Re: How will I handle and start to tame my new african grey

Mongo Sucks wrote: 
rinki <shakuntala.majumder@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I own a grey which I bought 14 days back. I dont know its exact age.
I guess he will be around 1 year.He growls a lot and doesnt let anybody
to come closer.He doesnt come out of cage also.But the situation has
improved a lot. Now he doesnt growl as much as he did at first and also
takes food from my hand but still doesnt come out of cage.What is the
proper way to start taming?When will be the proper time to bring it out
of the cage and how because it bites a lot.



Well, you have only had him for 2 weeks - it can take a much longer time for
him to get used to you and his new surroundings, maybe months, so you must
be very patient.

However, it sounds like you are making good progress already - taking food
from your hand is an excellent achievement.  I always believed that the way
to a bird's heart is through his stomach, by giving him treats.

If he does not come out of the cage, how about if you just leave the door
open and let him come out on his own, without you directly encouraging him
to do so?  Maybe put a treat just outside the door to attract him to explore
a bit.

Continue with the feeding with your hand, get him used to your presence and
your hands.  When he is no longer afraid of you, you can begin to tame him
more (by putting your arm or hand into his chest and getting him to step up
onto it).  But if he is still scared of you, then there is no point starting
the taming process yet.  But the most important thing is that you must be
patient.  Good luck!

Every thing Mongo says I'd agree with. In addition I'd recommend that the birds cage be located where he can be fairly near you as much as possible. Presently he's scared of all the change that's taken place in his life. New surroundings, a new large predator near him, and no certainty of your intentions. Only time and your good behaviour will allow him do decide your ok and let him realize that would make a good companion. You can't force that to happen. You can only let it happen. What you've got going for you is that parrots crave companionship. They'd most likey prefer another bird of their own species, but a human will do if the human behaves reasonably like a friendly bird. What do friendly birds do? Foremost they provide companionship. They just sit near each other when resting. They warn each other of danger. Once they become freindly they may offer each other food. Birds touch each other with their beaks, not their claws. They will provide mutual grooming. What they don't do is grab each other and try to drag them from their perches. In other words don't try to make your bird come out of its cage. That's someting a snake or weasel would try to do with bad consequences for the bird. Do your best not to frighten the bird and just let it decide your ok. Most likely that will take a couple of months, but it could take years or never.. Your bird's past experiences will other humans will have a major effect on how long it takes to accept you.

When flock birds sleep they sit close enough together to provide security. Sleeping near your bird is a good way to let it become comfortable with your presence. In my opinion a T stand set so your and the bird are at eye level is much more "friendly" than having the bird in a cage whether it's locked or open.

My female CAG is sitting on my lap while im typing this. She'll sleep perched on the foot of my bed tonight as she does every night. She feels safer there than alone on her perch. She doesn't even have a cage. She has two T stands, one by my desk, one in the living room with her food bowls. She chooses which she goes. She's about 14 years old and the best behaved of my parrots though not the most cuddly. She doesn't like to be handled. Picking her up by the body will get me a solid bite even after years of living together. As with most parrots she likes to have her neck and head scracched gently, the parts she can't reach with her beak.

.

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