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Introduction to Mr Grey

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Introduction to Mr Grey

Postby VanessaGregory » Sun Apr 16, 2023 4:11 am

Hi my name is Vanessa and I am 81 years of age. I purchased Mr Grey, who is ten years old in mid February. I live in a multigenerational household with my son 59 and my grandson 14 so did not fuss over my age.
The seller said Mr Grey did not like being touched and I decided not to proceed with a purchase. Some days later he messaged to ask if I had thought any more about Mr Grey and we went to meet him.
My Grey immediately took to my son, danced, held his finger, put his head down for scratches and said hello. On the strength of this we proceeded with the purchase. For well over month Mr Grey flew to my son and sat on his shoulder. They did things in the garage and around the house. We closed the windows when he was out as we live above the ocean and have no screens. He flew up to the mezzanine, sat on my sons lap as he messaged on his phone and did not care if the dog knocked him out of the way for a pat. He accepted the cat although he had lived in a cat free household. I took on the feeding and cleaning the cage. My Grey largely ignored me except to say, Hello darling, which he also said to the cat and take nuts etc. He does however call for his former owner.
Unfortunately, he became scared when my son dropped a pan in the sink and he bit his ear. My son reacted and flipped the tea towel at him. Mr Grey let out a serious, "Fuck" and was dislodged. The next time he flew to his shoulder he nipped his cheek. As a result Mr Grey now has limited time out of his cage as we work on solutions. I considered a wing clip as he flies straight at my son to bite him but we are not keen to do this. He can be so sweet and take food gently or drop it and try to nip. I put him and his cage on the deck each day so he has access to sunshine. I am stopping access to seeds and feed him steamed brown rice and a chop of mixed fruit and vegetables. He loves corn on the cob and passion fruit. He has gone off walnuts and almonds but will take a peanut. I am reading everything I can to turn this around. He no longer hisses at me and will dance when I play music for him or sing to him. He had a Quaker parrot friend which he was also parted from with the move. An Australian Magpie flies down, perches on his cage and sings. It also clears up dropped food. I am hoping to learn from this page so we can restore the relationship we had with Mr Grey and enjoy his company without further mishaps.
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VanessaGregory
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Location: Sunshine Coast Queensland
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: African grey
Flight: Yes

Re: Introduction to Mr Grey

Postby Pajarita » Sun Apr 16, 2023 9:52 am

Hi, Vanessa and Mr. Grey, welcome to the forum and thank you for adopting. Just a couple of things: 1) use only Basmati or Jasmine brown rice grown in India or Indonesia (it has no arsenic) but I would suggest you also use whole grains like oat groats, kamut, hulled barley, red rice (much more nutritious!), spelt, etc. because of all the whole grains, rice is the one that provides the least amount of vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber.
2) if you are going to feed nuts, do use walnuts and almonds =peanuts are not nuts and are much less nutritious.
3) most likely, the main reason why he bit was because his honeymoon period was finished (they always behave at the beginning but, eventually, they feel comfortable enough to show their true colors) but I am always surprised when I hear of a grey that bites. I've cared for seven of them and none of them ever bit - quite the contrary, they were all sweet sweet birds that loved to perch on shoulders and coo at their humans. So, in my opinion, there is always a good reason why they bite... of course, being hit, even with a towel, must look like a good reason to them :lol: One doesn't want them to hold a grudge (and they do!).

Be patient, rehomed parrots take up to two years to fell 100% in a new home.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


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