vdineff Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Hello Everybody! My name is Viktor. I am from Bulgaria, Eastern Europe. I found this site over the internet while I was looking to read some information about African Grey parrots as I, myself, have one. I've read some interesting and useful comments here so I decide to register in and write to you all...and probably ask you for some advices about my Timneh. His name is Paco. My father brought it from Ivory Coast in Africa five years ago. He is a wild-born parrot. I don't know what age was back then but it must have been quite young as his eyes are still dark black which I've read tend to lighten throughout the years. We are five members of our family and we used to live together. My parents and my sister moved to another appartment to live one year ago. Me and my brother stayed in the old one. They took Paco with them because he was originally brought for my 12 years old (now) sister. One month ago I got the parrot because of allergy of my sister to fur,fluff. Until that time I have to say we interact very little with Paco. Sometimes we let him out of the cage to go around the living room, sometimes we talk to him but he's never wanted to do the "Step Up" command. For that five years he learned five, six words and he says them ocassionaly without a spesific reason. Paco learned of course to make different noises like car alarms, skype sending message sound , a cat mew, and some other rather disturbing sounds like creeking doors, scratching glass (most of the time he was in the kitchen). We have never really made a progress with him because noone was willing to have enought time with the parrot or just lost patience with him to early... So one month ago my parents were thinking of selling him because of the allergy I felt attached to that little fellow..and didn't want to let him go so I took him. I am trying now to interact more with the bird. Every day I give him around an hour to speak with him and touch him, fondle him and even hold him in my hands the last two-three days but after five minutes he wants to go to the cage or some place else...he still don't want to step up on my hand...no to mention my shoulder. I was told by the avian vet that he wouldn't start accepting more of my speech and then begin to talk before he is feeling confident and safe enough to come on my shoulder and stay there... I am turning to you experienced and proud African Grey owners Please tell me where seems to be the problem...or maybe only time is needed? What should I do more to help him getting used to me? Also about the disturbing noises..Paco continues to make them throughout the day with no particular reason and time for it. I am wondering if there is a way to show him that I don't like him to do that or maybe some thing I can do so he just forgets about these bad noises...or maybe when he starts to give people more attention and talks and make more funny noises, he will stop making the disturbing ones. Thank you all for your concern and advice! Greetings from Sofia, Bulgaria! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Hello Viktor and welcome to the family, so glad you could join us and we look forward to hearing more about you and Paco. You are finding out that the grey is very masterful at mimicing other sounds and you are not going to be able to stop him from repeating these annoying sounds. They love to repeat these sounds they hear and some they may only have heard once to be able to mimic it perfectly. The good thing is they aren't vocal but several times during the day and not all day long. Being a wild caught grey he is going to take longer to get accustomed to you that you may be able to h ndle him and have him step up on you so be very patient with him. Greys are very cautious by nature so don't try to rush him into anything as it will only backfire on you and then you will have to start over from scratch. Please continue to read thru the many threads for lots of useful information and do ask those questions you have and we will help you in any way we can. I see a picture of him in your avatar but if you have some more pics of him you would like to share with us we would love to see him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Hi Viktor, I have a 5 month old Timneh so I don't have a lot of experience to share. I just wanted to say hi and welcome you to the family. I do believe that you need to build trust with Paco before anything else comes. So just be patient. Ask any questions you have and experienced members will help you. Can't wait to see some pictures of Paco, if you have any to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdineff Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 Hello again:) Thank you both for the warm welcoming! I thought I have set some pics in the common photo album but just for any case will post here also I hope you will like it:) Another thing that bothers me is that he is scared from any new object...including a small bell, a necklace or a remote control, etc. so I cannot put anything like a toy for him to entertain himself and do a little bit less plucking...Paco gets that scared that he sits or hangs at farest corner of the cage away from the toy(s). Any suggests over this? Judy, I wanted to say that he is five years living with me now...most of the time I feed him and clean his cage so he should have got used to me. Paco is not croaking to people like at the beginning but he doesn't want to step up on me yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaM Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Greetings Viktor! A few things come to mind from your posts... 1) The vet was correct only to a point. He is more likely to start to vocalize, step up, etc., once he is more comfortable with you. That does NOT need to include being on your shoulder though. Many people do not let their parrots on their shoulders because if they do end up biting, the face is not where you want them to aim. 2) Undesirable noises - the best thing to do to eliminate or reduce unwanted noises is to ignore them 100% of the time. Along with that, praising any of the nicer noises will give the bird more reason to make them. Any reaction to a noise will be reason for the bird to continue to make that noise because it is getting attention, whether you want it or not. I would make a really big deal out of any of the nice whistles, chirps, words, and other sounds. 3) New Objects. Many, many Greys are nervous about new toys, objects. I have to start by putting something new across the room and every couple of days moving it a few feet closer, then on a table next to the cage, then outside the cage, then inside the cage. Experiment with the distances that keep your bird comfortable. You can do this by putting something across the room, calling attention to it while you're doing it and then just leaving it there. When you're going to move it closer, watch your bird for signs of nervousness. As soon as it shows them, back away a bit until he calms down and then put it there, where he is still calm but it is closer than it was. Kind of rambling but I hope that makes sense. Spend as much time as you can doing quiet activities in the room with the bird, reading or watching TV quiety. Occassionally talk to the bird and interact, but in a very non-threatening way. Given time, he will gradually build up the amount of time he will spend with you (on your hand/arm/leg/etc). Most importantly is that when he wants to get away from you, put him somewhere else. Don't force him to stay with you. That will destroy the trust you are trying to build. Best of luck, Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdineff Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 Thank you Lisa! I will follow your advices. I'm looking forward to see what will happen with the new toys as I also checked the article about it at nursery secton. As for the concern over biting my face I don't think this will happen as long as when I come close to him with my face he is not afraid..I even kissed him on the head and touched his beak with my nose haha <br><br>Post edited by: vdineff, at: 2009/01/27 14:20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 That is a nice shot of Paco there with his nut, he is a very handsome Tag, thanks for sharing him with us. As far as allowing him on your shoulder and close to the face, just be sure you pay attention to his body language, I allow Josey on my shoulder and she gives me kisses but I am always aware of how she is acting at the moment and if she is a little hyper then I back off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Welcome Viktor and Paco!! The others seemed to have covered all the questions you had. Dealing with a wild caught Grey is definitely different than a hand raised. I must say, that it seems from your description of how you can interact with him at this point is excellent progress. :-) He is a beautiful Tag. Thanks for sharing that photo. Looking forward to hearing more from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdineff Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 Hello Dan! Thank you for your welcoming! I appreciate your words about my progress with Paco. As a matter of fact I just log in to say that he got on my hand!:lol: I let him go over the cage and talk to him and gave him two of my fingers (because he is scared from the whole hand) it seemed he only wanted to fawn on them but then he started to get excited about something and go around them and then voala! he got on the fingers and then got confortable on the whole hand. I am very happy :cheer: I repeat that several times and with every time he seems to be more confident so I will continue. Thank you also to you Judy for commenting on the picture I will attach more soon. All of you guys have wonderful African Greys I looked over some of your pictures. I should say I felt a bit sad because I haven't got the chance to have Paco since he was a baby...all of yours look so sweet:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MazyAK Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Glad you are with us Viktor and Paco: You have come to the right place for support. This forum is stuffed with experience. Yes I agree a wild born bird will take some more time than a hand raised bird so be patient. As the bird has changed locations and main caregivers he will take a while to adjust. As stated above ignore the irritating noises and praise and reward the good noises. I love the pic. Paco is such a beautiful bird. It's cold here in Alaska. Is it cold for you? Bruce & Mazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyric Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Hello Viktor! Welcome here. Paco is a lovely grey, thank you for sharing his photo with us. It sounds like he has found a good home with you- even if you can't hold him on your shoulder yet, you can still enjoy his company and interact with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
she Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 HI Viktor. Paco is a very nice tag.I think you are making fantastic progress, just take it slow and the rewards will come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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