Hand-raised african grey

[sgtpepper]

Can you guys tell me what to look after when I go see them?
I expect them to be territorial and scared, is there a chance for me then?

[Pajarita]

Grays are always very leery of strangers but you should be able to determine whether they are 'workable' or not by just looking at their body language when you approach them (birds that come close to the bars on the side you are approaching from are birds that are not afraid of people) and how they behave with their owners (ask them to take them out of the cage -do they step up from inside the cage or do they need to come out by themselves? once they are outside the cage, do they step up without a problem?). Bring a human grade roasted and unsalted peanut with you and offer each of them one - do they come eagerly and take it out of your hand or do they 'eye' you from a distance and do not approach?

Let me tell you that, personally, I would jump at the opportunity to get a mated pair of grays! Not because I want to breed them but because it's so hard to get a gray to bond with another bird and, having a bird companion of their own is the best thing for them - infinitely healthier from a psychological point of view and even a physical one -superb stress buster!

[sgtpepper]

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Today, we finally saw them, and brought them home immediately.
They were living in AWFUL conditions, the only things they had in their cage was 3 perches made out of metal/plastic , an old mineral stone and two cereal bowls with water/ seeds. They had no proper diet these years and nothing to play with.
When we first got there, they reacted very badly , as I do not think they have ever been introduced properly to a human being.
We have cleaned out their cage and made it much more pleasant to live in! the cage is a bit small for two Greys, but we will purchase another one.

They have calmed down now, and agree our presence, they take treats from our hands and they are very sweet with each other, they share food and groom

Now we are in a bit of a "movement" phase, because they are still in their transport box and have not gathered the enough courage to stay in the bigger one for too long. it's a work in progress now:)


The only "problem" with them is that they do not have an identification ring, which makes us wonder about their origins and their health.

But either way, I feel like taking them out of there was the best thing to do!

[NICrosis]

Neither of my birds have identification rings, but I'm glad you got them. Good choice getting two, now you can use jealousy training tactics. MUWAHAHAHA.

[Wolf]

They are beautiful birds, you are very lucky to have them. It will take them a few days to settle in, I am sure. While I wouldn't do a lot with them this early on, I would hang out with them and talk to them and see if they might like pieces of fruit or veggies for treats. You are so lucky to have a mated pair.

[sgtpepper]

They are incredibly bonded! When I gave the female a piece of apple, she took it in her beak and turned to the male and ate it together with her.It was incredible!

[Wolf]

It really is and I don't even have such a pair, but I do have a Grey and I can tell you that she is totally devoted to me.

[Pajarita]

Cogratulations and thank you for buying them even though they were not exactly what you wanted. In truth, I am green with envy of your mated pair You are going to have to take both of them to an avian vet because going by the conditions you found in, they are, most likely, deficient in vitamins and minerals. One thing I can tell you and that's that they are deficient in vit A because they are not producing enough dust (their beaks are not supposed to look black and shiny, they are supposed to be dull and with shades of grey on the sides from the dust). And, unless they were getting a calcium supplement (doubtful since they were been fed seeds which means the people who owned them did not know enough about parrots dietary needs), they would be calcium-deficient, too. So, if I were you, I would get myself some liquid vitamins (they are not as good as the powder ones because they degrade but they are the only solution with birds that don't eat soft food) for their water and start them on a better diet asap (give them lots of betacarotene-rich foods like sweet potatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens like dandelions, etc).

[sgtpepper]

I am so grateful you advised me to go see them, I knew immediately that I had to take them out of there! And now I couldn't be happier about my decision.
Everything is going great, they both eat from our hands now. We are now learning that fresh fruit and vegetables are good to eat, but still do not know the proper way to eat them.
We have bought some NutriBird Pellets, which are basically the only suitable pellets for them found in Denmark.We will seek advice concerning some avian vitamins, because they obviously did not have the proper diet with their first owner.

They are very afraid of colours and of any toy, snack stick, limestone found in the cage and I do not know how to explain them the opposite, any suggestions?

[Wolf]

Don't worry too much about them being afraid of things like you described yet. They are new and it is to be expected for now. But you can acclimate them to things that they are afraid of one item at a time by showing the item to them and play with it a little with them watching you do so, then offer it to them and if they are still afraid play with it again and then place it across the room from them but where they can still see it and repeat this process the next day until they accept the item.
For the next month, what you really want to work on is bonding with them, changing them over to a good diet and placing them on a solar lighting schedule. Well, in your case you are going to need some full spectrum lighting so that you can provide the proper lighting for them. I forgot for a minute that you are in Denmark and the sun rises and sets differently there than it does here. I really have got to do the study on the full spectrum lighting so that I can give the correct advice on it. Pajarita could tell you the right lights to get, but I am going to have to look that up.
The thing is that you are going to have plenty of time to do other things with them so building a strong foundation based on mutual respect and trust should be your priority for now. The best way to get them eating new foods is to eat them with them. This is also a very good bonding tool for you. In their natural environment the whole flock eats at the same time for protection, in captivity it works as a bonding tool because it not only shows them that the food is good to eat it also reassures them to be eating with you as you are part of their flock.