Hello from New Hampshire!

[Maighen]

Hi! My name is Maighen and I am a first time bird owner! My husband and I just brought home a 18 year old African Grey named Frankie last night! We were told by his foster parents that he was a breeder bird only and is going to be a lot of work! We are up to the challenge and so far have made a little progress.....Frankie comes out of his cage and plays with his toys inside his cage. We can not touch him or walk past his cage without him growling at us. He takes treats out of my hand and throws them and then proceeds to growl. I can however sit next to his cage and talk to him quietly and he will not growl! We were told by the foster parents that he would not leave his cage.....play with toys....or allow anyone near his cage! We have seen him do all of those! Well I look forward to any and all advice and information that anyone would like to share! Thank you!!!

A picture of Frankie!

frankie.jpg (4.01 KiB) Viewed 3072 times

[Roger P]

Welcome to the forum! There are many here that lots of experience with breeder birds and some with experience attempting to help them become pets that can probably provide a lot more information than me. The only advice I would give is to take your time and go slowly, at Frankie's speed not yours. He will do the things he wants to do when he is ready. If you push too fast or too hard you are more likely to get bit. It sounds like you have made some progress, which is good, but you have a long way to go yet.

How long was he with his foster parents? Where was he before that? If he has been cage bound for a long time it will take a while to get him comfortable outside the cage, and to be with you.

Good Luck! Let us know how it goes.

[rebeccaturpeinen]

Welcome to the forum!! This really is a great place with lots of smart people You will learn lots, I did!! Congrats with your new birdie!!

[greymatter]

Welcome!

Merlin, our , likes his food in his bowl - he generally will take treats from your hand, open his beaks, and lets them all fall out - brat! That's just the way he is.

Unfortunately we don't have birds who have been breeder birds, so I can't offer you a lot of advice.

Merlin only growled at me the first few days I had him as a baby - he was not sure of his environment at all, and had been driven 500km to me by his breeder's mate with crazy long painted fingernails. It's a grey sign of uncertainness.

Take your time, and he'll let you know how comfortable he is with the situation. You will learn a lot about his feather fluffs, eyes pinning, and body movements as to what he's ready or in the mood for

Good luck, and I'm sure someone who has dealt with breeder birds will be able to assist you further!

[Maighen]

Frankie was with his foster parents for 3 weeks before we adopted him! His foster home was very very noisy....they had at least 10 other birds....a lot of other animals and kids! There was a lot of chaos there! His foster dad was forcing him out of his cage with a stick and when we were there to bring him home Frankie bit him good because he had no interest in being forced onto the stick. We have not been bitten and we have not forced him out of his cage.....it is really quiet here because we have no other animals or kids! He took a piece of orange from me this morning and ate it. I was so surprised and happy!!! I would never push him and can tell when he is starting to get annoyed with me already. The foster parents do not know anything about his past homes except that he moved around a lot and that he would do absolutely nothing they wanted him to do! Something that I thought was cute.....my husband plays Mario on Wii in the same room that Frankie's cage is in and Frankie LOVES it....he gets so excited when my husband does! He bobs his head and moves back and forth on his perch or the top of his cage!!!! Maybe he'll be a gamer bird

[Jackblackbaby]

Hi there,
I think it sounds so nice and exciting to have given Frankie a good home after him being used for breeding. He sounds like he is enjoying living with you already! Congratulations.
I'm no expert with birds although i have a lovely cockateil, Jack. I have had him just over a year now and have enjoyed every moment of looking after him and getting to know him and it sounds the same for you and your husband:)
From what i do know birds are naturally suspicious at first. It sounds very much like he is progressing quite quick with you already
Its great he took the orange from you ...i think he will progress a lot as you are letting him take his time to trust you.
Good luck and wishing you lots of fun ahead with your little friend Frankie

[Maighen]

Thank you! We want to let him come to us so to speak. I sometimes catch myself wanting to try to scratch him on his head....like when he took the orange from me I wanted to praise him with a little scratch. But in all honesty....I'm a little nervous that he'll bite me and I also do not want to be too pushy! A friend of mine does not believe that Frankie was used for just breeding because he is taking treats from me and coming out of his cage so easily. Could his foster parents have been wrong? Or am I just a special bird person? Lol.

[captwest]

Hey Maighen, welcome to the forum, it's really great to hear of people giving X breeders like Frankie a 2nd chance, we will be glad to help if you have any question, i would suggest you check out some of the older threads on issues you have and don't be afraid to ask "stupid" questions.Most breeder birds are much more productive when left alone and human interaction usually causes poor production.It will be a big change for Frankie switching from a breeding environment to a human flock, it's great that he's showing a interest it what ya'll are doing , i have real hope that he'll make a smooth transition to your home environment. I wouldn't be disappointed if you don't have a cuddle bug in Frankie however i'm very sure that your family and Frankie will do much to enrich each others lives. Good Luck, Richard and Jake

[Maighen]

Thank you! I do have my 1st real type questions.....

If Frankie should bite me......how should I react? I know its going to hurt but if I give the wrong reaction will be then figure out that he can bite me and I'll go away? What should I say to him? I would really like to try to give him a little scratch on the head.....but I do not want to be too pushy or anything. I'm really enjoying him......I was told by the foster parents today in an e-mail that I absolutely need to force him onto a perch and onto my leg.....is this correct?

[captwest]

First of all you need to avoid the bite!!!!Don't give him a reason to bite you.If you do get bit , make as little of a issue of it as possible. Try not to make a loud noise or sudden movment. Don't let him think that biting is the way to get what he wants,ie; making you move away. Please don't push the petting thing, may him beg for it . and when you do pet him only do it for a second and stop, always leave him wanting more. the worst mistake you can make is having him tell you that ,that enough( usually by biting you). It's the same way with any interactions you may have , like when giving him treats, give him one or two and stop or leave him alone , don't force him to bite you to tell you that your bugging him.try little baby step when dealing with him and leave him craving more of your attention.If i were to sit by his cage ,i would speak softly to him for a second or two then read a book for a few minutes. Maybe sing a bit to him then talk to someone else for a minute. If your cleaning the room, stop at his cage and speak for a second then continue on. What you want is for him to crave your attention not drive you away to feel safe from your encroachment into his safe area. Trust me he wants a freind but he needs to feel safe,you need to respect his cage (safe zone) and let him invite you in. PS forget trying to force him to do anything, bad plan. If he's to step up on a stick it's because he wants to, maybe for a treat or whatever, but forcing him to do anything is asking to get bit.