My bird behavior

[JJsMOM]

I have an African Grey that's 10 months old. We have had him for a month and a half and he's starting to get more comfortable with his new home but he is still unfamiliar with me and took a bite of my finger and he can now sense my fear when I try to get close outside of the cage. How do I rebuild my relationship? He has bonded with my husband and is trusting him more, I would like the same thing, HELP!

[popcornbird]

Hmmm....if you've had him for just 1 1/2 month, he may still be adjusting to the surrounding environment. If he is bonding with your husband, seems that that's his favorite person. Birds, especially the larger ones, usually bond more closely with one member of the family. To get him used to you, you will need to spend more time with him. Play with him everyday, talk to him, and interact with him. Be the main person to feed him and show interest in his activities. He is very young right now and hasn't been with you for long, so hopefully, if you spend a lot of time with him on daily basis, he will get used to you and become your best friend. I have never had an African Grey, but I have two cockatiels, and it took them around 1 month to trust us completely when we brought them home, however, they were only 3 months old when we got them, so they're young age had them thinking we were their "mommies" so I think that's why they bonded with us faster. Good luck on your bird and keep us updated.

[JJsMOM]

Thanks sooo much for your reply! JJ is my husbands bird so it's important that he bond with him. I just want to be able to bond as well. I'll keep trying, he is getting better though. I continue to talk and whistle to him and I pet him through his cage so I think it'll take alittle time. My husband wants to know about how long does it take for them to come completely out of his cage and explore? Or how long before he gets completely comfortable with his new home?




Thanks

[ChrisH]

JJsMOM, Welcome to Pet Talk, it is a great place to be.
My bird, a cockatiel named Bonnie, was put to sleep just this last Monday so it is a pretty sad time for me but the Pet Talkers have been wonderful with their understanding and support and helping me get through. I would have been totally lost without them.

Anyway, I think parrots are beautiful birds but I don`t know a thing about them, however I have found this site for you.

Bird behaviour expert Nikki Moustaki - Parrot care and training

p.s. I did a bit of double take when I saw your user name for I am JJs Mom too, except that JJ is my grown up son not a bird.

Chris

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by JJsMOM
Thanks sooo much for your reply! JJ is my husbands bird so it's important that he bond with him. I just want to be able to bond as well. I'll keep trying, he is getting better though. I continue to talk and whistle to him and I pet him through his cage so I think it'll take alittle time. My husband wants to know about how long does it take for them to come completely out of his cage and explore? Or how long before he gets completely comfortable with his new home?

Thanks

I actually took my birds out of the cage just 3 days after having them. The reason....................I wanted them to get used to exploring around us. I read this on a certain site in bird taming tips, but I can't seem to find it now. That was 3 years ago. What I did was get a towel, and wrapped it around my hands, so if they bit me I wouldn't feel it. With the towel, I would pick them up gently, and put them in my lap, talking to them assuringly to make them gain trust. Then I would take them far from their cage in another room and release them on my lap (hands back). lol They were very confused when they all of a sudden found themselves on a dreaded human! At first they looked up at me and when they realized where they were, they jumped off and ran to the corner of the room. I let them walk around for a while and explore. Just do this with him everyday and hopefully he'll adjust. My birds are the friendliest birds ever now. I can't say how long it takes because it truely depends on the bird. My bird Popcorn took only 3 weeks, but Muffin took 1 1/2 month. The end results were great. Don't give up! Birds are wonderful pets and you will find your love growing for your little buddy everyday, especially after he is fully tamed.

[Vermontcat]

Welcome to Pet Talk JJsMom! I have a parakeet who prefers me to my husband probably because I am the one who feeds him and cleans his cage. It does take time for a bird to adjust to a new house and new people.
Popcornbird, do you have any links to any bird websites that may help JJ'sMom? You seem to be our resident bird expert here, maybe you know a link that will be more bird specific to help JJs'Mom.

[popcornbird]

OMG how could I forget! Welcome to Pet Talk JJ's Mom!

As for websites.....................

A site that you can find LOTS of help on is

www.birdsnways.com

It is a forum site and they have a seperate forum for each species of birds (I'm not sure if they have an African Grey section but even other bird people can help). You can post your question there and you'll get lots of replies within 24 hours. At least in the cockatiel forum, I do.

Here are some African Grey sites I found:

http://www.oz.net/~fur/greyparrot//faq/

http://www.wingscc.com/aps/grey.htm

http://www.netpets.com/birds/reference/info/timgry.html

And you can always feel free to ask us questions on your bird and tell us stories about him too!

[Vermontcat]

Thanks for posting those links Popcorn! I knew if anyone knew about bird sites it would be you! I just took a look at them and I think they will be quite helpful to JJ'sMom.
There don't seem to be any regular African Grey owners here on Pet Talk , only a couple of occasional ones and once in a while one is a Pet of the Day.

[COCatMama]

I don't know much about African Greys but from my experience with my lovebird Nibbles (RIP), talk softly to the bird, and just sit by his/her cage while you read or whatever and keep up the chatter. My bird bonded very quickly to me and thought i was her 'mate' which was quite funny at times African Greys are the most intelligent birds (besides Crows/Ravens). Maybe offer the bird his/her favourite treats like a piece of fruit or cracker. I think birds are like men, the quickest way to their heart is via their stomach .