Holding too much?

[Superluvrgurl]

Is it possible for you to hold a grey too much and spoil it? I was just curious because I am going to soon adopt a hand-feeding baby, and I know that he/she will be spending a lot of time out of the cage to play/bond with my family and also for feedings but is it equally important for my grey to spend time in his/her cage as well? I was just thinking that if I had my grey out of the cage all the time, eventually couldn't that cause problems with him/her wanting to go back in? I dont want to spoil my bird, and make it hard to convince him/her that it is time to go back in the cage. I think that its important that I am able to get my bird in and out of the cage as I need to. For instance at bed-time or when I have to leave the house and cannot take the bird with me. Opinions are appriciated.

 

Thanks in Advance.

[danmcq]

The important thing to maintain, is only having him out of the cage the amount of time you normally would when you must be at work or gone for some other reason.

 

Have him out for an hour or two, then place him back in his cage for an hour or two. This will get him used to his in cage time and also understand he will be taken back and forth by you to do so.

 

The important thing is to maintain a fairly rigid schedule. The exception is, weekends for example. They wil of course be out a lot more on weekends when your home than during the week.

[Perch]

I agree with Dan for the most part. Gracie comes in and out of her cage frequently. It seems she doesn't mind going back to the cage; probably because the next "field trip" could be at any time.

 

One thing that I have noticed...and was pleased by...is that I don't need to maintain a totally predictable schedule. It is impossible for me to do so, due to the nature of my work. Feeding is the exception of course!

 

Gracie can count on her meals being regular, because other family members gladly participate. Extensive playtime outside her cage occurs mostly with me however; and because I am a firefighter, I work a constantly rotating schedule.

 

She loves to visit different rooms, especially the bathroom for shower time.

[LisaM]

Ours are out of their cages (and usually on their playstands) almost the whole time we're home unless we need them to be there for some reason (they keep flying off the playstand when we need them to stay there, a visitor is afraid of birds, etc.).

 

That said there are periodic days when they unfortunately get very little to no out-of-cage time (if we have to go somewhere in the evenings and aren't going to be home until well after their bedtime) and the occassional weekend away (Fri-Sun). Most weekends they are out all day from the time we get up until it's time to go to bed. Most weeknights it's from the time we get home until the time we go to bed. We haven't had any problems getting them to go back in their cages when we want/need them to.

 

Maybe it helps that we have three so they watch eachother or the fish aquariums or something, but they don't seem to be negatively impacted by the inconsistent schedule sometimes. We do the best we can.

 

I think the important thing is to do like Dan said and get them used to having the amount of time with you that you predict will be similar to the long-term amount they'll have with you.

[Luvparrots]

I am retired so my 6 month old grey is out of her cage almost all day. She loves to sit on the back of my typing chair or on her cargo net, or her boing, or on the playtop of her cage. She is free to go where and when she wants in these areas. They are all in my office where I am a lot. When I go into the other rooms my grey has playstands there. I do not let her sit on my tables or counters unless she is on a stand, she is never allowed on my shoulder. If she wants a skritch or to be held she comes to me. If I want to hold her I just go get her. If she wants to go back to her cage she just goes and I respect her space and she respects mine. If I don't want her on me or near me I just have her step up and take her where I want her to go. She has no problem going back into her cage when I want her to and can stay in it for long periods of times without problem. Can you hold your grey too much, yes. Respect their space, if they back away from you or nip at you or fly away all the time then respect that you grey wants some space. Remember that your new grey is a baby and will need a lot of rest and sleep time and needs to feel safe, secure and unafraid. The good thing is that you can mold your baby because she will be looking to belong to your flock as she has lost her original one (her siblings) and if she can trust you and feels safe she most likely will follow your lead. Enjoy your new baby but don't overwhelm her.

[Superluvrgurl]

Thanks guys for all your wonderful responses. They are very helpful for me. I dont really know anyone in my local area that can assist me in answering these sorts of questions. Even the breeder that I might be getting a baby from lives 3 hours from me lol

 

Could anyone elaborate on how to "shape my baby" What things should I do to ensure that he/she is going to be a well mannered companion? Are there things that I should keep my baby away from? Are there things I should expose my baby to? I know how to handle a baby tiel, but from what I gather, greys are much more different and comlicated. Thanks so much again everyone!:cheer:

[LisaM]

Honestly, the best advice I ever got is very simple (in words...less so in practice). Decide what behaviors you do and do not want and be 100% consistent with rewarding the ones you do and either ignoring the ones you don't or distracting from them in such a way that it's not inadvertently a reward. (By the way, this works with kids, husbands and in-laws, too! :laugh:

 

Other than that, the things that can help him be a good birdie citizen is to socialize him early and often to a variety of people/places (safe of course) and situations. Don't give more attention at the beginning than you think you'll be able to continue (this one's REALLY hard!!). Teach him how to play with toys and entertain himself (foraging opportunities, a variety of toys/shredding material) for times when you can't be directly with him.

 

Mine were all adults when I got them so I'm having to start from scratch with some of these things (like playing with toys...who knew?).

 

Last, but certainly not least...enjoy your parrot for the parrot he is. Don't expect him to be like a dog or a cat or any other type of domesticated animal. Rejoice in his parrotness! :woohoo:

 

You're asking really great questions ahead of time. You'll be a great Grey parront!

 

Lisa

[LisaM]

Ooh, and I forgot...get him on the best, most varied diet possibly as early as he's able. Lots of fresh veggies, etc. Keep trying new foods even if he doesn't dig them at first. Changing to a better diet later in their life takes a L-O-N-G time...I'm only half-way there.

 

Lisa

[Superluvrgurl]

LisaM wrote:

Ooh, and I forgot...get him on the best, most varied diet possibly as early as he's able. Lots of fresh veggies, etc. Keep trying new foods even if he doesn't dig them at first. Changing to a better diet later in their life takes a L-O-N-G time...I'm only half-way there.

 

Lisa

 

Most varied?:blink: Im not sure what you mean. With my Tiels, I feed them Zupreem pellets, a small amout of a seed mixture, and then fresh foods. I make birdy breads and layered salads for them. They have cuddle bones and mineral stones avaliable to them at all times, and I change out their water atleatst 2-3 times a day so its always fresh. I was intending to do the same with my grey. Is that a good start? Am I leaving anything out?:unsure:

[danmcq]

Wow, yes thats a great start for your Grey. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/02/08 20:28

[LisaM]

Yes, that's very good. I just meant to give a large variety of things (which it sounds like you do). My birds came to me only eating some seeds and a couple other things. It's been a long road to get them to eat a better diet.

 

Lisa