is he scared?

[jbsmomto1]

I know I almost never post here but only bc I really feel like I am not an overly helpful person with grey's nc I haven't had then as long. So I do hope its ok that I still post my question here. here goes

 

Storm is 2.5, he is an amazing bird who is able to make some awesome noises, sound effects usually but he does have some words "goodboy, gonna get your beak, I got it, hey you, Barb are some, he seems to excel at making sounds more then he does words but whatever its all good, he is my boy with 500 words or none. He is also very bonded to me, I tried to not let that happen because I was wanting my daughter to be able to handle him easily and friends etc etc but he bonded anyway with me, which I am ok with its just not what I had intended. My 12 year old however seems to get the agressive side of him and he has bitten her numerous times, painful bites but no broken skin thank goodness. He usually does this when she is changing his water at night, so now I told her that he clearly isn't liking her that close to HIS space, I think its odd that he is thatway about his cage because he never spends any time in there except at night of when I am not home, but whatever his space it shall be respected or she will be bitten. I however can do anything to him, even flip him upside down letting him hang by his feet from my fingers and he doesn't bite me often or hard...the only time was when his talongs got stuck in a dog carrier on the wau back from a nail clipping, he has nipped a few times but nothing near what he has caused her. if you go near him with a hat he will growl at you, yet I can wear a hat and he is fine with it lol. he hates me, he won't even let them try to gain his trust, he gets angry and growls and if they got close enough I KNOW he would bite. Ia m able to take him outside for walks onhis harness and female strangers can pet him, he will step up to them (but he usually is careful to keep one foot on me and one on the other person and whistle to them etc ...but if that same stranger was in my home he wouldn't even let them get close to him .his personality for good reasons has scared off anyone who is thinking of getting a grey. They see how sweet he is with me so they are shocked.....he likes to play, he is a professional with the "drop it game" if winning means I would win a million dollars I would be a billionaire

you give it to him he drops it and looks at the toy on the floor with one eye and the keeps looking from me to the toy until I get it lol. He throws his toys, like really throws them and he seems to be targeting the dog or Jillian, he has fairly decent aim as he gets at least one of them every time. He chases a lazier light like a cat would.

 

So know that you know somethings about him answering my question will be easier....today we moved his cage to a new spot in the living room, I wanted to enrich his activity, he was in a corner before now he against a wall but all 3 sides are open. I have always has a nightlight for him and I still do but I hadn't put it on yet as I need an extension cord so the light is not on the floor when he won't be able to see it. i put him to bed tonight, same routine as every other, kisses, goodnights blahbla, then i perch him and hand him a nutra berry and all is well. Tonight however is his first night in his new spot and I turned on the main living room light. for a while so he can see whats going on and becasue there is no night light for that corner yet. When we turned off the big light, he because restless, starting chewing the cage bars, and making really short beep noises...not normal for him. So now I wonder:

 

Can they be afraid of the dark? it never occurred that parrots could even be scared in the dark not sure why just something I really never gave much thought to. He is also currently sleeping on a perch that he has never slept on...ever. I think its weird lol...the old corner he was able to hear the tv but not but not see it inside hos cage, New spot is off to the side of his cage of the tv so he CAN see it. so maybe different perch to get a better view of tv?

 

wow this is a long post for such a short question, sorry. Gonna fix the nightlight issue tomorrow so hopefully he will be ok tonight. I don't wanna move cage back, there are so many things to view where it is now, but I will if he doesn't adjust well to the new spot

[bluedawg]

It's probably the new spot. He's used to the old spot and gets restless to return to it when the lights are out. Miss dayo wants to be on her night perch when the lights go out or she gets very restless because she can't fly there on her own in the dark. A nightlight might help him to get used to his new space and since he's used to the night light that's another change to get used to if you all of a sudden don't use one.

[Timbersmom]

Greys are often very change resistant. He may not be feeling safe in his new spot, especially if it is more open than the previous one. I have to tell you that Timber would have a fit if I moved his cage. He doesn't react well to any change in his environment, and especially to cage changes. It took him months to accept his new cage. He stayed in his small, older rust bucket until he was ready for the new one.

 

The night light may help, or you might consider a cage cover at bedtime? If he isn't used to a cover that could just make things worse.

[birdhouse]

Okay, first & foremost, please don't ever again have any hesitation about posting >>a-ny-thing<< ever! As long as it's PC & relatively PG-13 ('ish - give or take a little wiggle room lol). Members may have little or nothing in common except for our fids. But we're always here for every fid as best as we can be.

 

Those first years in particular are amazing & wonderful & scary sometimes all w/in 6 mins time. We're greyt to share it all w/because we get all that & more like only another grey parront can.

 

To your questions; yes, birds/prey animals are if not afraid of the dark outright, at least hard wired to be prettyy easily spooked at night. There are scary things that eat them in the wild & lots of them are prowling around at night. If they have a trusted roosting spot, maybe they can at least rest a little easier.

 

You've already seen Storm be cage aggressive. That & territorial are peas in the same pod. Territory & roosting or nesting spots have hardwired importance for birds. And you just took Storm away from his.

 

Also, the way I read your post, his cage is now in a busier spot on top of bbeing 75% exposed vs the 50% he was used to. Then you eliminated his nite light on top of everything. I second everything Timbersmom said. Phenix would most definitely have a big ole meltdown for sure!

 

Since most Greys tend to think all change is just bad, civilization as he knew it has just ceased to exist. The end of the world may be here soon! lol

 

So, first, like Timbersmom said, can you cover part of his cage w/o freaking him out? That would help him feel more secure until he's adjust to this wide open new space. During the day as well as nighttime. Also, if he's used to his night light, that might be important, too. If you haven't experienced night frights you really don't want to start now. Could you possibly rig something up just for tonight?

[jbsmomto1]

He did settle down and was quiet and back on his normal perch for the night. He is awake now and whistling. clucking and beeping lol, all these point to a happy boy. I will leave him as is today and see how he is before bedtime actually comes. I don't think I would even try to cover him as he has never been, I don't imagine that he would appreciate that anymore than the cage spot change. Its' really only a few feet difference in location but to him I suppose that may as well be like a whole continent change.

[birdhouse]

Oh yay!!! If that's all there was to it, then I'm really glad for you both. You should also be congratulated for raising a well adjusted grey. Extra points because at his age, they're often such a handful.

 

By comparison if I do something like this w/Phenix, say replace a perch in his cage, he sits on his food cup & won't move for days. Obviously the polar opposite end of the scale personality-wise. And I think people tend to post more about that type of grey than Storm's. So there's another reason for you to post sometimes, too btw. ")

[Stan]

I have changed cages 4 times and moved Congo to different locations over the past 25 years. I usually fill up 1 of his food dishes with lots of fresh veggies and goodies to eat to relieve his stress and it works. Usually within a few hours he adapt to the new surroundings.

 

As for your 12 year old. Let her be the "only 1" to feed Storm his favorite treats everyday. She needs to talk soothingly to Storm while giving him his treats. Storm will associate her with receiving his favorite treats and after 3 or more weeks will start to accept her. Eventually she will be able to slowly pet Storm yet she will still have to be aware of what mood Storm is in.

 

Now with dogs African Greys can be very funny. My Congo has outlived 2 of my dogs, I have 3 dogs now ranging from 50lb to a 2 year old Newfoundland that's 125lbs and still growing. When Congo was younger he would open the door to his cage and would purposely drop some food on the floor. When he noticed the dogs would eat whatever he dropped. Congo would do 1 of 2 things, sometimes Congo would wait outside the cage and try to grab the dogs hair as they raised their heads. I know my dogs are friendly and wouldn't bite Congo. They see Congo as a food giver and are always looking for treats from him. I wouldn't allow this if the dog had short hair or are unsure of how the dog would react. My dogs caught onto Congo quickly so they would back out without lifting their heads so Congo changed his tactics. Now after spilling some food on the floor he would rush back into his cage grab his water dish and would carry it to the front door flip it over on top of the dogs. It was just so funny to watch how intelligent Congo was and how he could trick the dogs into doing what he wanted. Eventually the dogs caught onto that and as soon as they hear Congo's water dish making noise they are out of their. I also have to laugh when Congo calls the dogs by name with either my voice or my wife's and they come running in looking at us then realizing that crazy bird is causing trouble again. Sometimes when I'm eating crackers with peanut butter (Congo's favorite) my 3 dogs are all sitting in front of me to get some. Congo comes out of his cage walks in between the dogs climbs up on me and waits for his piece. Yes, I give them all a little then when I'm finished they go back to whatever they were doing before.

 

Enjoy Storm eventually you will have many stories to tell.

[chezron]

Watch him for signs that he is not adjusting. It may be necessary to move him back if he is freaking out too much. He will probably be fine.

[jbsmomto1]

I think he is fine . He spent a good chunk of the day on top of the cage, on his boing, he has a boing in the kitchen as well. He has been whistling up a storm (lol) and he was quite taken by the snow, stood up straight and tall to watch it, tried to catch it as it fell. If there is goingto be any further problems I expect they will be at bedtime but I think he just grand now.

[chezron]

Well that's good!