Brand new African Grey

[jdsiratt]

My husband and I just brought home our bird tonight. He is about 7 months old. Very gentle and likes to give kisses. We are first time owners.

 

Peppie, our parrot, is making sounds like he is cooing. He keeps flapping his wings......I don't know if we should take to the vet to be checked out or if we should give him time to get used to us and his new surroundings first.

[Ray P]

Hi jdsiratt, Welcome to the two of you and your new companion Peppie to the grey forum.

A vet check as soon as possible would be in your s and Peppie s best interest

P.S. We love pictures.

[Inara]

How exciting for you and Peppie to have found one another. He sounds like such a little sweetheart. You have landed in the best forum ever. In my own short time here, I've come to know that everyone here is very helpful and that the various threads are filled with an incredible wealth of information. Be sure to take a lot of time and go through them, you will learn a lot. We all really love to share photos and videos too, so don't be shy.

 

Here is a great thread for you to read that will help you understand Peppie's body language:

 

Parrot Body Language

 

It's always a good idea to find an avian vet as soon as you can and to have your bird looked over. This establishes a relationship with a vet, it keeps you from ever having to search frantically for one in the case of an unforseen emergency and allows the vet to have a baseline on your bird as well. Did your bird come with any earlier papers from having been vetted and/or DNA sexed, etc? It's nice to know when your bird was last seen by a vet and given a clean bill of health.

 

I think what you're asking, though, is should you take him in right away. If he's been shown to be healthy, there's probably no rush, and is a matter of opinion/preference. Personally, I took Inara in after giving her a few days to settle in to her new home. In prep for the vet trip, I put her in and out of her travel cage several times over those few days, so that she did not just associate it with going to the vet, and/or going to a new owner. You might want to consider doing something along those lines while you're waiting for an appointment.

 

Would love to know more about your young guy. What's his name? How did you come to find him? And photos are always great, as Ray said!

[judygram]

Hello JDsiratt and welcome to our family.

Congrats on your new member of the family, I hope you have done your homework to know what you are getting into and how to properly take care of an African grey but you have made a giant step in coming here for we have a wealth of information in our many threads that will be helpful to you in the coming weeks and months.

Take it slow and easy for sometimes in the honeymoon phase when they first come home they can be on their best behavior and when they settle into their new home and feel more comfortable that's when more of their true personality comes thru so don't be surprised if you take a step or two back as he settles in.

Do you know any of his background? If not then it might be a good idea to let him be checked out by an avian vet, just to see if he is healthy or has any issues that need to be addressed or taken care of, it will also serve as a baseline in the event he ever gets sick.

I would love to see some pictures of Peppie if you have some you would share with us.

[Luvparrots]

Welcome jdsiratt, looking forward to getting to know you and your new companion.

[Timbersmom]

Hello and welcome to you and Peppie Good luck and God bless! If you have any questions just ask.