Introducing two female African Greys

[k9shrink]

Hi all,

I'm an American who has spent 5 years in Turkey, but am now returning to the U.S. Despite filling out loads of forms, it appears virtually impossible for me to take my African Grey, Clover, with me.

Luckily, a married couple with another African Grey about the same age as Clover (4+ years) has offered to adopt her on a trial basis. They are clicker trainers, and their parrot is hand tame, as is Clover. Clover has spent two weeks at their house on a trial, to see if she and their parrot Jack (likely another female) can get along. Clover is well-socialized and within the first day was stepping up for them and doing tricks on cue.

The very next day, they started introducing the parrots by having Clover in her cage and holding Jack closer and closer as they both took seeds. Now, 2 weeks later, they are putting the parrots on chair backs and pushing them closer and closer until they can touch beaks. (Still giving treats). (Both parrots are flighted and can escape at any time).

I haven't seen this (we live a few hours apart), but apparently, things are going as follows: Whether Clover is in or out of her cage, she puffs up aggressively when Jack gets within a foot or two. Jack appears perfectly calm at that distance, and both birds accept and eat treats. Eventually, Clover will fly away. At that point, Jack gives chase and tries to dive bomb her once she lands. Clover strikes out at him to prevent him from landing on top of her, and Jack temporarily lands elsewhere. But the next time Clover takes flight, Jack resumes chasing her around the room. There has been no real physical contact, and definitely no injuries.

Does anybody have experience introducing two adult, same-species, likely same-sex birds? (

Is the intro method a good way to do it, or is there a preferable way? Does their current behavior mean that they are simply not compatible? Why is Clover doing the puffing up, but "calm" Jack is the one doing the chasing? Is Jack perhaps showing jealousy of the newcomer in his territory?

OR... Is the behavior they're showing just a normal stage before they become friends?

Thanks in advance for any info!

[Michael]

They're going about it the right way but it's unlikely they will ever get them to be friends. They gotta be willing to accept that they won't ever get along and will have to be handled one at a time. Adel knows a bit about this as she added Maui to Manzi. She detailed this on her blog. Go through her posts about introducing the birds and you can contact her if you have specific questions.

[liz]

I disagree with Michael. Rambo was an only bird for most of his life. Last year I got Myrtle. She thought he was the greatest. He tolerated her. He was 20 and she was 1. It was like a 6 year old boy getting a 2 year old sister. She pestered him. All she knew was "hello" and kept telling him hello. He would answer but after a while asked her "you got a problem?"

The situation was like a 6 year old boy being followed everywhere by his 2 year old sister. She was a pest. It has been a year and they are starting to preen each other. They still fuss but will call if they are in seperate rooms.

I don't think your bird should be brought to Clover's cage. That is her space. They should not be made to be together. They will do it on their own.

It is like an only child getting an adopted child added to her life. It takes time for them to see how they both fit.

[k9shrink]

Thanks for the story and for the blog link. The story about the pestery little sib is a good analogy, though here it's the resident sibling that is going after the newcomer.

I read the blog and sent excerpts to Clover's adopters. They feel they have made more progress and the birds are getting along better in two weeks than the birds in the blog were after many months. It was nice for them to get confirmation that they are doing the introductions correctly and that the birds are--relatively speaking--getting along. The two CAGs will sit 2' apart from each other and do tricks for treats--though they'll occasionally strike in the direction of the other bird without actually making contact. Now the new owners realize not to expect "love at first sight," and that even tolerance is a big step.

Thanks again for your help!

Sharon

[Graybeard]

"Arranged marriage" comes to mind.

[liz]

Clover is defending what is hers. Rambo was chasing Myrtle away too. They were stealing out of each others cages.

About 4 months ago I found them both in the same cage. One morning I got up to find them eating out of the same dish on the play patio (a piece of plywood bigger than the cage wired to the top of the cage). It wasn't long before I replaced their cages with a giant one.

They still bicker but could never be without the other again.

[hunt85]

Thanks for the post, found that long been looking for!