Mahi - 6 months old African Grey - lovely treat :)

[crazyinstinct]

Hiya all!

 

I've just owned a Congo African Grey 7 days back, and I call it Mahi.

His age is 6 months.

I love him and wish to become a very caring and loving owner of this intelligent bird.

 

I have many questions in my mind and I have been researching on the needs and best practices of keeping Mahi happy and content - and to ensure potent upbringing.

 

When I got him, he was extremely frightened if I even went near the cage, and in 7 days I've managed to get him comfortable to feed from my hand (but inside cage only). His wings are intact so I do not intend to get him out of cage as of now, as he is frightened and won't allow me to touch him (I can touch his beak only).

 

As he's too young (6 months old), I'm afraid of feeding him everything - I only give apple (sometimes) and sunflower seeds. Nothing else yet. I got him checked with a Vet and all is good with him..

 

Any tips, suggestions or best practices would be highly appreciated - I want to make no mistake in giving this beautiful and lovely bird the best upbringing.

 

Please provide all your expert advices, I'm really keen on knowing everything there is to know

 

Great place, btw - I like how all of us are gathered here, having this beautiful thing in common

 

Cheers,

 

Riten

Edited December 20, 2013 by crazyinstinct

[BaileysPapa]

Hello, and welcome to our forum. There are many wonderful, knowledgeable and helpful people here. Please look through all the information. First, give Mahi time to get to know you. Do not force yourself on him. Take things slow. Also, try to feed him all kinds of things. Now is the time to expose him to good food choices. Parrot pellets are good for him, and all kinds of fruits & vegetables. Read about toxic foods for parrots in the feeding section. No onions, chocolate, avocado, or a few others. Just remember that he is a baby, and everything is new to him. So it really is important that you go at his pace with things.

[Timbersmom]

Hello and welcome to you and Mahi! If I were you I'd read all the stickys. Specifically, here is where to start on food and diet http://www.greyforums.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?6-Bird-Food

[Luvparrots]

Welcome to you and Mahi. Looking forward to learning more about the two of you.

[crazyinstinct]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies!

I will keep updating with my progress with my new companion.

I am happy today as Mahi was making chirping and whistle sounds all day today, and he seemed very happy, content and playful.

 

Also, some times (2 times till date) Mahi holds the top of the cage (and he is upside down) and flaps his wings constantly (as if trying to fly) - Is this a known behaviour? Does he want to come out of the cage? I tried to go near him so he stops doing that, but he doesn't stop immediately, after a while he does.

[crazyinstinct]

Hello and welcome to you and Mahi! If I were you I'd read all the stickys. Specifically, here is where to start on food and diet http://www.greyforums.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?6-Bird-Food

 

Thanks a lot - just finished reading them all

[Timbersmom]

Timber does that too (hanging and flapping). As as I know, it's just a bird thing. I'll let someone with more experience with a flighted bird address the question of when to let him out of the cage.

[JeffNOK]

Welcome! I hope you continue to enjoy life with a grey. It is lots of fun and very rewarding. I look forward to more posts from you letting up know how all is going.

[Luvparrots]

Mahi is exercising his wings. Do you let him come out of his cage? He sounds like a very sweet grey.

[Brat Birds]

Welcome. Mahi sounds too cute. Please feed him his pellets and fresh fruits and veggies. He should be given pellets to have to munch on at all times. Fresh foods at least twice a day in small amounts that he can eat up in a short time. At six months he is still a baby and needs his food at regular times.

Try and see if he will step up onto your hand. When he does this it will be easier to retrieve him when he is out of the cage. Start teaching him to return to the cage and you will have no trouble managing him when you want him back in the cage.

[crazyinstinct]

Hey thanks a lot for your posts

I can tell from his body language that he really wants to come out of the cage - but he is still afraid of random things and even me, and wouldnt let me touch him (he hesitates and retreats). If i take him out, im not sure if he will let me put him back in later. Ill try to get a bigger cage for now so he can play around better inside. Any more suggestions?

[crazyinstinct]

Welcome. Mahi sounds too cute. Please feed him his pellets and fresh fruits and veggies. He should be given pellets to have to munch on at all times. Fresh foods at least twice a day in small amounts that he can eat up in a short time. At six months he is still a baby and needs his food at regular times.

Try and see if he will step up onto your hand. When he does this it will be easier to retrieve him when he is out of the cage. Start teaching him to return to the cage and you will have no trouble managing him when you want him back in the cage.

 

Thanks, he is really too cute and lovely

ill try to see if he steps up, he is too eager to come out

[Ray P]

Hi riten and Mahi to the grey forum.

The members have given you some good advice.

We love pictures.

[MKparrot]

Hello and welcome. Red as much of a sticky threads especially regarding food and health.

Some pictures of Mahi will be appreciated :-)

How do you name your parrot? Why Mahi? Does it mean something?

[crazyinstinct]

Hey, ive managed to take a pic of Mahi to share with you all, will upload clearer ones later from my camera.

Mahi means someone you love, it also means "world". I like the sound of the word

Thanks a lot to everyone, its good to feel that I have experts to guide me in taking good care of my Mahi

[Timbersmom]

Pretty bird! Thanks for sharing

[judygram]

Hello Riten and welcome to our family.

Mahi is a beautiful baby grey, thanks for sharing that with us.

[danmcq]

Welcome to the forum it's great having you here. Thanks for sharing the photo of your grey. :-)

[crazyinstinct]

Thanks a lot guys )

Quick question, is this cage okay for Mahi? I just got this one because the other was too small for him. Is the setup ok? Any faults? Please let me know.

http://phtr.co/1c0L62j (cage photo - updated)

 

Edit:

Please note the dimensions of the cage if it helps you guys evaluate better (almost accurate).

24" x 30" are the sides

height is 42"

Edited December 23, 2013 by crazyinstinct
Adding more details and replacing a link for straight picture

[JeffNOK]

It is difficult for me to give an opinion on the cage by the photo. What are it's dimensions/size?

[MKparrot]

...yes, JeffNOK is wright. It is difficult to give opinion with no dimensions...and bar spacing also. It seems to me that perches are thin, but maybe I am wrong. Perches (wood, not plastic) should be in variety of 1.1" to 1.4" in diameter.

 

You will find a lot of useful info about cages and perches on the Forum. Read as much as you can. Meanwhile, just in brief, here are some tips about the cages by Paula Dansie of the AGPC.

 

There is a mass abundance of information out there about parrot cages, their shapes, size’s, colours and styles, I thought I would put this article together to offer a few hints and tips and the basic’s I have learnt over the years to help you to decide which cage is best suited to you, your parrot and your home.

 

1. Size Counts

 

Firstly the most important factor is the size of the cage the best rule to go by is the bigger the better, and where you are planning on keeping your parrot to ensure you have enough space for it. The cage needs to be big enough for your parrot to be able to freely spread it’s wings have a flap about for exercise, on the other hand if the cage is too big it could cause a problem to smaller parrots, for instance if you had a cage big enough to house a macaw the bar spacing will be far too big for a smaller parrot such as a Timneh Grey meaning there’s a high possibility its feet and head are caught and panic could cause untold damage, any good pet shop that sells cages can help you with information on the size of the cage you should be buying to suit your parrot.

 

2. Maintenance

 

Also to consider when buying a cage is it easy to keep clean and maintain. The best type to look for are the ones with a pull out tray to make cleaning the bottom of the cage a lot easier. Also another great feature which make life a lot easier are food and water bowls that are replaced without opening the main door of the cage with the possibility of letting your parrot out, they are cheeky things and often take advantage of an open door, this type of water bowls have their own small doors and as I say really is a neat feature.

 

3. Positioning your Cage

 

The cage should be kept in a position where your parrot will feel safe which is away from drafts such as windows which can make your parrot too hot if left in direct sunlight, another really important factor to think about is if you put your parrot cage in front of the window you could be leaving yourself wide open to being broken into and having your beloved parrot stolen which unfortunately really does happen a lot. Your parrot is worth lots of money and thieves often target parrots these days and would rather steal your parrot than a big heavy appliance like a TV, you may think that it would be hard to steal a parrot but once covered over with something a parrot becomes quiet and still.

 

Also consider placing your parrot cage somewhere that you and your family will pass and visit a fair number of times a day, parrots are social animals and love to be part of the action and have contact with you and the family so the living room would make a great place, ideally your cage should be placed in a corner of the room that is well lit so your parrot has some security of knowing that it can’t be approached from the back of it’s cage and/or one side which gives it the feeling of safety.

 

4. Toys & Amusements

 

You need to think about what toys you are going to put inside the cage for your parrot’s amusement, African greys love playing with toys and can amuse themselves with toys for a long time, simple things like a rope can keep them happy for many hours or something as simple as a wooden toy that they can chew with a bell which rattles when moved (Make sure it’s not so noisy that it irritates you). There are so many toys out there you just need to make sure that they are safe and can’t get caught round you birds neck or have tiny bits that can be swallowed (just like a small child), check any toy you buy carefully and if your not 100% sure it is safe DON’T buy it. Once you have some toys you can always rotate them around in the cage to keep them amused and as soon as one becomes too damaged such as a rope being shredded into bits remove it, our African grey Reggie must have been shredding his rope toy when we were out as when we came home he had it all tied round his feet and was sat on the bottom of his cage, for this reason we now remove any toys that get a little tatty.

 

5. Perches

 

You really need to consider the type of perches you use in your cage, the perches that usually come with a cage as standar are not really ideal and should be replaced with something more appropriate as soon as possible, something like java branches or branches from fruit trees such as pear, apple, hazelnut or even willow tress can all be used as long as you wash them down first and let them dry before placing the in the cage. This will provide your parrot with different thickness of perches, I also highly recommend a placing a concrete perch in the cage near the food or water bowls to ensure your parrot uses them, this will help to keep your parrots nails trim and beak under control as they like to rub it on the perch, I use more than one in the cage near the bowls as I mentioned, you can even get them in different colours and sizes, these are sold at most pet shops and each pack should have what size bird it is most suited too, just use your intuition to work out what size is best.

 

If your planning on letting your parrot out of the cage a lot (which you should!) you can consider buying your parrot a play gym, there are many good play gyms out there on the market, the one we use is the Java parrot tower which is great as it is on castors and has a big tray that catches all the dropped food and droppings, best of all the java branches can all be taken off to be cleaned, also you can move them about and add rope and sandy perches to help keep the parrots nails down. Our African grey Reggie sometimes stay out for days on end, he is very good and will just sit and play on his parrot tower, have a fly about from time to time but always returns back to his tower, he hates being in his cage though I would not recommend leaving your African grey out when you’re not around unless your 100% sure it will not get into trouble or fly down and chew things (Read the home hazards for Greys article), I am home all day long so am never far away in such cases, if we go out at all and no one is at home then we put him away. Reggie has been trained over the 12 years we have had him and even now sometimes gets over excited and flies down when he wants some extra attention!

 

Cage Hints and Tips Summary

 

Get the biggest but most appropriate cage for your parrot that you can fit into your home

Choose a cage that is easy to maintain, check the bowls can be changed in their own doors and their are pull out trays, make sure you clean your cage regularly

Position your cage in a safe position away from drafts, hot/cold areas and always ensure it’s not on show to the outside world in case of theft

Always fill your cage with toys to keep your parrot amused but always ensure they are in good condition to keep your parrot safe

Dump those standard perches, replace with Java or safe tree branches and concrete perches near their bowls for ongoing nail/beak maintenance

 

[Inara]

Welcome, Riten and Mahi! What a beautiful name for such a beautiful bird. What a fortunate little fellow he is to have such a loving, caring human companion. I'll look forward to hearing more about your adventures together

[crazyinstinct]

Thanks for that info MKparrot, and thanks for the kind words Inara

 

Ill get back with proper sizes and dimensions, sure. One thing that im unsure of is about the height. I had read that Greys shouldnt have falls, especially from heights. Does this cage look insecure in that manner? Does it look like Mahi could have a fall from anywhere? Like the concrete swing at the top, or the top perch...

 

As mines a baby still, at 6 months of age, im more concerned. And im too new too, hence the questions

Hope to hear more from all you Grey companions

[crazyinstinct]

It is difficult for me to give an opinion on the cage by the photo. What are it's dimensions/size?

 

I just added the dimensions above.

 

24" x 30" are the sides

height is 42"

[MKparrot]

The "recommended" minimum size for a cage housing of Grey is 36” long x 36 “ wide x 40” high. Yet, bigger the better...

Length and width are most important. Bar spacing should be 3/4" to no more than 1-3/8".

You must ensure your bird as much as possible out of cage time.