FlyingBailey Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) Hello guys, My dad has had a 10 year old grey (Bailey) for a month now. He will eat from our hands but will not step up or be touched. My dad noticed him splashing about in his drinking water so decided to get a bath. My dad proceeds to get a small shiny metal bathtub and attaches it to the bottom of his cage, he then goes for a nap smh. I come into the room about 10 minutes later, Bailey's pupils were very small and he was stood very still on the edge of his open-top cage perch in the corner (I'm not an expert but he looked petrified). I assumed that something was wrong so put my hand out and called his name expecting him to shuffle away as he normally does, he didn't move and let me touch his tail so I moved my hand back quickly to see what was wrong as this was VERY different behaviour. I immediately moved the metal bath to another room and after a brief search for the bath he was back to normal. Not just back to normal, he now puts his head down when I put my hand near it waiting to be petted and stroked! When my dad puts his hand near he lunges viciously. I want him to stop liking me and start liking my dad, how do I reverse our roles. Do I have to avoid Bailey? Edited September 2, 2015 by FlyingBailey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Hello guys, My dad has had a 10 year old grey (Bailey) for a month now. He will eat from our hands but will not step up or be touched. My dad noticed him splashing about in his drinking water so decided to get a bath. My dad proceeds to get a small shiny metal bathtub and attaches it to the bottom of his cage, he then goes for a nap smh. I come into the room about 10 minutes later, Bailey's pupils were very small and he was stood very still on the edge of his open-top cage perch in the corner (I'm not an expert but he looked petrified). I assumed that something was wrong so put my hand out and called his name expecting him to shuffle away as he normally does, he didn't move and let me touch his tail so I moved my hand back quickly to see what was wrong as this was VERY different behaviour. I immediately moved the metal bath to another room and after a brief search for the bath he was back to normal. Not just back to normal, he now puts his head down when I put my hand near it waiting to be petted and stroked! When my dad puts his hand near he lunges viciously. I want him to stop liking me and start liking my dad, how do I reverse our roles. Do I have to avoid Bailey? This will happen periodically when new things are introduced. It can happen even if a fantastic new bird toy is introduced. Some greys don't like change, some don't mind it. Your bird will eventually come back to dad but when it'll happen is anyone's guess although it should be soon. This doesn't happen frequently with timneh greys. Not to worry about it. There's a section in the health room whih has to do with body language. It'll tell you a lot. You don't have to avoid him. If you don't mind me asking, why do you want him to stop liking you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Sometimes it's out of our hands as to which favorite person your grey will select. I brought my grey home as a baby, hoping that he and I will be the best of friends. We are bonded, but my youngest son is his absolute favorite. But that's okay. I still have a great bond with Maalik, but respect that his first pick is my son. Just like us, we have people that we deeply connect with, while others: not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Your dad has only had this grey for a month and if you didn't know it already everything moves slowly in grey time. That means they are slow to accept anything new or different but all is not lost. Just give him time to get over the invasion of something strange in his cage but greys are notorious for picking favorites. I used to be my grey's favorite for the first 7 or so years of her life then she picked my hubby as her favorite, we still have a good relationship but he can do almost anything with her. I would have your dad continue to interact with Bailey and to not take it personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoow Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Echoing Dave's question as I'm curious as to why you wouldn't want him to like you. In addition, I purchased a bath to hang on the inside of Alfie's cage. It's made of plastic and he can either stand on the side or climb right in to bath. Many months later he is more interested in chewing in it or standing on top of it than he is bathing in it..and still bathes in his water bowl... which he can probably only get one awkward foot in to! Greys are contrary beings and operate by the rules they invent.. not ours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Your dad didn't do anything intentionally to disturb Bailey and you didn't do anything to "turn him against" dad and take affection away. They are thinking individuals. He may be grateful to you for now and he may be mad at your dad but this is early in a new relationship. For my part with it taking a long long time to get through to our little rehomed Timneh female, anyone who has the slightest bit of trust is a tremendous tool to help Miss Gilbert trust humans in general and has been really instrumental in gaining favor with her. This is a bonus, not something you want to intentionally reverse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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