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Aggresive African Grey
| Hi all, I acquired an African Grey recently from my Grandmother who is not capable of looking after "Pieta", any longer. For some months now Pieta was kept in a small washroom with 3 walls to stare at day in and day out coz Gran was too weak to move the cage outside. Pieta is now a very agressive Parrot and although I open his cage at night to let him climb out, no-one can get close enough to scratch his head or hold him. It is very sad. He does however talk and sing a lot and is quite a character. I feel very sorry for Pieta becoz he is pretty lonely when I am out at work for most of the day but several people have told me that he would attack another parrot introduced for friendship I wondered if I could get a female to keep him company and place them in a much larger cage ? anybody have any information about whether this is possible? and also; if anybody knows whether it possible to teach Pieta to stop biting people I would be interested to know how. PS. So happy that I found this group on LinkedIn !
The last thing you want to do is introduce a second bird. You’ll lose any potential relation with Pieta as “birds of a feather…..”
It’s going to take time. When you leave for work are you leaving any white noise on? TV radio – this is important. African Greys are very smart and need lots of mental stimulation.
When he’s out, don’t try to scratch his head it may be interpreted as an aggressive move. The first think you want to teach Pieta is the “Step up” command.
Tuck your thumb into your palm and hold your hand out – all four finger horizontal. Push the fingers under the feet to almost “force” him on to your fingers If he tries to bite pull back slowly. You may have to push into his chest slightly.
He will probably try to bite you right away. The easiest way to counteract this is an “Earthquake” When he goes to bite, drop your hand a few inches quickly, this will put him off balance. Reward with a high value treat for not biting.
Saying “NO” and “don’t bite” is not effective with parrots. They do not respond well to negative feed back.
Your cage should be at least 32” X 23” and have at least 10 toys. Enough toys so you can’t see the bird from outside the cage. Birds are Prey animals and like their privacy. Toys are like the leaves of a tree to them.
You can also call our friend Scott Robbins a professional bird trainer. He gets $25 for a phone consult and is very effective. (847)204-8932 or via email at: scott.robins@sbcglobal.net |
Dear Mitch, thank you for the valuable advice. To answer some of your comments: yes I do leave the radio on for him and when I am at home I take his cage outdoors and give him his 'shower' - a gentle shower using the garden hose - he loves it ! He does have two toys but ignores the new one I got him - I will get more. The cage is the right size as per your spec. It will take a lot courage from me to follow your advice on how to get him to sit on my hand !!! I am petrified as he has broken the skin on my hands a few times already when I've cleaned his cage.. but I will certainly give your method a try and will be more patient with him.
My Gran has called me to say she has two parakeets she wants me to take over from her as well. Do you think this will 'spoil' the relation with Pieta ? they will of course be in a seperate cage and may be some company for him while I am out at work.
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@Bonita - Try using a perch in your hand to get him out of the cage. Many times mounting a perch inside the cage door will help. It's a compromise. When you open the cage door he's on but not in his cage. He may be easier to handle
The Keets should not be a problem, will entertain themselves and will probably chat with Pieta without hampering your relationship – he may have even been missing them.
Your fear may be translating to Pieta – you guys have a lot of trust issues to work out. Try talking to him in a high friendly voice. Play with something he might like – a fortune cookie, a wrapped straw, then give it to him to play with.
Lock a child in a bathroom for days on end and you’ll have a child that probably mis-behaves and acts out. This isn’t that much different as Pieta functions mentally at the equivalent of a 2 -3 year old (autistic) child. Your best tool right now is patience.
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