13 year old African grey

[lau]

Lola is my male African grey. I named him Lola before I knew it was a male. He has been puffing up his feathers everytime I'm in the room. Let's me pet him in the day. Which he has not let me do in 10 years. He sometimes viciously turns to bite when I'm petting him. What's goin on? Anybody know? I have this bird since he was 4 mos.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.
I have a 21+ Amazon named Rambo. I finally decided this year that he is a she.

You have only had Lola for 4 months. How much did you find out about him when you got him?
You are doing well if you have that much contact with him after only 4 months. What are you feeding him? How big is his cage? What schedule do you have him on? How much out of cage time does he get? How much one to one does he get?

It is the SEASON for all sweet little feathered babies to change personality. He is in heat.

[lau]

Hi, thanks for answering! I have him 13 years. I have him since he's 4 mos. he's got a good life I think but the classic line, he's a strange bird, fits him. He lives in a cage that's about 3x3 ,4 ft high. He lives on a screened in porch. I live in a warm climate. I like ace his cage open all day, he can come out on a perch on the outside of his cage whenever he wants but rarely does.i feed him zupreem, seeds and nuts. Whatever fruit and veggies I have around.but thanks for answering the main ?, I thought he was in heat..

[Wolf]

Hi and welcome to the forum !
Is He a Timneh or Congo African Grey? It definitely sounds like he is hormonal. It is good that he is housed where he can get fresh air, but still needs a way to get a little sunshine in hid day. I know that he is getting some sun but the UV A and B wavelengths are filter out and so it does not help him to convert beta carotene into vitamin A, For that he needs the UV A and B.
I hope that you aren't feeding him the pretty fruit flavored colorful Zupreem pellets as they are the worst pellets that you could possibly feed him. The reason that they are the worst is because of the dyes, the high amount of sugar in them as well as the soy products. The food dyes are bad for every animal human, dog, cat, or bird, among other things they increase the risks for cancer. The sugar is bad as your bird can't process these sugars properly causing a toxic buildup in their body. Some birds have an allergic reaction to soy products. These are the major problems found in many pellets, but are a major problem with Zupreem. But the issue that I want to address is the amount of fat and protein in your birds diet and pellets and seeds are both sources of high amounts of both fat and protein and will eventually cause fatty liver disease. For this reason, I suggest that you take him in and have a bile acids test run on him to detect any liver issues while they are treatable.
A diet that is high in protein and fat will prolong his breeding season as it is one of the main triggers for the production of the hormones needed to initiate the breeding cycle. The other is light. Since I know that he is housed where he get sunlight is he expose to the early dawn twilight period and the dusk twilight period without being covered or having an artificial light on during these two periods as these are important to keep his biological clock in tune with the seasons?
It also sounds like you may not be spending enough time with him. Tell me if you will about his average daily schedule. Is he clipped or not? How much time do you spend with him?

[lau]

He is a Congo. I've mixed natural & colorful for years. I won't but the color one again. I buy different seeds and nuts. I also buy Laberers nutberries . What do u suggest? I'm out on the porch sitting next to him or talking to him 1-4 hours a day, depending. I cover him when it gets dark, open him up in the morn.. Thank u

[liz]

I was feeding mine mixed seed, nuts and fresh veggies. I had been doing it for years and I thought they were healthy. They were not but I did not know any better. Paj, Wolf and the others in this forum who know nutrition told me to change it to a "gloop" with more grains than seed and nuts. Also to increase the fruit and veggie. They seemed a lot happier. The surprising thing is Rambo. He has never flown. I don't close his cage so he just walks around the hours. I also changed their lighting. RAMBO IS GROWING FLIGHT FEATHERS FOR THE FIRST TIME. He was not healthy and I did not know it. I hope he will be able to fly soon.

Search the word "gloop" to see the different kinds the members are making. I steam about 7 different grains for mine. They eat it like I had been starving them.

[Wolf]

With the house lights off is there any artificial light on the birds area at night, things like street lights and such? He needs the light from the early mornings starting just a little before sunrise, you know when the eastern sky starts to lighten up before dawn as well as the corresponding twilight period in the evening before full dark. It takes this special light at these time to set and reset the birds biological clock which controls the endocrine system which in turn signals their body to produce this hormone and/ or reduce this other hormone. An abundance of high protein food is also a major trigger the birds breeding cycle as it uses these proteins to produce the hormones. The changing length of the day and the reduction of high protein foods signal the bird body to stop producing the breeding hormone and to go into molting cycle and then to its normal resting state. Flight is the only form of exercise that can reduce the amount of hormones in the bloodstream during the breeding season.
I feed my birds, one of which, is a female CAG, of 15 years of age, a mix of cooked whole grains and mixed vegetables with about 20% of cooked white beans and lentils for breakfast and all day foraging along with a fresh raw vegetable, a fresh fruit and a fresh leafy green. And then a measured amount of seeds for dinner( about 1/3 cup of seeds for my Grey).
I give my birds about 4 hours of out of cage time daily with at least 1 hour of personal interaction with the bird on me, also daily. I think that both that additional affection and the sudden bite are a product of hormones. Grey have a tendency to not like a lot of touching although they do seem to enjoy a bit of personal attention as well. I spend the majority of the personal time with my grey just letting her perch on me while talking and singing with her, she especially enjoys the singing( although I don't sing well at all) and loves to dance to it and whistles while I sing, such as it is. She is not into treats given in return for doing something and always refuses them, but she loves treats if they are freely given. The sharing of food is both a social as well as a bonding activity for a parrot.
I hope that this will help you with yours.

[lau]

Wow! U guys on this forum are amazing! Liz told me about gloop. I'm going to make it for him this week and try to help my feathered friend . I didn't know I was feeding him the wrong thing. No he's on the dark at nite, I would have to get up earlier for dawn. I'll work on it. Thanks soooo much for all your input and helping me to understand. Thanks again. Ps and I agree affection is not that important as long as I sit and talk and sing I think he's happy although happiest when I stay in the room all the time. Thanks again!

[Wolf]

Actually affection is very important, but some birds are more cuddly than others, for instance a Green Cheek Conure is affectionately known as a Velcro bird due the fact that it wants to spend the majority of its time on its human. My Senegal and parrotlet both like to spend their time on me getting head scratches for hours at a time. My Grey wants to perch on my hand or shoulder for maybe 30 to 45 minutes with maybe a head scratch tossed in and then want to go exploring. She will also sometimes want to play with me and wrestle for a couple of minutes but is not into cuddles or touching much at all.
It really depends on the bird and its individual personality. My Senegal would feel neglected if I treated her the way that my Grey is happiest with and if I did my Grey the way that my Senegal likes, she would be up in arms at the invasion of her personal space and would resort to biting. I have five different species of parrots that all have their own unique way of interaction and they must all be treated in accordance to their own likes and dislikes or they are not happy campers.
As long as it is warm enough for your bird and if he is on the dark side of the house you probably don't need to cover him at night and he will automatically get the predawn twilight without you doing anything. Or you could cover the cage but leave one side open and he will still get this particular light.

[lau]

OK, great idea, one more thing. So what type of seeds and nuts would you suggest. company name ? Doesn't Kaytee make a mixture of pellets, seeds, nuts… along with me making the gloop.??