Smokey my new baby.

[Smokeymom]

Hi, I a new parrot mom. I adopted my boy Smokey today. He is 14 year old congo African grey and because of the situation before the adoption he has not wanted human contact. He does love to talk. And with today, his cage being close and talking to him he has offered his head for a scratch. He has a wonderful personality. I am hoping with time and some work he will become a people bird again. I hope to get to know you all and your wonderful feather babies.

[Wolf]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I got my Grey, Kookooloo about 4 years ago and surprisingly she was in love with me at first sight. She is now about 15 years old and has not wavered in her choosing me as her special human for even one instance. During all this time, she has never once allowed anyone other than myself to touch her, nor has she allowed anyone, human or animal to touch me when she is near me, she is very protective of me.

I must rephrase the part about her not allowing anyone to touch me, as I have not allowed her to attack any of the other birds we have when they land on me while they are out. She does not approve of this and will still try to get them if I am lax in keeping an eye on her during these times.

I am sharing this with you, not to discourage you in your goals, but to let you know that while it may be possible to get your Grey to be more of a people person, that you should be prepared for the possibility that he is and will remain a one person bird. Greys are monogamous in nature, they bond very strongly to their human and more often than not remain boded to that one person their entire lives unless something happens so that this person is no longer around for them. I think that you will find that while he may accept someone else caring for his needs of food and water and perhaps even cleaning his cage, that there is a chance that he will never accept them enough for them to interact with him on a one to one basis. Also Greys are not touchy, feely birds and do not like being touched other than when they invite the touch. You will know when they want to be scratched or touched as they will bow their head in invitation.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.

Did you parrot proof a room for him to get out and fly or walk to investigate his new home. When allowed out to fly they are less fearful and will bond to you much faster for the respect you show him.
At his age he is coming with a lot of baggage. He has also already developed his personality but will add to it with your care. I have found that they know more than they will let you know. I have found that they can count and if one gets more than the other the first one will complain. I know that they can tell time. They let me know when I am off schedule. There is nothing much more enjoyable than being with a rescue who has opened up to you.

I have a flock of Cockatiels so I have a flock of personalities in it. Most know their names and the names of those around them. Some will come to me. Only Tommy want to make physical contact but he is one of the 3 that I have had a long time. The rest allow me to work in their room and watch me. The surprising thing I have found is that my handicapped Cockatiels, who I never thought would want human contact again, come to me to interact more than I thought they ever would. I do not touch them unless they ask for the touch. I do not trick train them. I just let them flock which is as close as I can get to their natural habitat.

Tell us more about your bird. We want to know it too.

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum, Smokey and Mom! And thank you for adopting instead of buying! Let us know if we can help you and Smokey with anything.

[Smokeymom]

Thank you all for the welcome. Smokey does come with baggage. His original mom passed a few years ago and he was a one person bird. Her family tried to keep him but he refused any of them so they left him in his cages with the only contact was at feeding which consisted of seeds alone. They did this for a couple of years till they surrendered him. What I found interesting is that the fist night here he said "Smokey want spaghetti" and "spaghetti please". When I adopted him they did say one of his favorite foods is spaghetti. So I made spaghetti for dinner and he got a little. He was a happy baby. We have found that when I leave the house he goes crazy and saying come here.

I have birdie proofed as much as I can and I sit with him and just talk to him. He has yet to come out. But I have planned to give him a week before I try anything new. Right now I just trying to figure out what fruits and veggies make him a happy baby.

[Wolf]

I don't know, but it sounds to me as if you may have had a parrot prior to your Grey, Smokey, or you have taken some time to research about them. Still I would like to share another thought with you.

When ever a parrot is rehomed or sometimes even moved to a different location in the home they get scared because the new place is unfamiliar to them. Parrots do not handle change well and if they are in an unfamiliar place they don't know all of the places that a predator might be hiding and waiting to jump out to eat them. It takes them some time to adjust. Greys appear in many respects to be even more sensitive to this than many other species of parrots and one of the things that I have learned about my parrots and especially my Grey is to forget about establishing any type of time schedule when it comes to either teaching them anything new or for their adjusting to a new thing, be it a new space or even a new toy.

[Pajarita]

Well, I tell you, in my personal opinion, all hand-fed parrots are one-person birds but some species bond deeper than others and/or are more jealous/possessive than others and it seems to me that grays fall under the last category. BUT, having said that, it doesn't mean that a gray cannot bond with another person when his/her human is no longer there! They sure can! Furthermore, if he (do you know for a fact it's a 'he'?) screams when you leave the room, he is beginning to bond with you.

Now, as to favorite fruits and veggies, in my personal experience (6 grays), grays are the most difficult birds to get to eat a wide range of produce. Mine are pretty good now (not the best, mind you!) but it has taken years and years of persistence and trial and error experiments so, if I were you, I would start with the stuff that they all, pretty much, like: fresh and very mildly steamed corn on the cob, apples, grapes and pears (ALL my birds like these) but my grays also enjoy juicy fruits (they like to kind of suck the juice out of the meat of the fruit): oranges, grape tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, ripe peaches - that kind of thing.

The trick to get them to eat produce is to catch them when they are hungriest (early in the am) and to eat in front of them as if one did not care and was not thinking of sharing because parrots are parrot sees, parrot wants. Always say the same words so these words or phrase become like the bell for Pavlov's dogs indicating to them that good food will be coming. Keep a separate piece for the bird (don't let the bird bite where you have put your mouth, humans mouths have bacteria that is bad for birds) or make sure the piece you have is large enough so you can bite on one end and offer the other. And offer the same food different ways: in chunks, sliced, julienned, grated coarse or fine, chopped, etc. And in different places: in a bowl, on a paper plate at the bottom of the cage, stuck between the bars, hanging from the top of the cage, inside the cage or outside the cage, etc. My Sophie CAG eats raw carrots but only if they are coarsely grated and on a paper plate and my Isis Redbelly will not touch a single piece of produce inside her cage but will gladly eat the same stuff she refuses outside of it (but not on top of it, either, she will eat standing on a kitchen counter, perching on a box I have for her on my island, etc).

So, experiment with different things in different ways and, if it doesn't work, keep on doing it until it works (I had a CAG that took 5 years to try a blueberry even though she got some once a week).

[Smokeymom]

Thank you so much for the info. I am hoping to follow his lead as to when he is ready for another step. I personally have not had birds, however I have researched the types of birds their different personality types that would fit in my home. And have done so for over 6 months I had to make sure I was doing best for the bird and for my family. His sex is not confirmed but they believe he is male. If I get eggs i will have to reevaluate his name lol.

[Wolf]

Smokey, Smokie, Smoki, is pretty much a unisex name.

[Pajarita]

Look at his tail undercoverts (the medium length feathers that are under the longer tail feathers and which cover part of them - you have to look at the bird from underneath), if they have a gray edge to them, the bird is a female, if they are completely red all the way to the end, it's a male.