signature-Select-Wrought/dp/B000TZ72CA

 

I ordered a additional perch for him... I am thinking of mounting it outside of his cage so he could stand there instead if he wants to be outside his cage so that it will be better for his feet.

 

Please if anyone can add some input on what I should do

[KarahEve]

I recently adopted a Grey myself and she seemed to only want to hang out on the cage door. I agree with everyone that your Grey and your belongings are much safer if your Grey sleeps in the cage. The problem I ran into, was actually getting her into the cage at night when she wasnt used to me handling her yet. Trust takes time to develop and I didnt want to have to force her to step up onto me or anything else for that matter. What works for me is establishing a feeding schedule. She is fed breakfast every morning and dinner in the evening. Snacking during the day only when I am working with her to do clicker training. To put it more simply, I DO NOT keep food in her dish all day long. Some will likely disagree with this. But for her and I, it works! We have a relative schedule for feeding setup. She hangs out on her door or the top of her cage almost all day. But come dinner time, she is hungry. So when that food hits that bowl, within minutes, she goes right in. Again, by no means am I an expert. But this is what I've done to get around that problem without getting bit. Good luck!

[dannybrah92]

I recently adopted a Grey myself and she seemed to only want to hang out on the cage door. I agree with everyone that your Grey and your belongings are much safer if your Grey sleeps in the cage. The problem I ran into, was actually getting her into the cage at night when she wasnt used to me handling her yet. Trust takes time to develop and I didnt want to have to force her to step up onto me or anything else for that matter. What works for me is establishing a feeding schedule. She is fed breakfast every morning and dinner in the evening. Snaking during the day only when I am working with her to do clicker training. To put it more simply, I DO NOT keep food in her dish all day long. Some will likely disagree with this. But for her and I, it works! We have a relative schedule for feeding setup. She hangs out on her door or the top of her cage almost all day. But come dinner time, she is hungry. So when that food hits that bowl, within minutes, she goes right in. Again, by no means am I an expert. But this is what I've done to get around that problem without getting bit. Good luck!

 

My boy will not even go into his cage when hungry! he will scream until I hold the bowl in front of his face to eat. >_<

[Timbersmom]

Yikes! And I thought Timber was spoiled

[dannybrah92]

What do I do

[Luvparrots]

......... Some will likely disagree with this. But for her and I, it works! We have a relative schedule for feeding setup. She hangs out on her door or the top of her cage almost all day. But come dinner time, she is hungry. So when that food hits that bowl, within minutes, she goes right in. Again, by no means am I an expert. But this is what I've done to get around that problem without getting bit. Good luck!

 

You are right some will disagree. Yes that is why it is so great being part of a forum, there are different opinions. And each person needs to decide what works for them.

 

Food basically goes right through birds so I keep pellets in my parrots cages at all times. I would not want to think about what would happen if they ran out of food and I was unavailable to replenish it. I do feed my parrots/canary meals in the AM and in the evening. They look forward to the warm morning breakfast and their evening meal is full of nuts and parts of my evening meal that they can safely eat and some fresh veggies. I want my birds to come to me because they enjoy my companionship not just because I'm their meal ticket and they are hungry.

[danmcq]

I suspect (may be wrong) that perhaps the previous owner allowed him to sit just like that at night as well? If so, it is a habit you will need to work on changing. Also, let him scream his head off for food outside the cage and ignore it. Place his food in those bowls inside the cage and when he realizes your not going to hold a bowl for his highness, he will go in the cage to eat or go to sleep without food which won't kill him. I guarantee you he will go in that cage when he gets hungry enough.

 

One thing I do see, is there are no perches in front of the bowls for him to easily sit and enjoy eating out of the bowls. Get some perches and place them along the cage in front of them. Move that long perch that presently crosses the middle of the cage way up say 14 to 16 inches from the top. They will always wish to perch in the highest location when kicking back and sleeping at night. It is instinctive for them to do so. This perch placed there may just well become the place he wishes to perch rather than the cage door that will then be lower. Also, get one of those nice twisted looking cement perches and mount it on the side of the door so when you open it, he will have that to perch on instead of the top of the cage door.

[dannybrah92]

Thank you so much Dan.

The owner made sure for him to sleep inside his cage usually (I think) I will ask today.

 

There was in fact one of those perches inside his cage that you couldn't see in that picture (It was in the top left corner)

 

I have moved it outside his cage for him to stand here instead, great idea!

 

I can NOT move the perch inside his cage because it wont come out.. unless I take the screws out of the perch which doesn't seem possible.

 

 

Here is his set up now, I moved the bowels a little lower for him.

 

Please give me ANY advice possible, especially to get him to go into his cage.

I will refrain from feeding him .. but if he makes too much noise I got to or else he may end up bothering the neighbors.

 

 

It also seems to me he wants to be as high as possible, I placed the cement perch like 8 inches lower and he went on it and left to go back onto something higher, so I moved it as far high as I could and now he is chilling on it.

Edited September 27, 2013 by dannybrah92

[Timbersmom]

Dan made a good point (one of several) about putting perches for him to stand on while he eats. I have one of those cactus wood types between Timber's bowls (One for pellets and seeds, one for fresh food). He will always stand on the perch, reach over, get something then stand on the perch to eat it. The perch is about level with the top of the bowls. His water bowl can be accessed from the long perch (similar to the one in your pic). He will stand on the edge of the bowls once in awhile, but most often he stands on the perch to eat or drink. The perch you have on the outside for him now looks a lot more comfortable!

 

I am not sure what you mean about not being able to move the perch. It you take that nut you can see off the end, you can move it? You don't take the screw out of the perch.

[dannybrah92]

Dan made a good point (one of several) about putting perches for him to stand on while he eats. I have one of those cactus wood types between Timber's bowls (One for pellets and seeds, one for fresh food). He will always stand on the perch, reach over, get something then stand on the perch to eat it. The perch is about level with the top of the bowls. His water bowl can be accessed from the long perch (similar to the one in your pic). He will stand on the edge of the bowls once in awhile, but most often he stands on the perch to eat or drink. The perch you have on the outside for him now looks a lot more comfortable!

 

I am not sure what you mean about not being able to move the perch. It you take that nut you can see off the end, you can move it? You don't take the screw out of the perch.

 

I removed it but it wont budge... Because the screws are so long and stick out of the cage, it wasn't possible

 

Can you tell me if bowl/perch placement is good? should I put the bowels a little higher/closer/further?

 

-edit is the cement placement also good? should i have it a certain way, he likes to stand on the edge.

Edited September 27, 2013 by dannybrah92

[Timbersmom]

He should be able to reach into the bowl with his beak from the perch (if possible). Timber is a TAG, so he is on the small side. Sometimes he will put one foot on the edge of the bowl, leave the other on the perch, reach in a get what he wants then put both feet on the perch to eat it. I hope someone with more experience will come along and address this.

 

Timber has several perches (different sizes and materials) in his cage and he uses them all. Since he can't fly in the cage, he likes to have lots of things to step on as he navigates around. Some might not like it so cluttered.

[Wingy]

That perch might be stuck in place by poop or food bits. Try getting the sides around the screws and cage bars wet with warm water and letting it sit to soften up any "natural glue". Unscrew the wing nuts on each side and reach your hand in and pull on one side nearest the cage bars lifting up toward the cage top. You might need to put a bit of muscle in it. When it gives the other side might fall down and land with a thud so place a newspaper section or towel on the bottom so it doesn't land with a BANG!. Once you get it out you can clean the cage bars and perch. To put it back in tilt one side high, align each side and slowly bring it level. It sounds like it will be tight so you might be able to let go to place the wing nuts back on.