Hello!

[Amber]

:)Hello everybody! My name is Amber and I have a Congo African Grey called Tuki. She will be 4 in May. I always wanted a parrot ever since I can remember so I eventually bought a baby Grey! My grandad used to have a Grey and I loved her! Tuki was very friendly at first and would let anyone touch her including my daughters. Unfortunaely she doesn't like being touched anymore and doesn't seem to like women (this is why we think she's a female.) She will bite most people if they put their fingers in her cage and I've told my daughters to stay away from her. This isn't what I wanted. I wanted her to be a proper family pet that we could all interact with. I don't think she likes me because I clean her cage out and this makes her angry and try to bite me. She doesn't even really like coming out of her cage much anymore and it's sad. She makes us laugh with the things she comes out with though! She tells our dogs to go and do a wee because she hears me say it so much. I love having her around but I wish she was more friendly!

[judygram]

Hello Amber and welcome to the family, so glad you could join us and we look forward to hearing more about you and Tuki.

 

Baby greys are usually more accepting of people and then as they mature and become more independent they may be more inclined to be left alone and favor one person. And some do favor one sex over the other and yours is no different.

 

I think you need to interact with her more, I sense that you are afraid of getting bit and she knows that and is using it to her advantage to keep you away. Get her out and include her in activities to keep her more socialized.

 

Take a little time and read thru the many theads for lots of useful information and do not hesitate to ask questions you may have. We will do our best to get you some answers and help you in any way we can.

 

If you have some pictures of Tuki you would like to share with us we would love to see her.

[lovemyGreys]

Hi Amber & Welcome,

Im sorry to hear Tuki isnt as friendly as she was,the majority of animals will bite if you go poking fingers in their cages !Perhaps you will have to go back to the basics with her,Does she step up for you,how does she interact with you as a family ? Has there been any big changes in her life/routine that may have caused her to act this way ? I'm sure with time you can win her back round

[Amber]

If Tuki is out of her cage, she will step up if she is standing on a flat surface and then when she's on my arm, I can talk to her but she always looks restless like she wants to get off incase she falls. She has bitten my arm recently which bruised it, but I don't think she actually meant to hurt me, she grabbed me for balance but it still really hurt! I tried not to show that it hurt as I knew she didn't mean it. She will never step up from inside her cage, she always seems aggressive around her cage. She also goes after my dogs if she's out and my little terrier has had a bad bite which drew blood (she did ask for it though!) If she's on the floor she will bite feet HARD! She has a foot biting fetish! Or she bites pieces out of the sofa which we can't seem to discourage her from doing. I need to clip her wings again as she now has full wings and can fly. I don't want to risk her escaping and also she enjoys going outside for a little while in the warm weather, however she hates it when I put her in an aviary and she will cling to the side of the wire until I take her indoors again! She's also scared of rooks if they fly over her but I thought she may thought it was a bird of prey. How is the best way to react if a Grey is aggressive towards you? I know you shouldn't shout at them but are you meant to ignore this behaviour because that doesn't seem to work either! I've tried so hard with her to play and things. She enjoys the game of throwing items off the worktop, then I pick them up and put them back, then she throws them off again! Well I think she enjoys it anyway, she could just be getting stroppy with me for putting it back! I do love her but it just feels like she hates me and it's upsetting.

[Amber]

I've recently had our 3rd daughter and I don't know if this is making Tuki act unusually aggressive. I know that one of my dogs acted very differently whilst I was pregnant. Animals definately know if you are pregnant! They can tell something's different! Tuki just stares at my baby whenever I have shown her to her, but she has that look in her eye like she wants to bite her! I don't know if parrots feel jealousy. My 2 older daughters are very well behaved and have been brought up around animals. They would never tease Tuki or anything, so her aggression isn't to do with nasty treatment or anything. I often wonder what she'd be like with another Grey as she wanted to kill my budgie ha ha! I just wish I knew what she was thinking.

[Guest]

Hello Amber, welcome here Tuki? Did you know that is the Hebrew word for parrot?

[siobha9]

Hi Amber,

 

I agree with Tracey (lovemygreys), I think you need to go back to the beginning and teach step up again. It sounds like Tuki is being pretty well behaved outside the cage, but has lost some trust in you for some reason. So you need to start again and build the trust back up. I wish you luck with her!

Siobhan

[Amber]

Thank you for all the welcomes! Also thank you for the advice! Yes I did know Tuki was Hebrew for parrot!

[danmcq]

Welcome Amber!!

 

From your description, it seems Tuki may have become cage sour over time. She is also obviously very protective of her home as you noted.

 

The more you let her out and interact on a daily basis. The more her trust of you and your arm "The perch" and her nervousness will diminish over time proportional to how often you interact with her.

 

Poking fingers in the cage is a definite no-no and should not be allowed by anyone. That is just teasing the Grey and will provoke even more violent bites as she becomes more irritated from the intrusion into her space.

 

Does she get along with males in your house well and interact with them a lot?

 

It's great having you here and we look forward to hearing more. :-)

[Amber]

Nobody teases her. We used to scratch her head through the bars of the cage but she won't let us do that now! Yes she does love my partner and other males, even strangers! This is why I think she's a female. She has even regurgitated food for a male friend of ours!

[danmcq]

Hi Amber - Uh Oh, it sounds like mating season is in the air and her age is at about that point also. :-)

 

Well, the good news is that "she" atleast so far is not attacking and trying to drive out the competition. B)

 

Yes, we do the same thing with our grey regarding scratches through the cage bars when we are not going to let him out at that moment.

 

Good luck with "Amber in Love". :laugh:

[Talon]

Hi Amber and Welcome! I look forward to hearing more from you!! :)