# My new African grey



## PoppyLove

HI all I am looking for a bit of advice plz.

Ive just bought a african grey off a lady that couldnt look after him anymore due to health.
She said he was tame and a good talker.
He is 5yrs old

As far as we have heard all he has said is come on n what was that.
He make cliclkng noises and whistles every now and again.

He wont allow us to be near him full stop and if one of the children feeds him through cage he will accept the food but if its a finger he will either nibble it or bite it really hard.

He's seems really nervous as shakes alot.
Ive been looking at vids on you tube regarding them taming and these dont seem to work for me. 
Because if we go into the cage he get worse and runs/flys around cage. Ive tried talking calming voice and given treats. 
I just dont know what to do now.
This is my first grey, my parents used to own them when I was younger but none of them was like this.

If anyone can help with any advise plz


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## petzplazaUK

hiya
i have 3 african greys,one of which was a rescue and really really nervous.
how long has he been with u?
was he used to children before?
has he got toys etc to play with?
where is his cage?
they do take a while to settle and take everything in which could be a few months , they watch everything like theyre observing u.
i would advise not going to near the cage to start off with except for food, talk to him froma distance so he gets to know your voice.otherwise you could scare him completely (which is probably why hes shaking), also try to limit the children going too close- i know its hard because they want to make friends BUt they can bite hard and if he gets scared he may bite to protect himself.

gentle talking from across the room regularly, dont push anything onto him , wait til he comes to u- and in time he will at the mo its all new and scary for him.
if he starts shaking or looking uncomfortable back off from him, when doing his food,cleaning the cage etc , talk to him the whole time- this will help distract him from what ur doing but also reassure him its ok, use words like its ok so if ever hes scared he will know if u say its ok he will be ok.

it really does have to be really slowly

where his cage is situated is just as important if its somewhere busy with people going past all the time it will scare him more, i tend to put mine across the room so they can see the door and make sure nobody just bursts in - open the door a little so he knows somebody is there and then come in, being in view of the door but not by it he can see whos coming in and out , otherwise its liek suddenly people are there beside him (kinda if u were walking in the street and suddenly somebody was right behind u and makes u jump) they are quite shy and easily scared and theyre very intelligent.

let him obseve , see who is who, come to u in his own time and he will be ok , they can and do come around but it will take time for him to settle and one thing u do have to watch is the little ones getting too close or overcrowding him as that will just make things worse then he COULD start feather plucking because hes scared so u want to avoid that.

i have a rescue grey who would literally tremble if u opened a door or anything as simple as that , he would also take off then start heavy breathing through fear , hes been here well over a year(prob almost 2 yrs) now and its only now that hes starting to let me near him - to give him kisses if i use hands he acts as tho he will bite but will give u lots of kisses, he doesnt shake with us anymore or panic (he does get wary if new people are there) and his confidence has really come out to the point hes a bit over confident at times and rules the roost among the 3 of them.
i taught the kids the warnings (fluffing feathers,shaking, eyes pinning) of him not being comfy and gradually hes come around.he had been living in a small cage for 5 years with an old lady and not let out ever, now hes out all day in the bird room.

do u know much of his backround , how he was treated , how often he was out etc?

if i can help with anything else please feel free to pm me or ask here and ill try and help u out hun


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## PoppyLove

I've only had hm a few days he had 2 toys which you could say was useless.
The lady did say that her grand kids used to visit but when they dropped him off her freind said it would be good for him as we have a busier house.

His cage was next to a door which I have now moved.
I've noticed he seems to get excited when my eldest son comes in he's 15 and does like him but he wont for long as all teens do.

She did say that he was a really good tame/talker and laughed along with you when you laughed. I'm unsure because when she was saying bye he went to bite her finger. 

I didnt really know much about him she wanted rid asap she mentioined astma to me. 

I have noticed he has a ring which has split not sure what this means or is infact. Most birds ive seen have a full ring


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## BeagleOesx

As said above he will need to be given time and patience for him to settle in and get to know his surroundings and his 'new family'. Don't try to force him into being friendly or let him feel crowded, just let him come to you when he is ready.

Believe me once he settles in and starts talking you'll be wishing for the peaceful days again :lol: Once he gets used to your voice and that you are feeding him he should calm down more but again this will need time & patience. He will be scared as he has been taken out of an environment he was used to with a lady he knew and now he is somewhere strange with all different goings on to get used to. Introduce into his cage some new toys for him to play with but again do this gradually, they like chewing toys and also shredding toys. These will stop him from getting bored.

We have had Merlin since he was 12 weeks old (visited him from being 6 weeks, he will be 6 in Oct) and he is so much a part of our family we wouldn't be without him. He is such a character and you get to know their quirky little habits, read up as much as you can so you can try to understand their nature and how he is feeling. Merlin talks for England, but if anyone he doesn't know comes into the room he shuts up and won't say a word until they leave or he gets used to them! Sometimes people don't believe he actually talks!!

Good luck and I hope he settles in and you can give him a forever home that he deserves.


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## petzplazaUK

ha ha mine dont shut up either , my husband thinks im in with them when im not because they have my voice to a T, and u often hear hello darlin, alrite,what u doin? who did that? the cat meowing , me giggling, blows raspberries,imitates fireworks (namely rockets) they seem to know laser sounds aswell and thats amongst loads of others 

they are quite shy but once hes settled i bet he doesnt shut up- usually when u have a headache or want to watch a tv programme they know and go off one chatting lol


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## ClaireLouise

Good luck with your grey


They need lots of time and patience.

Your Grey is still really young if he is just 5 years old so has lots to learn still.

It also makes a big difference if he was handreared to how tame he will be


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## PoppyLove

I feeling rather down today. And feel like giving up. I know ive not had him long but these things put you on a right downer 
I've been reading a few posts about the rings on birds and that open rings could either mean imported or avairy.There is a few letters and not sure if No's as there so small.
I also asked a breeder regarding the open ring and was told the same (import/avairy) and he may never be fully tame to handle.
If I put my hand in the cage he will come at me, this I either get bitten or he wants me to stroke his head. If I go anywhere near his legs then I end up with soar fingers. He drew blood today and it hurt
Jake seems to make progress and then when we try again a few hours later its like its right back at the beginning. He doesnt seem to want to talk much and just prefers to sit and watch us. Still makes the crying noise when I leave him.


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## hawksport

The open ring could mean anything It could be wild caught. It could be that the breeder didn't ring it as a baby or the closed ring fell off as a baby. Or it could be a sexing ring.
Was it tame with it's previous owner? Once AGs are bonded to one person it can take a long time for them to start to bond to a new owner. They canalso be very sensitive to changes in their enviroment. When we used to caravan a lot with them they would talk in the car because they went out 2 or 3 time a week for a drive, but in the caravan where they only went a couple of times a month they would never talk.


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## BeagleOesx

Greys are very sensitive to changes (they can pick up on people's body language as well) and it may be that he is still settling in to his new surroundings. Where is his cage, is he in your main room?
They can bond with a particular person, Merlin is more a lady's man and will sit on my shoulder and nuzzle me for ages whereas if my hubby tries to stroke him he will allow him to stroke his head & beak but won't let him touch anyway else. When he is out flying round he will only land on me rather than my hubby or son. It is a matter of patience with them.

If it were me I would be inclined to try to find out some more about his background from the lady you got him from.


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## dexter

we have a rescued AG, he or she?? previously lived with a family with 3 girls, only ever liked the husband and since we've had him 20 years now , he still hates me and will attack me if i go near his cage. Only talks when i'm not in the room.(must be female lol)


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## hazel pritchard

Good luck with your new AG, i would love to own one , ive been looking for yrs for one but really cant afford the high price people ask for them, i can afford feed/insurance etc, but just not the high price to buy one


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## ClaireLouise

hazel pritchard said:


> Good luck with your new AG, i would love to own one , ive been looking for yrs for one but really cant afford the high price people ask for them, i can afford feed/insurance etc, but just not the high price to buy one


What about rehoming one? there isnt many come up but it might be worth enquiring with a bird charity. Or even put for name down as a foster

http://www.parrot-rescue.org.uk/


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## mgarr

hi my african grey is 2 and he likes one to one attention i had him in the lounge but he made so much mess flicking food and water that i moved him in the office and no more food flicking and much happier non stop talker most of the time imotates the house phone after 2 rings its the hose phone i have been caught out so many times


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