xxspark Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Hello: I owned a Yellow Nare Amazon parrot for 30 years. He recently died and I adopted ( for a large sum of money) an African Gray parrot. My Yellow Nape was a wild bird and was attached to me only.I thought a young hand feed parrot would be more tame(Wrong).Rikki is very sweet. She came from a woman who owned her from birth(two years).I believed she treated Rikki good because she bought it the program with books and training videos. Rikki will not come near me but is very close to my wife. The big problem is she requires a great deal of attention and in the day time she mimics sounds and it does not stop. My wife takes care of our 6 month grandson and the noise is nerve wracking. The other thing I noticed is this bird makes ten times the mess my Yellow Nape made. I hate to give up Rikki.Could this behavior change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Greys are messy no doubt about it but they aren't usually very noisy. I think once your Grey learns to talk more than mimic it will be a lot less Irritating. Tyco is 5 yrs old now and has a huge vocabulary she very seldom mimics anymore she would rather talk and boy can she talk and talk. I remember when I first got her all she knew how to do was mimic noises like the sound of a truck baking up you know that awful beep beep over and over and the smoke alarm I thought I thought I would go crazy with the noise. Its not nearly as bad now that she talks. I also have an Amazon now shes annoying she starts Screaming only in the morning usually but when she does the three dogs start howling and pretty soon my house sounds like where in some wild animal movie and you can't even hear your self think, that an awful noise sometimes I think she does it because she gets such a reaction from the dogs. she only does it when they are all in the same room with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M2MM Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Greys can take a long time to settle in and learn to enjoy their new life, so patience and love are your best "weapons." I'd like to recommend Barbara Heidenreich's books: 'Good Bird!' and 'the Parrot Problem Solver,' the advice she offers through these books is excellent and very clearly spelled out. She has some very good techniques for reducing the volume and amount of screaming that many birds exhibit. Parrots are all individuals, and can be very different from one another. If you expected a Grey to be the same as your Yellow Nape Amazon, then I think you've learned (the hard way?) that there is no similarity between the two species, other than they both have feathers and beaks. I also recommend Bobbi Brinker's 'For the Love of Greys.' Greys are very different from Amazons. They are more cautious, and take a long time to warm up to someone new. They are also very intelligent and sensitive, so it's best to err on the side of caution when handling or trying to handle a "new to you" Grey. Please go to the Welcome forum and introduce yourself and your new companion parrot. If you can post any photos, we'd love to see your bird. Don't despair about the Grey's behaviour, it is something you can influence, but it will require some dedication on your part, and a lot of patience.<br><br>Post edited by: M2MM, at: 2008/07/01 20:28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Welcome xxspark!! I would hate to see Rikki get re-homed again too. Greys are sometimes preferential to one sex from the other. They can also be messy eaters. Dayos Cage has the side mount stainless cups that swing out at the mid-level portion of the Cage. We soon learned to keep his food bowls sitting on a Towel on one side of the cage, on the bottom. They are positioned in a spot where he never Poops. This resolved the mess issue. :-) They do love to entertain themselves with every noise, sound and word/phrase they know when just "Kicking It". I understand your wife is babysitting a very young infant, but is it possible to have the Grey in the same room on a stand, if he isn't already? M2MM has given great information on book resources you may want to reference, if you do not already have them. Of course, we will be more than happy to give you are best shots at possible ideas and solutions also. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxspark Posted July 2, 2008 Author Share Posted July 2, 2008 Thank You all for your advice and support. I am trying my best to convince my wife that in time things will change with Rikki. It is comforting to know there are people out there that care. Maybe this forum is just what we need. Thank you all again. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Mark - We are more than happy to offer all the help we can. We have a very large group of African Owners that have tons of experience in just about anything you will run into. Thats why we are all here, we help each other and just enjoy the company. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittykittykitty Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Mark, If you can, please hang on. I know a little bit about exhaustion, having had chronic fatigue-fibromyalgia for 20 years as well as having two daughters and helping to raise five grand children (one set of twins). I know about the joy of a Grey also, having given a temporary home to one more than fory years ago and now having one for six years today. It does take a lot of LOVE and PATIENCE. The others are much more knowledgable than I but don't hesitate to contact me if I can help at all. kittykittykitty:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittykittykitty Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Mark, If you can, please hang on. I know a little bit about exhaustion, having had chronic fatigue-fibromyalgia for 20 years as well as having two daughters and helping to raise five grand children (one set of twins). I know about the joy of a Grey also, having given a temporary home to one more than fory years ago and now having one for six years today. It does take a lot of LOVE and PATIENCE. The others are much more knowledgable than I but don't hesitate to contact me if I can help at all. kittykittykitty:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittykittykitty Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Mark, If you can, please hang on. I know a little bit about exhaustion, having had chronic fatigue-fibromyalgia for 20 years as well as having two daughters and helping to raise five grand children (one set of twins). I know about the joy of a Grey also, having given a temporary home to one more than fory years ago and now having one for six years today. It does take a lot of LOVE and PATIENCE. The others are much more knowledgable than I but don't hesitate to contact me if I can help at all. kittykittykitty:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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