[him2]

Hello people, I'm new here and a new parrot owner. I got my congo grey from a newspaper advert last week. I have wanted a parrot as long as I can remember but hadn't planned on getting one yet, but the ad sounded so desperate I rang the number and after hearing a pathetic plea I went and got him. They told me "he's" about 3 and tame and talking. He came with a big cage, about 4feet high by about 18 inchs round, it had only one perch, two dishes and a battered metal mirror, no food or anything and they gave me very little information about him. In fact they couldn't get rid of him (and me) fast enough. I soon found out he's not very tame and the only word hes said (not very clearly) was a very naughty one. He will not let me touch him and he bites like mad and it hurts, usualy drawing blood. I had no idea what to feed him and the local "pet shop" gave me a bag of seeds and said thats what they eat, but he wouldnt eat it.
I found this place and someone called tatooed parrot gave me as much help as she could and told me about your reading list and toolkit. She saved my bacon, so thankyou. Since then I've been reading almost nonstop, boy theres so much to try and learn, but at least I now know what hes supposed to eat, even if hes living on carrots and podded peas and apple mostly for now, at least its progress.
It seems that everything is wrong, cage, no toys, biting, scared, and so on. I took him to my local vet who only sees a few birds now and then who checked him over and said he seems OK and fairly healthy, but said he needed a bath, shes going to find a specialist vet in my area for me. Im looking for a better cage cause the books say the one he has will send him batty. So thats the first question, what exactly does he need in the cage department (Im not rich).
I did buy him a couple of toys and a rope perch but hes "eaten" the wooden one already and Ive found out he likes ripping up paper things.
I cant handle him so after reading about showering with your bird I "improvised" and gave him a shower in his cage with a watering can with a fine rose on, strangely he seemed to like it, I hope that was OK to do.
Well thats all for now, thanks for listening.

[TPG]

Hi again, and an official welcome!

I'm glad you've got him to eat something, at least that's a start! As for the cage, the general rule is buy as big as you can afford. I'm currently saving for a new one as I think my CAG's is a bit on the small side. Unfortunately they are quite expensive, which annoys my alot as I'm a very impatient person - when I want something I want it now!!!

As I said to you on the chat box before, there are loads of really clued up people here, now you've posted I'm sure they'll be along to give you some more informed advice!

Good luck!

[Mama2ManyMouths]

Welcome to AnAG!

Thank you for caring about this poor bird, and taking this step to improve his life. People who are desperate to rehome a parrot will tell the prospective new owner ANYTHING to seal the deal, so don't believe 99% of what they told you. Definitely take him to a good avian vet as soon as can be arranged, as they will be in a better position to let you know what he needs urgently and what can wait a while until your resources are in place.

As already mentioned, the bigger the cage the better for bird. They need room to flap their wings, hang upside down like a bat, and be rambunctious. Since he is not really tame, you will have to do the best you can for now, but the absolute minimum sized cage for this bird should be 2 feet deep by 3 or 4 feet wide by 3 to 7 feet high. This may sound large, but it's just enough to turn around in for a young and potentially hyperactive parrot. A used cage will be more affordable than a new one, so check the local listings, check other bird boards for any ads for cages, you can even call your branch of the RSPCA for leads on where to get an affordable used cage for your new friend.

A good diet consists of:

• a solid staple: cooked pulses, whole grain toast, pelleted diet & seed (avoid sunflower seeds)
• fresh vegetables or thawed frozen veggie mix (peas, carrots, corn, squash, yam, peppers, broccoli, romaine lettuce, etc.)
• fresh tropical fruit or thawed frozen mix (mango, papaya, pineapple, pomegranate, coconut, guava, etc. NO AVOCADO or EGG PLANT)
• red palm oil or palm nuts (high in carotene)
• safe table food: mashed potato, a wee bit of cooked fish, fresh green salad (without dressing, or too much spinach), cooked egg, other plain cooked vegetables
• birdy bread (homemade from a good basic cornbread or banana bread recipe but with added parrot ingredients like veggies, fruit, nuts)
• raw nuts: walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews (NO PEANUTS)
• plenty of fresh, clean water with a few drops of apple cider vinegar in it (an excellent digestive aid)
• Nekton-S multi-vitamins, but only as directed by your avian vet
• Avian specific probiotic (to maintain the healthy flora in his digestive tract), especially needed when they've been on a very poor diet, or taking medication

DO NOT FEED:

• avocado
• eggplant
• onions
• raw garlic
• raw potato *except the orange "potato" aka yam
• chocolate in any form
• alcohol in any amount
• mushrooms of any type
• white bread
• fried foods (chips, crisps, cheesies, fried chicken, fish, etc.)
• highly salted foods
• dried fruit made with sulfites (if they are brightly coloured, they were processed with sulfites, regardless of package claims)
• highly sugared foods like candy, sweets, cookies, cold cereals, cake, pastries, ice cream, etc.
• dairy products including milk, cream, cheese, butter, ice cream, cottage cheese, flavoured yogurt
• soya products including tofu, soy milk, soy cheese, soy "meat"
• fatty foods like pizza or baked pasta

As far as his wildness goes, you must not make any demands on him - no step ups, or unnecessary handling until he has gotten used to his new environment, cage, food, and YOU. He has the potential to live a very long time, so you will have plenty of time for taming and training. You can learn about parrot body language to save you from serious bites - go to our Links section at the top of the page, click on Avian Resources and look for Barbara Heidenreich - Good Bird Inc. about half way down the page, follow the links to her site for more detailed info and how to obtain her training DVDs (training people on how to work with parrots.) She breaks it down into easy to follow steps and demonstrates with real birds and not trained birds. Many times she will post new videos on the site and you can sign up for her mailing list where she will send you links to videos that she produces before they are ever released to the public or to DVD.

Keep us posted with how things are going, and we will be here to help in any way we can.

[level42]

Might want to mention not to cook anything in Teflon or any other non stick pans. (They have chemicals in them that are very harmful to birds)

[Birdlette]

Greys need a stimulating environment. They love to shred stuff. you can take old phone books or paperback books and wedge them open in the bars of the cage for him to "read" Hide some treats among the pages. Take a small cardboard box or cardboard egg carton and fill it with shredded paper, a few treats and chewable toys and let him rummage around in it. Mine likes to chew the tops of plastic tub containers like dairy products come in. You can get inexpensive wood pieces that are vegetable dyed for him to chew on. Expect him to routinely destroy the toys you buy. This means the toy is a success! If he seems scared or wary of a new toy leave it lying around in site across the room and gradually move it closer every day until he is comfortable with it. Sometimes if you shove something alien in the cage they have never seen before they will wig out on you.

Bless you for rescuing this bird and giving him a good home. It sounds like you are well into the learning curve and doing all the right stuff. There is plenty of good info on this site and everyone is friendly. Hope we can help!!

One more word about re-homing a bird: Give him plenty of time and space. Just hang out with him in the same room and be with him... sit in a chair with your back to the cage and read to him outloud(kids books are terrific for this! but anything is fine) Gradually move the chair closer until he is comfortable with you right next to the cage. Look at him out of the corner of you eye--sideways instead of staring straight on. To a prey bird an intent gaze can mean a dangerous predator is honing in on them. When you do look straight on break your gaze by either looking away and dropping your head or with a slow blink. This all sounds silly but its body language that telegraphs safe signals to the bird that you mean no harm. I have done this with my rehomed bird who was shy to begin with and who now loves to be skritched and sit on my arm. If you practice a calm presence around the bird it will soon understand that you are a safe person who can be trusted. Eventually open the cage door and sit in the chair with your back to the door and let him come to you. Greys are curious, he won't be able to resist!

[Picco]

welcome to you and new cag, you cant go wrong if you follow all above advice and use the toolkit above whenever you need to be reminded of something. i will just add the key is getting him to trust you and that will come in time, for now avoid trying to touch or pick him up, always approach nonthreatheningly, speak in calm gentle tone of voice around him, even if its just singing. offer a treat now and then while speaking soothingly, once accepted praise gently and walk away. building this trust and bond takes months whether its a baby cag or adult cag, the fact that he's 3yrs makes no difference to this. so alot of patience is needed but i can say the end result is worth it, once the bond is formed never do anything to affect or break his trust. im really glad you took him in and hopefully has a forever home with you. welcome on board again....

[Roseilee63]

Hello and welcome to our huge international family, you we soon get to love it here as much as we all do. I cant add to the above great advise, but dont hesitate to ask any questions you may have. Thank you so much for makin this birds life have meaning, im sure with time and patience you will end up having a wonderful life long companion

[ReneeNoelle]

Welcome! You've gotten some great feedback already so I'll just welcome you and tell you I think it's wonderful that you've taken him in and decided to give him a new forever home! Looking forward to hearing how things go as you two get better acquainted! Glad to have you here!

[Titch]

Hi..

I've recently discovered the wonder of Egg Food. i found it at pets at home. It smells amazing - don't buy the red one, as thats for birds with a red plumage.

I sprinkle a teaspoon full onto pulses or veggies like sugar. Any soft wet foods it goes nicely with it also means I can introduce new foods, sprinkle Egg Food on, therefor it still tastes the same as normal so they eat it.. TRICKED!! haha..

Good luck with your new bird and welcome to the forum, it's a friendly place with lots of good advice.

T.

[gold_brad]

him2, on 08 July 2010 - 11:39 PM, said:

Hello people, I'm new here and a new parrot owner. I got my congo grey from a newspaper advert last week. I have wanted a parrot as long as I can remember but hadn't planned on getting one yet, but the ad sounded so desperate I rang the number and after hearing a pathetic plea I went and got him. They told me "he's" about 3 and tame and talking. He came with a big cage, about 4feet high by about 18 inchs round, it had only one perch, two dishes and a battered metal mirror, no food or anything and they gave me very little information about him. In fact they couldn't get rid of him (and me) fast enough. I soon found out he's not very tame and the only word hes said (not very clearly) was a very naughty one. He will not let me touch him and he bites like mad and it hurts, usualy drawing blood. I had no idea what to feed him and the local "pet shop" gave me a bag of seeds and said thats what they eat, but he wouldnt eat it.
I found this place and someone called tatooed parrot gave me as much help as she could and told me about your reading list and toolkit. She saved my bacon, so thankyou. Since then I've been reading almost nonstop, boy theres so much to try and learn, but at least I now know what hes supposed to eat, even if hes living on carrots and podded peas and apple mostly for now, at least its progress.
It seems that everything is wrong, cage, no toys, biting, scared, and so on. I took him to my local vet who only sees a few birds now and then who checked him over and said he seems OK and fairly healthy, but said he needed a bath, shes going to find a specialist vet in my area for me. Im looking for a better cage cause the books say the one he has will send him batty. So thats the first question, what exactly does he need in the cage department (Im not rich).

HELLO,I TO BOUGHT A AFRICAN GREY THROUGH AN ADVERTTAME TALKING AND LIKED OTHER ANIMAL,S....NONE OF WHICH WAS TRUE!!!firstly i cleaned its cage put lots of news paper in the bottom,feeding was hard it only ate grapes,but i persisted ,it now eats almonds ,chillies hot,a whole boiled egg with the shell onits good for them,i give it a lil crack to let it start,eats 3/4 of it mixed seeds,cherries loves them,a word of cation DO NOT GIVE ANY PIPS TO UR GREY AS THE KILL,SEEDLESS GRAPES CHERRIES REMOVE SEED,APPLES TAKE OUT SEEDS,TOYS I GET MY NIECE TO PICK THEM UP AT CAR BOOT SO NOT EXPENSIVE,ITS NEVER LOCKED IN ITS CAGE GOES IN AND OUT WHEN IT WANTS TO,ITS ONLY 3 YEARS OLD AND HAD 3 OWNERS?SO HAD A HARD LIFE SO FAR,ITS NOW HAVING A FLY ROUND THE LIVING ROOM ITS WINGS ARE NOT CLIPPEDITS STILL BITING BUT IN TIME I HOPE ITS ABLE TO TRUST ME,I HAVE HAD IT 7 WEEKS,POOR WEE BIRD,BUT ITS NOW GOT A HOME FOR LIFE,
THINGS THAT WOULD KILL IT ARE>>ADVOCADO ,ANY KIND PIPS ,CAFFINE, ALCOHOL,READ ABOUT THIS ON THE NET. HOPE THIS HELPS YOU.
NET.

[JBryan]

Quote

i give it a lil crack

Now that is a novel approach.

[Mama2ManyMouths]

gold_brad, on 16 July 2010 - 05:46 AM, said:

,i give it a lil crack

JBryan, on 16 July 2010 - 07:51 AM, said:

Now that is a novel approach.

A crack in the egg's shell.... not the other kind.

[Picco]

[gold_brad]

Picco, on 16 July 2010 - 02:54 PM, said:

HEY YES I SHOULD HAVE SAID CRACK IN THE EGG SHELL,LOL

[gold_brad]

Mama2ManyMouths, on 16 July 2010 - 02:44 PM, said:

A crack in the egg's shell.... not the other kind.

YES ,LOL EGG SHELL

[Picco]

we did know but needed the laugh anyways...thats us crazy bird people.

[Mama2ManyMouths]

Picco, on 16 July 2010 - 03:25 PM, said:

we did know but needed the laugh anyways...thats us crazy bird people.

Yup, we know how to read between the lines, but we also have "perverse" senses of humor.

[ReneeNoelle]

You guys crack me up!

[Picco]

ReneeNoelle, on 16 July 2010 - 10:23 PM, said:

You guys crack me up!

crack ? .....'nuff said, no more from me.

[gold_brad]

WELL KEEP ALL YOU PEOPLE ON UR TOE,S LOL