About 6 years ago, my husband and I adopted a 10 year old Congo African Grey named Henry, who is now 16 years old, and we're considering the devastating option to re-home him.
We adopted him at the same time as our Lesser Sulfur Crested Cockatoo (who we also might have to re-home, but we hope not), and they have never gotten along. Henry is used to being on a very fixed schedule and out of his cage as much as possible. He is free-flighted, and would need to remain as such. Over the past couple of years he's taken to chewing some of his feathers out around his crop, though his Vet cleared him as being in good health. I think maybe we just can't give him as much time out of the cage as he needs. We're about to have our first baby and we're taking care of a dog with SARDS who needs constant attention and supervision. If we leave the house, we need to be back within a few hours so Henry isn't stuck in his cage for too long, and it's controlling our entire lives. I think we're coming to the realization that we never should have been bird owners to begin with. I contacted Henry's old owners but they cannot take him back due to illness. The last thing i want is for him to end up rotting in a rescue for the rest of his life. I want him to be happy. Above all else. I'm just not convinced that we can provide that happiness for him. Not the way that he deserves. I think he really needs to be with a stable person or couple who can literally have their lives revolve around him. Ideally without any cockatoos in the home, as he clearly likes to be the only bird. His old owners had a pet budgie that he apparently liked, but that's his only other experience with other birds. He chases our cockatoo from perch to perch when they are out together, though he doesn't go out of his way to attack her. He can co-exist peacefully if he has his own area of a room.
About Henry:
Henry is a sensitive boy who loves Sesame Street music as well as all things Disney. Moana is his favorite movie ever, and he whistles snippets of songs. He loves Pinocchio a well. He doesn't say a lot of words, but he loves to whistle. He has a specific bedtime routine that we hope his new home could stick to (a specific song that we sing to him that his old owners used to sing as well as Zupreem primate biscuits soaked in hot water and fed to him... he's had these things for 16 years and could possibly be weened off, but to take them away completely and suddenly would be traumatic for him). He self-entertains (unlike our cockatoo) by chewing rope or shreddable toys. He's usually content to just chill in the room with his person and doesn't need a lot of fussing over.
It took him 3 years to let my husband finally pick him up. He takes a very long time to warm up to people, but once he does he's really sweet. He's not a huge fan of being petted or held, but he does enjoy snuggling on your chest once he trusts and knows you. I was able to hold him after about a month of being with him all day long.
He does hold a grudge. About every November, he goes through aggressive episodes where he'll bite me when I try to hold him to move him from one room to the next. He gets over it, but it takes time. I have found that yelling at him or scolding him makes things much worse. We're currently going through one of those phases right now, and while I know it will eventually get better, I'm not sure if I can handle going through it every year anymore.
I am not 100% sold on the idea of even re-homing him yet, so I'm just putting out feelers to see if there is someone out there who might be a perfect fit for him and would not leave him in a cage all day or turn him into a breeder. He is a member of the family and we only want him going to someone else who feels the same way. We're located in North Idaho.
We adopted him at the same time as our Lesser Sulfur Crested Cockatoo (who we also might have to re-home, but we hope not), and they have never gotten along. Henry is used to being on a very fixed schedule and out of his cage as much as possible. He is free-flighted, and would need to remain as such. Over the past couple of years he's taken to chewing some of his feathers out around his crop, though his Vet cleared him as being in good health. I think maybe we just can't give him as much time out of the cage as he needs. We're about to have our first baby and we're taking care of a dog with SARDS who needs constant attention and supervision. If we leave the house, we need to be back within a few hours so Henry isn't stuck in his cage for too long, and it's controlling our entire lives. I think we're coming to the realization that we never should have been bird owners to begin with. I contacted Henry's old owners but they cannot take him back due to illness. The last thing i want is for him to end up rotting in a rescue for the rest of his life. I want him to be happy. Above all else. I'm just not convinced that we can provide that happiness for him. Not the way that he deserves. I think he really needs to be with a stable person or couple who can literally have their lives revolve around him. Ideally without any cockatoos in the home, as he clearly likes to be the only bird. His old owners had a pet budgie that he apparently liked, but that's his only other experience with other birds. He chases our cockatoo from perch to perch when they are out together, though he doesn't go out of his way to attack her. He can co-exist peacefully if he has his own area of a room.
About Henry:
Henry is a sensitive boy who loves Sesame Street music as well as all things Disney. Moana is his favorite movie ever, and he whistles snippets of songs. He loves Pinocchio a well. He doesn't say a lot of words, but he loves to whistle. He has a specific bedtime routine that we hope his new home could stick to (a specific song that we sing to him that his old owners used to sing as well as Zupreem primate biscuits soaked in hot water and fed to him... he's had these things for 16 years and could possibly be weened off, but to take them away completely and suddenly would be traumatic for him). He self-entertains (unlike our cockatoo) by chewing rope or shreddable toys. He's usually content to just chill in the room with his person and doesn't need a lot of fussing over.
It took him 3 years to let my husband finally pick him up. He takes a very long time to warm up to people, but once he does he's really sweet. He's not a huge fan of being petted or held, but he does enjoy snuggling on your chest once he trusts and knows you. I was able to hold him after about a month of being with him all day long.
He does hold a grudge. About every November, he goes through aggressive episodes where he'll bite me when I try to hold him to move him from one room to the next. He gets over it, but it takes time. I have found that yelling at him or scolding him makes things much worse. We're currently going through one of those phases right now, and while I know it will eventually get better, I'm not sure if I can handle going through it every year anymore.
I am not 100% sold on the idea of even re-homing him yet, so I'm just putting out feelers to see if there is someone out there who might be a perfect fit for him and would not leave him in a cage all day or turn him into a breeder. He is a member of the family and we only want him going to someone else who feels the same way. We're located in North Idaho.
