Congo Grey Adoption Help

[ajlinva]

Hi, just joined the forum and I have lots of questions about Greys. I am in the process of adopting a male that is approx. 10 years old. I have been going to visit him for the last three days to see if he will warm up to me. He has had two previous owners and his current owner is ill and no longer able to care for him. He did kiss me today, but also tried to bite when I moved my hand to fast (my fault), even then he did not bite down hard enough to hurt. He talks some, although I have not heard him yet. I think I am in love, but am apprehensive and a bit scared of taking a bird that may have some bad habits that are to far gone to correct. You cannot take him out of the cage, but he will let you pick him up off of the floor. I would love to take this bird and give him a permanent and good home - I guess I would like to hear what everyone thinks and the experiences you have had. I have never owned a Grey and my first thought was a baby, until now. Thanks for any input!

[lovemyGreys]

Hi ajlinva & Welcome to the forum.If you have never owned a grey before i would advise you to have a read through all the topics here to gain as much knowledge as you can.Re-homing an older grey can be very rewarding but you will need time & patience with him,older birds tend to come with baggage unlike babies.Be sure you are fully aware of the commitment you need to take on this grey.

[danmcq]

Welcome ajlinva!!!

 

It sounds like you are doing all the right things and are putting your homework in on adopting a Grey before bringing him home. That is a great start. :-)

 

The type of interactions you have already had with him, seems to indicate he is well socialized and receptive to meeting and interacting with new people. That is a great attribute for him to have, right off the bat.

 

His Cage is his Home and at this point, a stranger trying to enter and remove him and his reaction in not welcome youinto his safety zone, is not a big deal and somewhat expected. That is something you can overcome with him, through time and patience, if you decide to bring him home.

 

He will first need to become familiar with his new home, surroundings and you before he will really let his "hair" hang down and let the real personality come out in full.

 

Only you can determine if he is right for you and if you have the commitment and patience to overcome anything you may find as time progresses.

 

Looking forward to hearing more from you. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/05/16 15:34

[goldn1]

Welcome ajlinva!

 

I too took in a 10 y.o. rehomed grey a couple months ago.....she also had cage territory issues and still does, but she's getting better every day about letting us touch her in, on, and around the cage. Unlike yours she does bite HARD, lol. Once we got her home we saw an almost immediate change in her attitude, in part I think due to the fact that it was a completely new place and people. We didn't get to have several visits getting to know her, probably a good thing for her. Not sure I'd have adopted a 10 y.o. with serious issues if I had known all I know now, but I wouldn't trade her for the world.

 

In two months time she has learned to come in and out of her cage at will, play fetch with us, talks up a storm and learns new words every day, will let us rub her beak and occasionally her head through the bars of her cage. She will now take a treat nicely from our fingers, and will let us pick her up when she goes to the floor. We have changed out toys repeatedly, she tolerates a bath (but she's not happy about it), and although she will still occasionally lunge at the human hand (a.k.a. the bird killing wiggly thing) that invades her cage, she usually laughs now when she does it.

 

Re-homing a grey is a challenge, but it is also very rewarding. At 10 years old these birds hopefully have a very long life ahead of them yet and our goal should be to just make sure they live it as peacefully and happily as they possibly can.

 

Good luck with your new fid and welcome to the best place for support and advice you could have ever found. The other people here have gotten me through more than one frustration when Dorian decided her timetable was much more important than mine, lol.

 

Pam

[sandra902]

hello and welcome to the forums!

 

i too have a rescued grey, merlin, who just turned the august age of 4 this week. he had a pretty tough start in life, but is really blossoming into his true clowny self. he is a joy and a wonder every day. whatever did i do with myself before he came home i ask!

 

your little fella sounds like a dandy. he is way ahead of merl as far as handling and such. merlin enforces a rather strict 'no touchy birdy' policy which we will one day overcome. in the meantime we have lots of ways to enjoy each others' company.

 

keep us posted as to your progress -- and when you think about it, 10 is still pretty young considering the life spans of these little kraazy ones.

 

again, welcome aboard, there is a wealth of information here on any subject you might encounter with your grey.

[ajlinva]

Thank you all SO much! I feel so much better about him and actually am bringing him home tomorrow! When I went for my visit today, he got on the owners hand and then on to mine, he kissed her and then when I got him he leaned to me, and I thought for a kiss - then he bit my lip! No blood, just a welp, LOL. BUT, the great thing is that, before I left he regurgitated (? spelling), thats all it took for me - I'm in love.

[judygram]

Hello Ajlinva and welcome to the family, so glad you decided to join us and we look forward to hearing more about you and the new to you grey.

 

I am so glad that you are willing to open your heart and your home for a 10 year old grey in need of a new home. It won't be the same as bringing home a baby grey but with a lot of time and patience you can win him over. Rehomed birds usually come with baggage that makes the settling in and getting comfortable a little more difficult but not impossible.

 

Please read thru the many threads for lots of useful information and do not hesitate to ask questions you may have, we will do our best to get some answers for you and help you in any way we can.

 

When you get the chance to get some pictures if you would share some of him with us we would love to see him.

[Guest]

ajlinva {Communicate-00020121}

[danmcq]

Well ajlinva, it's tomorrow!!! :-)

 

Can't wait to hear an update and how you and the new love of your life to be are doing. Oh, don't forget, we require photos immediately for continued membership here ;-) .......

 

Just kidding, but please do post photos when the dust settles and you have time. :laugh: B)

[ajlinva]

Bingo is home!! He has done wonderful today - so much better than I expected. When we first got home and got his cage ready, I sat the kennel I bought him home with in the bottom of the cage, it took about an hour or so before he came out. Within a couple of hours he was very vocal, said Hi, Hello, I want a cookie ( I gave him a banana chip, which he promptly dropped to the floor

), meows, and a few other things I am not sure of yet. I need to find out what his "cookie" is though. We have just been amazed at him all day - we left the door open several times this afternoon, but he has not decided it is safe to leave yet - I know it won't be long though. I feel so lucky to have found him and can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Oh, he did let me pet his head and he also danced with me! Hopefully tomorrow he will come out and I can get a good pic to post so I can stay a member of this wonderful forum! LOL

[ajlinva]

Well, at least I got a pic on my profile!! Will try again later --

[ajlinva]

Bingo

[ajlinva]

Bingo

[lovemyGreys]

Lovely picture, congratulations.

[ajlinva]

Well, Bingo has been home a week now and he is just wonderful! I have enjoyed him so much - no bites and bends down his head all of the time for a neck scratch. He will grab my lip for a kiss, but I try to avoid that - someone else must have let him kiss in the mouth. He is just amazing and each day just seems to be getting more and more relaxed. I am so lucky to have found such a wonderful friend. Also found out that he is 8 and not 10 (not that it makes any difference). About the only thing is when I take him out of the cage and he goes to my shoulder when I am walking, I feel that he is so unsteady and I am afraid he is going to fall off - so I walk around looking like - well I don't know, but I know its not pretty! I have tried several times to keep him on my hand and put my other hand on his back until we get to where we are going - sometime he lets me and then the next time he doesn't like it. His wings are trimed and when he takes off and goes to the floor it worries me that he might hurt himself. Thanks for any advise!