aming a frightened or aggressive African Grey

[charlieparrot]

Hi there,

I need some serious help in training my African Grey Parrot. He is about 5-7 years old but nobody has trained him or really bonded with him, but I got him and im trying to rid years of mistrust and lack of bonding. Can you please help me. He does not come out of his cage, he thinks im going to attack him. ive got him to take nuts from my hand and he does sing and talk. but i want him to be able to walk about and sit on my shoulder and be free. i read somewhere that the first thing o do is catch him with a blanket and trim his wings then open the cage door and let him come out on his own. is this true? how long does it take for him to trust me and feel comfortable coming out of his cage?

I would appreciate all the help on this as I really like him loads and just want him to trust and play with me.

 

thank you,

 

Nirav

[judygram]

Hello Nirav, you don't say how long you have had this grey but I am betting not for long. It does take time to build that trust with a grey before the bonding process will begin. And that being said, it could take a long time since he has been thru years of mistrust and being a mature bird he is somewhat set in his ways.

 

Patience is key here, just open his door and allow him to come out on his own in his good time and he will eventually. Continue to talk to him and give him treats, you have to work at this slowly. He does not know that you mean him no harm, remember his past but with lots of time and patience I believe he will come around.

 

Do not try to catch him with a blanket or trim his wings, he already has a mistrust of humans and that will only reinforce that more. Make sure his cage is in the room where all the action is going on, they do like to be with their flock, this is going to be a challenge but if you love this bird I believe you will win him over but patience, patience is your best friend right now.

 

Keep us informed of how he progresses and introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little more about yourself and this grey, like what is his name?

[BMustee]

I agree with Judy on this one. We need to know how long you have had him for and because he has hit sexual maturity and not properly trained he will be a bit more difficult to get to come around.

[MazyAK]

Nirav:

Welcome from Alaska. Judygram is right. On your part the key is PATIENCE! I'll keep it short and tell you to scour the forum and read, read, read and most of your questions will get answered.

Good luck and see you out there.

Bruce & Mazy

[twizzle]

hi i have got much the same problem plus more. i have posted a few threads on here with him having an affair with my neighbour. The only thing i would say is keep an eye on the time when/if he comes out. Twizzle came out after a few weeks but was very nervous so we left him alone and spoke softly to him. Everything was fine till 11pm when we were tired and he was so nervous we couldnt get him back in the cage. At 3am we resorted to a towel but this only made things worse between us. I have now had twizzle 4 months and he is still scared. We try not to let him out too late if at all and normally get the oven gloves on to put him back in the cage. Any help with this would be great