Urgent Help Needed with African Grey

**kobi9019** · 01-14-2008, 07:28 AM

hello there my family has owned an african grey parrot since august 2006 and we recently purchased a yellow collared macaw in august 2007. He used to be a fantastic parrot always cuddling up with me, and very friendly to others, but the last several months he has been very nervous. He/she makes almost like a growling noise (it's non aggressive though, I know this because he will make it and if you make a sudden move he will jump down often cutting and hurting himself

, I just can't describe the noise any better) and even recently he seems petrified. I can only think it's because 1) we keep him out on a perch almost 24/7 now and maybe he's stressed out and needs a cage, 2) doesn't feel secure, ties in with the cage issue and maybe I could get it a little "Den" to hide under like some toys I've seen 3) it's jealous/angry/afraid of the new bird and since my family associates with the macaw, us too? Can anyone help us out it's getting to the point where he will at least a couple of times a day jump down from a 4-5' perch and he's starting to get pretty banged up. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

**BareFootAviary** · 01-14-2008, 08:03 AM

Matt, how old is the African Grey and the YC Macaw? Were they babies when you go them or are they rehomes? This may help a lot.

**kobi9019** · 01-14-2008, 11:37 AM

Umm the African grey was probably 8-10 months old seeing as we had to do little weaning, and the YC macaw was 3-6 months old.

**JaneJacinto** · 01-16-2008, 07:10 AM

Your bird does not have a cage?????? Get it a large cage now!!!!!!!!! To keep a bird on a perch 24/7 is terrible. How would you like to have a 6 foot board to stay on 24/7? Get lots of toys, different kinds of perches to go inside the cage.

Not sure if this is a joke post or not. If not please start reading and do right by these birds.
Jane

**Birdmad Girl** · 01-16-2008, 10:18 AM

Hello Matt,

to Tailfeathers.

Your African Grey parrot sounds like he/she is still young, a couple of years (?), and therefore is coming into that phaze they have that I call the 'terrible teens'. A young grey parrot can be very different from a juvenile, or adult parrot, and they way you cope with them at the juvenile stage will play a key part in how they come through as adult birds in terms of character/personality.

Hand reared babies can be very cuddly, but this does change naturally with the 'teenaged' period. It is possible for them to over bond with a person, and then incorrectly perceive that person as a 'mate'. This can cause jealousy phazes when the bird is going through the juvenile stage, and their behaviour can chage. They can become bitey through what they perceive as a rejection (failure to mate with you), or through the presence of anyone else they see as a rival (another partner or pet).

However putting this all aside for the moment, if your bird doesn't have a cage to call it's 'home', this needs to be rectified as a priority. They like the security of their own ' home' to retreat to, and this of course must be a large cage that you can fill with plenty of toys and things to keep your bird occupied, as Jane said. The lack of his own cage environment could well be a factor in all of this.

Once you have done this, then you can try to work with the behavioural changes, making sure you do not reward bad behaviour by reacting too much, as the drama caused can be considered a reward for the bird. Reinforcing 'good' behaviour and ignoring 'bad' is a good way to start approaching this, and also identifying any jealousy issues such as might be caused by the presence of another bird.

Best of luck.

**Beeks** · 01-16-2008, 07:19 PM

I have a Umbrella Cockatoo and a Catalina Macaw. I am lucky enough to be able to dedicate a bedroom to them, so while they both have huge cages, I never close the doors and they are free to come and go as they wish. My Macaw is more than happy to stay outside the cage, only going in to eat and drink, but the Too prefers to be in the cage at night for security reasons I'm sure. Your bird is going to go through many stages as it matures just like a child. As suggested, I would saturate myself with as much material as you can and exersice a great deal of patience while still setting limits.

**leopard** · 01-18-2008, 03:05 PM

Good luck

**parrotsRmyLove** · 01-18-2008, 05:55 PM

Sounds to me like your CAG is extremely stressed. I have heard a CAG growl and it my experience it is only when they are scared or stressed. S(he) growls then jumps down, tells me he is very scared. Ruby does it every time she goes to the groomer. So I know the growl well.
If this started since the new bird arrived that is your answer right there on what is causing the stress.
Question, does the Macaw have a cage? Or is it on the perch with the CAG? If it is not on the perch with the CAG where is the Macaw, is it next to the CAG?

You seriously need to get your CAG a cage ASAP! If $$$ is an issue, try Craigs list or something, you can get some good buys. If you do go that route with a used cage, sterilize very well before introducing your CAG to it.
Buy 2 if the Macaw does not have one. It is very important for you bird to have a secure place, his cage.
I used to breed and I had one couple come to buy a sun conure baby and they did not have a cage they were just going let it fly around and they had a stand it could perch on, not even meant for birds.
Needless to say, I refused to sell them the baby sun conure.

Best of luck!