alex2014 Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Here is my dilemma, then again maybe it's a good one to have. A little background: When I was looking for a grey that needed re-homing I ended up getting Alex three weeks ago, I am slowly gaining his trust, he talks to me a little now and for the first time last night when I said 'Alex tickle' he came over to the perch right next to the cage door and put his head down and let me stroke the back of his neck. 1 step at a time. When i was looking for a grey I was talking with someone local who was looking to also re-home a 4 year old, before I could meet him (Rocco) and make a decision a friend of hers decided she wanted him so I got Alex. She called me last night and wanted to know if i was still interested because her friend changed their mind after learning of all the work involved in owning a grey. Due to her changing lifestyle she knows she does not have the time anymore to give Rocco the attention he needs. And i feel sorry for Rocco because she only lets him out once in awhile when she is home. Would it a ok to introduce another grey into my home at this point? I was thinking it might be good for them to learn and interact with each other and have some company when I am not home. Will 2 males that were not raised together be ok? I don't want them to fight or anything. Each will have their own cage. Thoughts? I am looking to those with experience with having more than one grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 I would not hesitate to take in Rocco. I have 2 female greys, and althought they aren't buddies, (one is a tag, and one is a cag) they tolerate each others existence in my home. All 3 of my birds come out of their cages at the same time, and I have plenty of perches, play stands, brings so they always can find a place of their own. I also keep 3 different places of food and water for them so they have no reason to have to fight if they want a nibble or two. I was concerned that their would be jealousy, but they each get their own time on me and the other seems to understand that and they will do their own thing on a perch or hanging out on a boing. the best part of having more than one, is they do get that flock need met, although as I said, they don't interact much, they do look for the other and contact call a lot. They want to be together in the same area, especially when I'm not home, they seem happier having the others in the same room (while in their cages) I don't feel so bad working all day cause they aren't alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 It is so early in Alex life with you, that introducing another this early wouldn't faze him in the leat as he doesn't yet have a set routine alone with you for wry long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex2014 Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share Posted June 7, 2014 Thank you for the advice, although I was not even looking for another one after being with Alex even this short time is so enjoyable. When he interacts with me and seeing he is happy when I come home and let him out to play just makes my day. It breaks my heart after all the reading and advice I have received on here to know that Rocco is now for the most part is cage bound and not receiving the attention he deserves and needs. I am going to meet Rocco today and make my decision. John, Alex and maybe Rocco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Wonderful! I wasnt looking for another grey either, but ended up with my second one Rikki after a new member joined here and posted a thread asking how to keep their new grey they took in as a rehome, QUIET!! I was so disgusted by them and their lack of knowledge and them trying to shut a grey up, that I made a reply that if they didnt want it, I would take it! well little did I know, they only lived 2 hours away from me..and asked me if I would take it..I did t really want another, but there was no way I was letti g this grey stay in home where people wanted it quiet! So they drove to my house, bird and cage in hand...and I became Rikki's 4th and forever home in her short year and a half! And she is a sweetheart, I love her to pieces!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Hi John and Alex. I have two greys: Ana Grey (F-tag {6 in August}) and Sterling Gris (M-cag {3}). They beak touch occasionally and share. Ana Grey is the boss and eats first and then leaves and then Sterling Gris comes in for the finish. (I give them treats while out of their cages) Sterling Gris is a big guy and a big eater. They do not fight. I also have a BF zon, Louie (6) who is the guard. He watches over everyone and occasionally Sterling Gris will shoo Louie (6) off of a perch he wants. They do not fight; they have established their own "pecking" order. I do watch them all closely after all, they are feisty healthy parrots. I have had the greys since before they were each 6 months old. They have basically grown up together. There is no guarantee that birds/parrots will get along. Personalities are different. Prior lives (other homes) were different. I consider myself lucky that my fids get along. But that's today so I watch them closely all the time. Who knows what tomorrow may bring???? I also have a male canary but he stays in his cage when my parrots are out. Ana Grey would eat him alive if she could. (see not all birds like each other). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex2014 Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share Posted June 7, 2014 I went and visited Rocco today, he is 2 years old and very tame. He stepped right up to my wrist from his cage and let me tickle him behind the neck, when I put him on top his cage he flew right back to my arm, very social. The girl that raised him seems to have done a great job so far. Never even tried to bite me. I know he may change a little when adjusting to his new home and Alex. He only says a few words but Alex talks his head off, should be a good teacher. I pick him up tomorrow, thanks for all the feedback and advice. John, Alex and soon to be Rocco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Sounds great! I'm glad you decided to take Rocco. Good luck and God bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Oh yay! I am so excited! Can't wait to here more and see pictures!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Congrats on your new companion. Looking forward to hearing how your two companions relate to each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 OH another member suffering from MBS Enjoy your new companions.(OH pictures pleaes) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Looking forward to hearing and seeing lots of pictures of Rocco, congrats on your new addition to the flock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brat Birds Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 That is wonderful!! What a happy little flock you will have. Thank you for taking in rehomes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inara Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Seems like a meant to be situation. Perhaps it will be positive for Alex to see how relaxed Rocco is. Keep in mind that Rocco may get confused after a few days as to where his former person is. Although saying that, HRH Inara never looked back. She and I bonded from the start and she settled right in. She was two years old so perhaps it was her instinct to leave her nest of origin anyway. Can't wait for pictures and to hear all about how your two guys and you flourish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2birds Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Yay for Rocco!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex2014 Posted June 8, 2014 Author Share Posted June 8, 2014 Here is my newly adopted, CAG, meet Rocco. looks like Alex has a flock now, LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Oh how wonderful!! He is a beauty for sure! Now let the fun begin as he settles in. Although my Rikki settled in quickly, it took her 2 years for her to fully understand that this was her forever home....and we had some moments along the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brat Birds Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Handsome man!! Looking forward to stories about them both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) Way to go John, jumping in with both feet and creating an overnight flock. You must have that magnetic attraction to find two beautiful boys just meant for your home. It's going to be a great experience with challenges exceeded by the joys of living with two African Greys. Welcome to the forum. Edited June 9, 2014 by katana600 Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muse Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I see that you have already decided to take in Rocco, and that is wonderful! I will throw my two cents in here. We started life with two baby Greys from the same breeder. Unrelated, they were hatched around the same time and hand fed as a group. They were already very familiar with each other and bonded to both each other and to us. Marden to both of us, and Megan mostly to my husband, at first. Then the unthinkable happened. Marden acquired a systemic Aspergillus infection, attributed to eating something that was contaminated with a large amount of the Aspergillus spores (we suspect feed (dried) field corn in a commercial bird food mix). Though we went through a month of constant vet care, we lost the fight, and he died at the hospital on January 13th of this year. I was devastated by his loss and didn't even want to think about getting another Grey. However, back when we got the Greybies, we took them for their first 'well-baby' vet check, and our avian vet at that time said he believed all birds should be kept with at least one other bird of their kind or at least one they were bonded with. He said there are things they can get from another bird that no human can give them. The first few weeks after Mar died, life was a blur for me. I existed, but it was behind a wall of pent up emotion that burst through many times each day into a flood of tears. I was so worried about Megan that I began to indulge her. She actually gained quite a few grams. Then I started noticing she did not want to take her turn in the playroom. I'd put her in and she'd fly to me before I could get out the door. Or the times I managed to get out the door, she'd sit as near as she could get to the door and call piteously to me or call for her daddy. She didn't play hardly at all, either in her cage or in the play room. I finally realized I needed to put on my big girl panties and think of our girl instead of feeling sorry for myself. We started to look for another Grey. Matt, the founder of Project Perry, knew we were looking. They'd been approached by Peck's owner and were not able to take him. He's a wild-caught boy, twenty-three years or so old, and had been caged for several years while he was in the care of his owner's parents. The parents were no longer able to care for him and his owner was planning for the future as she is leaving the country so she knew she needed to find him a new home. We corresponded by email and she decided we'd be a good home for him. On April 11th he came to live with us. The difference in Megan was profound. She started wanting to go in the playroom again, and once in there she is now all over the room, playing and climbing on the net, all over the play stands, and flying around the room. She was acting like her old self again. Even though she and Peck don't share the same kind of bond she shared with Marden, it was a huge change in her attitude. She seems far happier now. We did go through an episode of what might have been plucking or a really bizarre moult. We rushed her to the vet and had a ton of bloodwork done. This happened all overnight one night - the next morning it looked like half a bird on the bottom of the cage. There has been nothing further since, except the normal feather here and there like all the other birds. Did she have an isolated moment of itchy skin and pluck out the feathers to soothe the itch? Was it some kind of bizarre hormonal flux that caused a massive dropping of feathers? (I used to have a monthly "moult" that made me swear I was going to be bald and it was attributed to a big shift in hormones). The vet did say she didn't see they typical little red 'dots' where the feathers are plucked from the follicles so it didn't look plucked to her, but it sure was bare! We don't know what happened and probably never well. I just know we snuck red palm fruit oil into everything and gave her lots of showers and sprays with Soother spray and she's all nice and feathered now. Aside from that, she's been doing much better since Peck entered our lives. I think it is good for them to have another of their own kind. Currently, all of the birds here do except our newest resident, Ariel the Fischer's Lovebird. I am sure as the rescue grows and we take in more birds, that will change. I bet you will end up having two very good friends, who enjoy both your and each others' company. I think having more than one Grey is the best way to go and I am sure you will be blessed many times over for your kindness in adopting both these birds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inara Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 What a handsome guy Rocco is, and I am really looking forward to updates!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Congrats on the new guy joining your household I thin you will have some fun stories in the future. Looking forward to sharing some of those on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 He is gorgeous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex2014 Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 Taking Rocco to the vets today, I want to start out the right way by getting him a complete check-up. Did the same with Alex when I first got him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inara Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Good for you. It is great to have a checkup done and to introduce Rocco to the vet and vice versa. How is Alex doing with a new guy in the hiuse or do you have Rocco quarantined? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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