Adopted new grey

[Aliceinlove]

Hi guys, I hope this thread belongs here. I adopted an African grey last night. He's 10 years old and his name is Diego. I was looking on craigslist for a bird cage, planned on getting a Quaker soon, and there in the ads was an African grey for $550. Call me crazy but that was my dream bird and I took the chance and emailed the seller. She said he was being bullied by the family dog and he needed a new home. Me and my husband knew that we were taking a chance but we went and met him. She brought him in a tiny cat carrier, he had to bend over in it. He smelled so bad of cigarette smoke and his cage was so dirty. I couldn't leave him. She handed me his food, which was a Tupperware container containing a mix of seed, what looked like cat food, and salted peanuts. We took him home and bleached and scrubbed his cage. We threw away all his toys that could have held cigarette residue and went and bought him new ones. Also bought him new food. 

After setting all this up we put him in his cage and talked to him. He whistled and made all kinds of noises and danced. I went to do some work in the office and my husband went to take a shower. My kids start laughing and upon checking, Diego is off his cage wandering around the living room calling out in a microwave beep. So I go in the bathroom and tell my husband that I think Diego is looking for him. My husband calls him and Diego goes in to the bathroom and waits for my husband until he is done in the shower. Anytime he leaves the room Diego beeps at him like a microwave. 

This morning Diego was talking to me, but so softly I couldn't make out what he was saying.

 

But that's my story of finding Diego. Any advice? I'm scared of his beak and have been using a small dowel rod my husband cut to have him step up with to put him back in his cage. He doesn't like it at all.

 

I do plan on getting him to the avian vet soon to make sure he is ok from all the smoke and salt. The closest one in in St. Louis though, we are in the country. That's a few hours away. Can I take him to the regular vet? His claws are so long they are curling back. 

Thank you all for any and all advice or how to's or anything you've got for me.

[neoow]

Thank you for taking in and rescuing this poor bird from such an awful environment.

Sit back, relax and get ready for many wonderful years of learning about your new addition and enjoying his company.

I'm going to steal something I wrote on another introductory post as I think it may be helpful here: "One thing you will learn quite quickly is a little thing called "grey time". This is the time it takes for a grey to adjust and accept changes. This can be changes in routine, toys, location, people etc etc. Your bird has just undertaken a very big change and everything is still very new. Your bird is trying to adjust to a new home, new humans, a new routine, new sounds, new toys... everything. This can be a bit overwhelming for a grey as they can be a little change adverse at times. It can take days, weeks or sometimes months for a grey to adapt to these kind of changes and come out of their shell. This is what we call 'grey time'. Some changes may be more readily accepted by the bird than others... so there's no telling how much 'grey time' is needed for different changes. The important thing to remember is that the grey will show you when they are ready to accept a change or a new offering. They will also show you when they are not ready. A lot of this is shown via their body language- so pay attention to what your grey is doing... especially if you receive a nip or a bite...e.g what were the eyes doing, how were the feathers being held? There may be some subtle signs that your bird gives you before he resorts to a bite. Given enough time, you will start to be able to read your birds body language and will be able to know when the bird has had enough or is happy to progress."

Allow your bird time to settle in and get used to the comings and goings of his new home. Talk to him often, tell him what you're doing, tell him why you're doing it. Maybe read some books to him or ask your children to read to him. This helps him get used to you being around him and gets him used to all of your voices.

He probably doesn't like the dowel rod because he's never seen it before and it's coming straight at him. He will probably bite it in protest of it coming near him. Again, it's going to take 'grey time' for him to get used to it.

There is a massive amount of information on these forums available to you so please feel free to look around and use the search tool. If you don't find an answer to your questions then ask - someone will be able to help out.

In regards to vets- ALWAYS take your bird to an avian vet. Never take them to a 'regular' vet who isn't qualified or trained in avian care. They won't necessarily know how to handle your bird or treat him and this can lead to unnecessary stress for the bird or incorrect advice being given.

I recommend looking into what foods are/aren't safe for your bird. Start giving him some different choices of foods. It may take a little while to wean him off a purely seed based diet but do persevere. He'll find something he likes eventually!

Lastly, we like photos. As and when you're able to, we would love to see some photos of your new feathered friend.

 

[SRSeedBurners]

Our Huey does the microwave beep too when he wants one of us (mostly my wife).  I would get used to using your hand to get him to step up.  Use a treat to distract him onto your hand so he's not contemplating a bite.  He may not be a biter.   

 

It's sounds like both of you scored a great deal!   I would love to see pics of Diego. 

[Timbersmom]

Thank you for rescuing Diego from his less than ideal situation! I also have to drive 2 hours to see Dr. Kirsting in St. Louis. I was fortunate enough to find a vet who "sees birds" who is only about 20 minutes away. They do a good job on nail trims between trips to St. Louis.

[Congo]

Congratulations for adopting. Sounds like nothing but good things are awaiting him in his new home.

I recently adopted a 25 year old CAG and although he was great on my visits to the adoption center and his first day home, he chomped me hard in the second day. This obviously broke the trust for both of us and we are still building it back up. It has been a month and we are making progress.

Like you, I began using a dowel rod to pick him up. He would attack that rod with a vengeance. After weeks of this, last night we had a breakthrough. When he comes out of his cage, he likes to go straight to the floor. This is when I usually pick him up to put him on his playgym. BUT, for some reason, yesterday he stepped up on the dowel with no problem at all. No attack, no bites or chomps. I was shocked and thrilled. 

As many have said, baby steps. It could take a very long time for you to be able to pick him up but keep trying. Look into target training as this has helped me with Morgan.

Edited July 27, 2018 by Congo

[Aliceinlove]

Here is Diego, I'll post more pictures soon. He is doing well. He he gets off his cage and follows us around still. Today he acted like he wanted to step up onto my hand while he was on the floor. But he didn't quite go all the way. He hasn't really talked anymore, just lots of noises and laughs. I'm not sure if he really talks or not. Which I don't care either way. He seems like a very sweet guy so praying he is. He is a little clown. If we don't pay attention he will knock on his cage, pick up and drop his bowl and swing around all silly. 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2018 by Aliceinlove

[Timbersmom]

He's beautiful!   They are attention hounds. My Timber rarely talks when I'm in the room. If I go to another room and listen closely, that's when he talks. I always suspect it's the last trick in his bag to get me to come back to the room he is in.

[Talon]

Congrats on rescuing this beautiful grey.  He is very lucky.  I would do away with the dowel, those are scary if they are not used to it.  If you put you hand facing down and make a fist, when you ask him to step up, there really is nothing for him to latch onto. This will help gain trust. Does he know how to step up?  Please be careful of the bleach, that’s toxic and very bad for them.  They have delicate respiring sytems and can die very quickly from toxic fumes. No candles, air fresheners, self cleaning ovens or chemicals.  

[Aliceinlove]

Thank you for the advice! He did step up last night. Even climbed up my husbands pants legs to get onto his shoulder. Don't worry, I used the bleach outside then sprayed off the cage really well. The cage was that dirty! I didn't even want it in the house. He is still trying to only eat peanuts and sunflower seeds. Adding in veggies but he is scared of them, even when they are in small peices.

[Aliceinlove]

So the woman told me she had to re-home him because her dog was being aggressive to him. Last night Diego tried to fly and he couldn't. His wings were very messed up. 

[SRSeedBurners]

Is it just the flight feathers that are messed up or are the wings mangled?

[judygram]

You need to slow things down a bit, give Diego a chance to settle into his new home, remember we talk in "grey time" here which means go slow and be very patient with him, don't rush him to do something he is uncomfortable with and allow him to make choices, greys do not like being forced to  do something, they want things on their terms. He will let you know when he is ready for more interaction.

I sympathize with the sharp nails as my greys are like needles and I get scratches from her on my hands, some people have luck with pumice type perches but either my grey is not using hers in such a way to wear her nail points down or I have them improperly placed but I usually have to take her and have hers trimmed as she is not willing to let me file them down but some have greys that will allow them to file them, lucky them.

He was probably clipped so that's why he doesn't fly but his wings will grow back though it takes time for a full set to grow in. In the meantime if he has a habit of trying to fly off his cage put some pillows, towels or blankets around so he will have soft landings for a hard one could break his keel bone.

He looks a darling from the picture you shared, don't hesitate to share more of him as we love photos.

[Aliceinlove]

When he spreads his wings all the middle feather arw gone.some broke.

[neoow]

It's possible that the previous owners had his wings clipped to try and prevent him from flying. So long as they didn't totally butcher his wings in the process then hopefully his missing feathers will grow back over time. the ones which are broken may drop out (moult) naturally and regrow. Depending on what happened to him they may not grow back though.

Wing clipping is always up for debate and I believe every bird/flock/home is different and should come to their own conclusions. Personally I have a fully flighted bird because that's what works best for Alfie and his home environment.

I second the recommendation of putting blankets/pillows around his cage/perches if he is trying to fly. At least that will soften the blow if he does crash land.

[SRSeedBurners]

Yep, sounds like a crappy wing clip.   It will take a few months to grow back but they really do love to fly.   Just safe-guard your exits and they'll love you for it.

 

[Acappella]

Congratulations on welcoming Diego into your home and out of his horrible situation.  Sounds like he's well on his way to bonding with your husband.  Be grateful that his contact call is something subtle like a microwave beep.  Sometimes they chose truly unfortunate contact calls, and then you have to do a lot of work to train it out of them.

I don't see anything wrong with picking him up with a dowel.  Just this morning the first thing Dorian did was nail me in my bottom lip for no other reason than he woke up on the wrong side of the perch today.  So I'm using a perch to pick him up and move him around.  Bite me once, shame on him, bite me twice . . .  Sometimes I can just take the bite but this morning my chronic pain condition is especially bad and a bite would be agony.  If you do want to start training him and you to step up on your hand do what Talon advised and make the skin on your hand hard to get hold of.  I believe you'll know when you have enough trust built up to move to your hand.

One thing, I'm not sure I'd allow him onto a shoulder yet.  You don't know him very well, and on a shoulder you can't see him to read his body language.  Neither you nor our husband want any extra ear, nose, or cheek piercings.  If he starts to climb up, divert him with your other hand.  When he's perched on your hand, hold your hand higher than your elbow so your arm forms a V shape.  Most birds don't like to climb down from a higher spot.  This worked for Dorian.  He doesn't even try to get on my shoulder any more.

Sorry about the wing clip.  At least it sounds like he knows what his wings are for.  Dorian came to me with a bad clip, which I allowed to grow out, but he's never tried to fly.  I don't think he was ever allowed to fledge.  I'd love to hear the sound of flapping wings around here, but it looks like I'll have to settle for being a birdie taxi lol.  You'll just have to make his environment safe until he can protect himself by flying.