Becoming a parrot owner

[NirAntae]

As evening draws on, he will probably want to go in his cage so he can feel secure. You can try just leaving the door open for him and see if he will go in on his own, or you can see if he will step up on a dowel or perch you hold for him (rather than directly on your hand). Hanging millet inside the cage (making sure he clearly sees the millet and watches you place it inside so he knows where it is) may help. I wouldn't leave him out overnight while you can't keep an eye on him - too much potential for problems, especially since you have a dog, even if they seem to like each other.

Worst case scenario, you can towel him, but try to avoid that if at all possible.

But if he was already eating and drinking, and playing, on the first day... well, that speaks volumes for the potential. I would hazard to guess that you have found your best friend, and he his forever home. <3

 

[Lady Jane]

Try using a perch for him to step up on to. Looks like the cage is in front of a window. We don't recommend that as a good location because birds see things outside that may frighten them. He is in a new place so you better put him in the cage for night with a night light in the room. Don't want any injuries. My grey loved yogurt also.

 

[Dogs&Birds]

Thank you. I do have a hand held perch so that should help.
I was successful tho yesterday.
I got him to step up and put him in his little cage in my bedroom to sleep.
However, when I got him out this morning he got scared and screamed ones. He seems to not like me so far, I hope that will change. This is day number two and even tho it’s all still early, all the progress that I thought we made yesterday seemed to be forgotten.
It’s my first time handeling a bird as well so I might be misreading his behavior.
When I go to the cage to talk to him for example, he turns his back on me and goes in to the furthest corner unless I have yoghurt.
With yoghurt everything seems great. He’ll come and eat it off the spoon. I haven’t been able to feed him sees or anything directly out of my hand yet. He refuses.
I made some oatmeal this morning with banana and honey, he came thinking it was something nice, tried and spit it out as he walked away shaking his head hahahaha. But he liked the eggs I gave him. Also seems to like spinach.

I thought yesterday I should get him out more and walk around with him as he’s on my hand but since he seemed afraid this morning and screamed as we walked out of the bedroom I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.

He is a really cute guy and I love his personality.
I wish I knew what to do. I don’t wanna make early mistakes.
People are telling me to let him be others to show him who’s the boss and be more straight forward in what I want him to do. (This is all breeders or bird shops I talked to)

He also makes these baby noises a lot. I think he does that because he misses his owner. She told me that he makes em when he feels uncomfortable.

 

[Dogs&Birds]

Also I bought these new treats (yoghurt covert sunflower seeds) whenever I drop on in his bowl he takes it and throws it out of the cage.
He does that basically with everything ingive him.

 

[NirAntae]

I wish I knew what to do. I don’t wanna make early mistakes.
People are telling me to let him be others to show him who’s the boss and be more straight forward in what I want him to do. (This is all breeders or bird shops I talked to)

What do you want out of your relationship with him?

Do you want a mindlessly obedient pet? Or do you want a confident 'pal' with his own mind about things?
That is the difference in the advice you are being given. It's more difficult and time consuming to deal with a bird on their own terms, but I think 99% of the people here would say it is by far the more rewarding option.

Now, don't get me wrong. There are some things they have to learn to just do, like stepping up, no matter which theory you follow. But - especially with Greys, they are so sensitive - if you try to teach it 'who is the boss', you're likely to end up with an unhappy bird.


As for the rest of it... it all sounds great!
When he screamed in the morning, was that when you first uncovered his cage? It's very normal that they flap and screech and carry on as soon as you uncover them. It's got nothing to do with you, it's like lions serenading sunrise and sunset.

Moving to the back of the cage is fearful, yes. It will take a while to make 'permanent' progress. Don't worry, and don't give up! And honestly, if he'll come to you for yogurt, it won't be long before he trusts you entirely. If he was really afraid, he wouldn't come to you for yogurt or millet or anything else. I assume you're using a spoon? Slowly retract it closer and closer to your hand, until eventually you have the bowl of the spoon cupped in your hand. Then try putting other goodies around the spoon for him to try. Eventually, he should accept the other treats without being 'beckoned' by the yogurt. Keep in mind, this process might take weeks. Or it might take hours. It all depends on him and how fearful he actually is vs normal Grey "ack, new, runaway" skittishness.

The head shaking was probably more because it was sticky than that he didn't like it XD Both Greys I've had HATED anything that stuck to their beaks. Also, be sparing with the spinach; they need lots of leafy greens, but spinach, chard and kale have lots of oxalates, which inhibiting the absorption of calcium, which Greys in particular need a lot of.


I wouldn't worry with showing him the whole house yet. Right now, you want him to get used to you. The house can come once he trusts you and finds comfort in your presence.

 

[Dogs&Birds]

Thank you so much for your response, it’s really helpful. I had no idea about the spinach and kale.

As to the scream, he actually whistled when I uncovered him.
He screamed when he was on my hand and I raised him. Maybe it was too rapidly.

I’m trying to train him to step up. I have the yoghurt in one hand, hold my other hand in front of him and ask him to step up. He did so yesterday but quickly returned to his perch.
I think he is afraid I’m walking around with him because I picked him up before only to bring him to his sleeping cage and he looked very stressed out while walking.

He is playing right now and I sit very close to the cage so I asume he is comfortable.

I have one question. He was siting on his perch a half h ago and it looked like he was yawning but then I thought he is regurgitating and he put his hand around his neck.
Is this normal?
I thought he was choking for a minute.

 

[Dogs&Birds]

Also, he coughs, sneezes and yawns throughout the day but also gets active and playful. Just wondering if that is normal.

Sorry for all these random questions and unstructured sentences.
If I seem to be annoying at any time, please let me know.
I’m very happy and thankful to have you guys here. It feels save to know you have some people that care for these little fellas.

He is soo cute, he takes his toy and gives himself head scratches or sometimes pushes the bell that is hanging in his cage and holds his head underneath it to get scratches. It breaks my heart
I wish he would trust me to do it but I’ll get there.
The “step up training” progresses very slowly. I think that is because of the transferring to the other cage which i won’t do tonight.
I’ll just leave him there and cover him up. He seems to feel save and comfortable in this cage.

Again thank you. This is all very new for me and as far as training, I am trying my best to slowly steal his heart.

I want to ask a stupid question and I hope nobody will be offended by it.
Do you actually believe that a male bird won’t bond to a male human?
A breeder told me that it wouldn’t be in their nature to bond with a human same sex unless the bird was gay.
So if I wanted a close bond I should get a female bird.

With Grayson I have realized that when my friend Kate came to visit he straight up went to the front of the cage and was really engaging.
He whistled at her and looked excited but then again his owner is female and about the same age.
With me, he only shakes his head which supposingly means no.

 

[NirAntae]

The whole 'will only bond with the opposite sex' is nonsense. It's more likely that they will favor the sex of whoever raises them. Or, possibly switch to the opposite sex at maturity. And many of them show preferences for individuals that doesn't have anything to do with their sex.

If the regurgitation was a one-off, most likely he had something stuck in his crop uncomfortably and was trying to adjust it and got overzealous. It's not "normal", but it's not anything to panic over, if it's just once in a great while. If it becomes a pattern, then it's worth getting checked out by a vet.

Similarly, coughs/sneezes/yawns are perfectly normal behavior, as long as there doesn't appear to be any discharge in the nares (nostrils) or the back of his mouth/throat.

In regards to stepping up, you want to put your hand right up against his chest, just in front of his legs, and - gently! - push up and back. This gives him no choice but to step up, or get pushed off his perch. Then as soon as both feet are on your hand, use whatever your 'praise' words are ("good bird!" etc - be consistent so he learns it means he did the right thing) and immediately offer him his treat (yogurt, etc.)

You're making fabulous progress for just a couple of days. Don't get discouraged! And don't worry about asking a zillion questions lol... A Grey, and even moreso a rescue Grey, is a huge prospect for a first time bird slave parront. (Of course, even with experience with other birds won't really prepare you for a Grey. It's like adopting a mute, autistic five-year-old human. >.< They're super intelligent but you have to 'guess' what's going on well over half the time.) Success is hugely rewarding, but you're bound to have those zillion questions, and that's the main reason why forums like this exist. (That and living vicariously through one another because we can't afford to have ALL the babies ourselves. )

 

[Dogs&Birds]

Thank you very much @NirAntae.
That really helped. I’ll do that step up technique first thing tomorrow morning and keep an eye on his behavior and will keep you guys posted if there Is any progress.

 

[LSA]

Well, the gender thing is certainly interesting. My good friend was male and his male CAG bonded with him. Neither of them was homosexual. A female

 

[LSA]

Oops, my tractor just hit something.
Anyway, a female couple had a male CAG

 

[LSA]

Oops I backed over it, sorry. Later...

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

welcome

 

[Dogs&Birds]

No worries @LSA

I had a good day with him today.
It looked like we made some progress at first. He ate almonds out of my hand and was very playful and looked happy, hanging upside down and enjoying himself.
I had him step up for a couple of seconds and he had long conversations with himself.

As the day went by he started getting anxious and I’m not sure why. He plucked a lot of down feathers and I think I saw a red patch on his back when he fluffed up as he was cleaning himself.

He plucks a lot of his down feathers while cleaning which had me a little worried at times so I looked closer and saw him pick on that patch what appears to be a little wound (I could also be mistaken).
It’s located at his lower back.
However, right around sunset he became very nervous again and seemed a little aggressive, plucked some down feathers. I held an almond through his cage and he launched at me as if he wants to attack. He did that again from a different angle and at first I thought he just came rushing over and stumbled.
He wouldn't want me to be anywhere near him and it was very frustrating because I felt like all the progress had been forgotten.

Maybe I am wrong about his patch and it is just a little area with read down feathers it just freaks me out because I’m not able to check since he won’t let me. He certainly seems to stress out as the sun sets, tho.
Is that something they normally do?

Another thing I’ve noticed is that he bit into the cage with all his power, as if he wants to cut through it and then started jumping from foot to foot, turning his body left and right?!?!?! He did that a lot when I came close.
And what seems so weird is, when I come close with a treat he’ll take it even if he is doing that or if he is plucking, or looks very stressed and scared. He always makes these baby bird noises as well.

He also seems very itchy.
Could he be molting?

He usually takes naps around lunch but didn’t since he is with me.

Could he be overly tired?

Do they Act that way when tired (aggressive plucking feathers)
I was thinking about taking him to a vet but at the same time don’t wanna ruin that little progress we’ve made so far since I think we were pretty much set up to fail. He hates driving in the car and I am the one who first of all separated him from his mom and after that took him on this horrible ride which freaked him out.
And because the owner has told me to talk or sing to him to calm him during the ride I feel like he associates my voice now with bad things.

Also he is 7, could his behavior be related to any hormonal changes?

Has anyone of you adopted a bird before? And if yes how long does it usually take them to get settled?
Are we talking weeks or month?

I apologize beforehand for this long text i could have probably shortened it by simply getting to the point and asking questions.

 

[NirAntae]

Don't worry about long posts. There's a lot to address, though, will try to touch on it all.

I've never dealt with a plucker, so I can't help much there. It is definitely not normal behavior, tired, itchy, molting, or otherwise. It is, however, a pretty common problem. It can be caused by stress, boredom, dietary issues, some combination of the three, or occasionally other things like medical issues.

You can't reasonably keep a parrot, not and keep it healthy, if you're so afraid of 'losing progress' that you don't take him to the vet or other necessary things. Sure, it might set you back a step or two. But if he has underlying health issues, you're not going to get very far anyway. No one feels real sociable when they're miserable. I know my spouse tries to just leave me alone unless I need something on my bad days! And any progress you 'lose' you can make back. It's just a tough love situation. You're worrying too much/about the wrong things. You haven't been set up to fail. He is no more going to hate you for a 'horrible car ride' than a toddler would. Maybe for a few hours you might be on the sh--list, but then they forget all about it.

In regards to getting agitated around sunset... he's probably wanting to go to sleep. Don't try socializing with him once the sun starts setting/his bedtime comes around. Just leave him to settle in for the night. Are you covering his cage at night? It's entirely possible he's a bit overly tired, since the days are still relatively long (and if you have him in a public room where artificial lights and lots of noise continue into the evening, that reduces his sleep time even further, especially if he's uncovered.

I have adopted birds, and each one is different. But you're looking at least at weeks, probably months. Possibly many months. Of course, that also depends on what you consider having 'gotten settled'. Happy enough in their cage and eating and drinking regularly? That can be as little as a couple of hours. Playing with toys? Stepping up? Coming out of their cage voluntarily? Actively wanting to spend time with you? Allowing you to handle them? Friendly with people they don't know? It's a timeline, more than a set of goalposts.

 

[Dogs&Birds]

Yes, I am covering him.
He is in the living room but only since I decided to leave him there because he is so afraid of me walking around with him.
I cover him at around 7:30 pm, turn off the lights and keep quiet.
Yesterday I left, went to the movies with my spouse and we came back very quiet and went straight to bed.
I didn’t hear a peep from him. This morning there weren’t feather lying around and he hasn’t plucked any today.
The owner told me that she had put him in many stressful situations due to her illness lately and that he doesn’t pluck.
I feel like he just does it when he starts stressing out and wants to be left alone. He still seems afraid of me.

Good advice on the worrying and leaving him alone at evenings.
I think I’m just to much in his face hahaha.
Good knows I would rip my hair out of a silly face would come every 30 min and babble my ears full. Hahahha
I should have thought about that.

As to the vet, I would totally take the risk if necessary.
Im
Probably just overthinking everything right now.

I can’t thank you enough for your quick response.

 

[NirAntae]

Aside from maybe cockatoos (who I am pretty sure would mostly just graft onto their people if they could ) most parrots enjoy their 'me time' to groom and play and eat etc. in peace. They may be 'flock' creatures, but they spend much of their day alone in the wild. It's primarily at morning and evening that they spend time with the rest of the flock; this is why a lot of parrots get very affectionate around bedtime - that's when they're hardwired for socialization. Most of the time, when I am trying to tame or bond with a bird, I will spend about half an hour to an hour with them first thing in the morning and just before bedtime, then a couple of 15-20 minutes sessions over the course of the day. The rest of the time I leave them to their own devices, either in or on their cage or on a playstand if they have one. If they're out of the cage I keep an eye on them of course, but not 'pestering' them Plus, getting them used to your regular routine is beneficial for both of you.

From what you've said, I think putting him to sleep in a room that will be quiet after bedtime would be beneficial once he's a little less stressed by you carrying him.

And I didn't mean to sound harsh about the vet thing, I figured you would if it was a pressing thing. More just trying to make the point that 'a bad car ride' is not something you should be worrying about, not unless it's likely to be a nearly daily thing. XD A bad experience or three are inevitable parts of life, you can't let fear of them prevent you from doing what you need to do to keep him happy and healthy.

 

[Dogs&Birds]

Thanks for detailed run down of training. That’s exactly what I was trying to fugure out and it’s very helpful.
Now I know for sure I didn’t give him his space!
And no worries about the vet thing. Seriously never took it offensively (way too green for that) hahaha just wanted to reassure that I will.

As to the plucking of down feathers, since I’ve had him he only bathed once.
That was about 4 days ago.
Now, I’m no expert but the way he did it really looked painful! The cage is too small for him to really take a bath.
And yes, I should have gotten a bigger cage already but wasn’t even sure if we click or he is the right fit. (Trial period and such) which probably would have helped generally cause he would have been more comfortable.
However,
Could this be because of that?
He lookes like he is itchy and it’s bothering him. I see him pulling these down feathers out when he gets stressed but sometimes also while playing, all of a sudden he gets really hectic and plucks em out.

The owner told me he hates showers and he is afraid of spray bottles. When I picked him up she actually tried to clean his feet and he wouldn’t let her.
He started screaming and flew off when she tried to get him close to the faucet. Even with a wet towel he would t let her.

 

[Dogs&Birds]

Thanks for detailed run down of training. That’s exactly what I was trying to fugure out and it’s very helpful.
Now I know for sure I didn’t give him his space!
And no worries about the vet thing. Seriously never took it offensively (way too green for that) hahaha just wanted to reassure that I will.

As to the plucking of down feathers, since I’ve had him he only bathed once.
That was about 4 days ago.
Now, I’m no expert but the way he did it really looked painful! The cage is too small for him to really take a bath.
And yes, I should have gotten a bigger cage already but wasn’t even sure if we click or he is the right fit. (Trial period and such) which probably would have helped generally cause he would have been more comfortable.
However,
Could this be because of that?
He lookes like he is itchy and it’s bothering him. I see him pulling these down feathers out when he gets stressed but sometimes also while playing, all of a sudden he gets really hectic and plucks em out.

The owner told me he hates showers and he is afraid of spray bottles. When I picked him up she actually tried to clean his feet and he wouldn’t let her.
He started screaming and flew off when she tried to get him close to the faucet. Even with a wet towel he would t let her.