2 african greys!!!!

[reformed_raver]

hi,i was a member on here a while ago but i forgot my user name,haha.

i posted last year that i was having problems with one of my greys always wanting to bite,i got some great advice from you lot,and over a period of time their seams to be no biting now,that is a good thing:)

well,they are now comming up to their dreddid teribble 2`s age!! could some one explain what differences im going to be expecting?

ive noticed a big difference in my 2 since i first got them.

they used to be quite happy of a night time when i put them to be to be put in their cage with a few seeds in their bowls,and i would put a timer on their light for 10-15mins,they would be nice and quite,eat and go to sleep and not hear a peep till i woke them in the morning.try and do that now and tehy make a hell of a noise??? is this normal?

they have had a massive outside avery that they go in when the weather is nice since ive had them,they used to go out their play all day,chat away and whistle. but not as soon as i put them out their and walk away,they drop their wings and look in the house and shreek flat out until i have to go out the front door cause i cant handle it any more.

ive tried all sorts to stop them from squwarking and making the loudeat noises but nothing seams to of worked.

they also have a big play stand in our front room,they used to come down play away on that,making noise and chatting away,but now all they seam to want to do is sit their and make the same noise over and over again for hours on end,it really starts to wear me down afer a while so i have to put them in their cages and cover them up,i dont like doing this but its the only way of getting so quiet!!

is this normal? or is this the terrible 2`s comming out in them?

some of my friends have 1 gery and they seam to be completly different to my 2?

any help would be great.

thanx

[reformed_raver]

bttt

[casper]

Sorry I wish I could help. It must drive you mad! I also have two greys but they are younger than yours. One is just over a year and the other is 5 months. I do find if one starts screaming, the other one will join in! I hope this isnt what ive got to look forward to :ohmy: Some of the other members have more than one grey who are about the same age as yours, I hope they can give you some good advice and hopefully give your ears a rest. Good luck.

[reformed_raver]

its not to bad,just seams that i might be doing something wrong,they get the best of everything really,lots of out of cage time,and lots of cuddles,it seams to of got worse the longer that weve had them,and i was wondering if it was the terrible 2`s?

[casper]

I dont think you are doing anything wrong. Remember they are like children and will go through different phases!

My one year old is a completely different grey to my youngest, he likes his independence where as the other one is still going through the cuddly stage.

Maybe it is the terrible twos starting and hopefully this stage will pass!

You have tried everthing I would have suggested, covering them up, ignoring them when they scream, I know how loud they can be when they start and it can be really noisy! Try to carry on as normal, maybe introduce new activities to gain their interest. Keep us updated and I hope someone can advise you more on greys of a similar age. Caroline:)

[reformed_raver]

ive also tried the squirty bottle method,when they squark loud for a long while they get 1 squirt with water,i dont like doing that at all,but it shuts them up for a bit,but they dont like having a spray bath now!! its hard,i love them to bits,but thir noise is just far to much at times:(

[reformed_raver]

hmm,does antone have any ideas then?

[siobha9]

I also have 2 greys, one of whom is 2 years old, and the other has just turned 1. My eldest did have a spell where she would scream for quite long spells at a time. I completely ignored her, and as soon as she stopped for a minute or 2 I would go in to the room and talk to her. The only thing you can do is ignore them, hard as this may seem. By going near them to cover them you are inadvertently giving them attention.

 

And I would never ever squirt your grey to stop them doing something. As you have already discovered, you can now no longer bathe them with a spray bottle because they see this as punishment.

[Talon]

I have 2 greys, but they never scream!! They are both just shy of 3 years by a few months. So I am experiencing the terrible two's times two!

It appears that something different has changed in their routine, or perhaps in your life. They are very sensitive and can sense the smallest change, even if you don't notice it.

[reformed_raver]

with regards to me squirting them,its the tinyest of water squirts that i did use,that started cause when we first got them they would sit on top of doors and other places,si we would just show the bottle and they would fly back to their perches,and yes its ashame that we cant spray bathe them,but hey ho!

 

i would never let any harm to come to them especialy from me.

 

nothing has chance in the house realyy at all,nothiung that jumps out anyway

[Lyric]

I would agree with Talon that maybe something has changed that they are unhappy about, or they want more out of cage time with you. Is there something new outside the big aviary that is upsetting them? Mine usually causes a racket when I put him back in his cage sooner than he wants to go, or if my dogs get very hyper sometimes this causes him to get hyper too and he wants out to join in the fun. I think really the only way to deal with it is to ignore them, even though it is so hard. Greys do best with positive reinforcement- reward them for being good and doing what you want- but ignore behavior you do not want to encourage.

As far as the whole terrible twos thing goes- it probably varies with each bird I would guess. Mine who will be two in another month has a very onery streak where he wants to do what he wants to do and he kind of throws a fit if he doesn't get to. For instance, he likes to land on the lamp shades in my living room. I take him off and put him back on top of his cage and he flies right back over. Eventually he keeps doing it and I have to put him back in his cage and he either tries to bite me when I go to pick him up or flies away before I can get him in the cage- or once he is in there he squawks repeatly to let me know he isn't happy about it. It will take a lot of patience for me to get through this with him but I have faith we can do it! Good luck to you!

[reformed_raver]

they have alot of out of cage time,an hour in the morning before i go to work,then they are put back in their cage to have some breakfast.

i work 5mins away from home so im home at lunch time and they have half hour out,then im home at 5pm and they are either out in their room for a bit while i sort out around the house or they are outside in their avery or down stairs with me until about 10pm ish. they cant have any more out of cage time really.

even now im home on lunch and they are out in their room,all they are doing is both flying round and round screaming their heads off?

they used to chat to each other alot and say a whole load of varied words but now all they seam to want to do is make the same noise over and over again??

very odd,i dont like them being the way that they are, i am trying lots of different thing with them,im ignoring them when they make a racked and talk to them when they have quitened down for a few minuites. i read some other posts on here about ordering some books,so ive ordered all the ones that some one had recommended and all the others that i could find on amason aswell.

any other help that you peeps can reckomend will be great.

[Tycos_mom]

Have you tried mabie taking one at a time to another room and doing some training like teaching new tricks and stuff like that mabie they are bored and need something new and stimulating a new toy or like I said teaching them something new one at a time the extra one on one time may b enough even if its only for 10 or 15 minutes a day.