hello

[bradzee]

Im sorry guys i changed it to public

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHXs1Yi ... vAdPazsJmg

[Pajarita]

Oh, geez, I am afraid that there are several wrong things going on:

1. Cage WAAAAAAAY too small (you can use this one as a sleeping cage but the day cage needs to be 4 times bigger).
2. Cage WAAAAAAAY too low (the top perch needs to be at a standing person's eye level)
3. Bad perch -never use dowels, they are not good for their feet.
4. Wrong location. He needs to be in a quiet spot, with his cage against a wall, in front of a window, in an area where there is people but not a whole lot of traffic.
5. He is DEFINITELY terrified, the poor baby!
6. He has nothing to chew (like cardboard or a rolled-up unread catalog)
7. Healthy parrots are never on the bottom of the cage and his beak is too black but taking into consideration that he was been fed sunflowers, I am not surprised

[bradzee]

thanks for all the information
i will buy a new cage and change the location of it.

what should i replace the dowels?

btw he is not feeding anything other than sun flower, i tried giving him vegetables and fruits but he didnt eat.
what should i do?
and how i can move him from cage to another because he is so afraid.

[Wolf]

Ok, I got to hear what you are talking about and your Grey is growling at you and telling you to back away.
You need to get a new cage as the one you have is not a parrot cage and is maybe about half the size that it needs to be, the only perch is a dowel which is bad for their feet and I did not see any toys for your bird.
Please understand that I do not mean to be rude and that these are simply my observations from your video and that I am offering them as a means of helping you to have a healthy and happy bird.
You have a Congo African Grey {CAG} as opposed to a Timneh African Grey (TAG), you named it Sunshine, do you know if it is a male or female? The video did not give me enough views to tell.
I would like to suggest that you change Sunshines diet to gloop, fresh veggies and fruit and a high quality seed mix. You would feed the gloop for breakfast along with some chopped veggies and a fruit, being sure to provide enough for all day nibbling and then feed the seed mix for dinner.
Your bird has no toys to keep it entertained when you are not able to be there with it. Toys can be as simple as some cardboard to tear up and destroy, or simple pieces of untreated pine wood for it to chew on. Most of the time the simplest way to get wood is to collect it from bushes and trees nearby to where you live. After making sure that the wood is safe for the bird first, you can usually ask for a cutting and most people will let you have one or two sticks suitable for toys or perches. Here is a link to a listing that includes information on safe and toxic plants and woods viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12521 This is one of the better lists and begins on the second page of the thread.
The cage that you have is designed for birds like canaries, birds that do not spend time climbing you know this because the bars are all placed vertically. Birds that climb, like parrots need the bars placed horizontally although most cages today meant for parrots have two sides each of horizontal and vertical bars. Also the paint on the cage that you have will begin to chip very soon as it can't withstand the wear from the parrots beak. Due to the hazards of toxic paint and/or metal poisoning, I recommend that this be addressed right away. The larger cage will also help your bird to feel more comfortable.
From what I picked up when looking at your video, I gather that you may live in or near LA and if you do, there should be plenty of sources for used parrot cages, possibly check with a bird rescue or sanctuary as they may know where you can get a suitable cage for your bird or may be able to give you a good idea of where to look.
Now let's go to the bird. Greys hold a special place for me partly because the are wanted by so many people and are one of the most difficult birds to keep happy. The first thing that you need to understand is that parrots are not ever meant to be alone from the time that they hatch until the day that they die they are surrounded by their siblings, their parents, their mates, and their offspring as well as all the rest of their flock. This is even more important with Greys because of their emotional sensitivity, so the more time that you spend with your Grey interacting and talking to it the better it is. Right now your Grey does not like you so it is even more important that you set aside the time to tame and to bond with this bird. Start with several 15 minute sessions each day to sit and talk with your Grey. Start by looking into the room that the bird is in, note where the bird is and then enter the room. Just as soon as the bird starts to move from where it is stop and do not go any closer. Talk to the bird from this place at the end of 15 minutes say goodbye and leave. Do this every time you go to spend time with your bird and at some point you will end up right outside the front of the cage. Let me know when this happens and I will help you through the next steps. The more time that you can spend with your bird the better.

[bradzee]

wolf ur so helpful, i dont know if he is a male or female, how can i know or should i take a picture so u can tell me?

i tried feeding him anything other than sunflower but he doesnt eat it.

i took all your information and i will try today to fix all these problems.
Thank you

[Wolf]

Greys are one of the more difficult birds to get to eat a good healthy diet and so it takes a lot of time, patience and creativity to get them there. I would feed the gloop and veggies in the morning and a seed mix in the evening. I am aware that he may not eat this to begin with but should begin to eat at least the seed mix in a couple of days and if so then he will not starve. If he doesn't begin eating in a couple of days give him some of what he will eat and then go back to this diet.

[Pajarita]

Just a couple of comments. The wood you use needs to be untreated so you need to make sure the tree or bush was never sprayed with any chemicals. And the bird is not growling, she is making a baby alarm call (as when there is danger and they call for their parents).

Try starting with just cooked whole grains (kamut, wheat, hulled barley and small white beans will do for a start -you can get them all in a Whole Foods), sprinkle a teeny tiny amount of seeds (a budgie mix or a safflower-based cockatiel one), a bit of chili powder (or a drizzle of honey and the tiniest sprinkle of Ceylon cinnamon) and mix them in, once it starts eating them, eliminate the seeds and after a week, start adding veggies to it - first corn and chopped broccoli, then peas and carrots, then baked sweet potatoes, etc. Put this food on a white paper plate at the bottom of the cage. In the evening (this time of the year, around 4:45 pm) give it 1/4 cup of the budgie or cockatiel seed mix (do NOT use the sunflowers - he/she WILL eat the other seeds and they are lower in protein and fat than the sunflowers).

If you give any parrot the choice between veggies and sunflowers, they will ALL eat ONLY the sunflowers. Parrots do not know what's good for them instinctually, they need to learn from their parents and, when a bad breeder weans them to sunflowers, you need to work hard in convincing them to eat the healthier fare. Offer a rather large piece of apple or banana (stick it between the bars), get yourself a 'treat' cup (it's like a food cup but smaller) and put some grapes in it. One type of fruit at a time.

If you don't have a wall in front of a window where you can put the cage, cover the side to the room with a piece of material (the 'open' side should face the window) so he/she feels safe (no 'predator' can get to it from that side) and doesn't feel so exposed to people all the time so, when you do the 15 minutes sessions, do it from one of the sides.

[Wolf]

Never heard a baby Greys alarm call before, it sounds more like a growl than any other sound that my Grey makes, Sorry about that.

[bradzee]

Hello
i changed the place of the cage and ordered a big cage,
yesterday i didnt gave her sunflower but i did a cocktail of kiwi, mango, apple, bannana, nuts, shredded veggies but he didnt touch them, he didnt anything all day.

I will try to mix something else.

i still dont know how to find his gender?

[Wolf]

Try shelling a few sunflower seeds and sprinkling a few on your vegetable mix and see if that helps. May I suggest that to begin with on the vegetables that you try sweet corn, sweet peas, carrots and green beans. You can actually buy this mix in the frozen foods section of your supermarket it is just called mixed vegetables, just thaw it and serve at room temperature or warm it up just a little, you don't want it hot just slightly warm to touch and add a fruit to it when you serve it too.

As to telling if it is a male or female post some good pictures here showing a good view of the side of the bird and a good frontal view of the bird and one last one of the underside of the tail feathers.