My angry African Grey, Please Help !

[jamesbernt]

Hi to everybody,

I have an african grey, I bought him like 3-4 months ago, he never get used to me, in the beginning I was feeding him with my hand, giving some corns, and other stuff, touching his head, and only bad stuff is that sometimes he was puffing the feathers and making some quiet noises like growls,

but it got worse now, he is even yelling growling very loudly and very angry, he doesn't want me even closer now....

Please help me, how can i make my parrot a friend with me :( What can I do?

All helps are more than wellcome...

[mmr]

have you ever tried getting him away form his cage? Might be cage aggression.

[Lisa B]

hi James. Welcome to BB.
How old is your grey? if he is a rehome, what is his backround.
there are alot of questions I might be asking, and we might have to do a phone call to get it all straightened out.
He is afraid of you, might be afraid of your beard(if you have one) the cloths you wear(say plaid, or yellow) Might not like a ball cap, etc.
He might be reading your emotions. You need to approach a grey in a very calm manner, and with a soft voice. They react negitively to people who are usually very outgoing and have a loud nature.
Where is his cage located? is it against the wall, away from a window so he doesnt have to be on constant look out for things that will eat him?
do you have other animals in the house?

My suggestion....
to find a spot in the room when approaching his cage that you can see he is uncomfortable. Then take a step back. Plop yourself on the floor, and read a book outloud, share the pictures...just as you would a child.
each time, see how close he allows you to come before growling. stop at that point, and again, one step back.
This will let him know you are "safe" and not to be feared. That growl he is doing is his way to let you know he is afraid of you.
good luck and please let us know how things go.

[jamesbernt]

Thanks for responses, he has a small cage, (I will buy a large one soon), he is afraid and angry with all people (my family, friends and etc...), his cage is in the corner of the room, not even close to window, I am a full time worker, and I have a couple of hours to spent with him. I wonder if i stay far and not make him growl again, will he become a friend soon ? By the way , I don't know very much of his background, even I don't know how old is he.

Should I get him away from his cage? I only want to know that can i make him a friend with me ? Because he is very angry and frightened. (Do you recommend some special kind of stuff for him to eat.?)

[Astrid660]

I would try to get him to step up on a chair in the next room, away from his cage, and see if his behaviour changes.

My greys love to eat apples, grapes, broccoli, carrots, hard boiled eggs, whole wheat pasta noodles, oatmeal, etc. Maybe he will be more excited to see you if he is getting a consistently delicious breakfast each morning!

It does take time though, there is no guarantee he will ever love you and act the way you expect him to, but i'm certain it's possible he'll consider you a friend soon, just stay patient and calm towards him. Good luck!

[Lisa B]

well, we dont know about his history, so we dont know if he was wild caught and if so, what man has done to him to get him where he is at now. If wild caught, it will take a while for him to calm down. He might have been very hurt, starved or in great pain at mans hands.
he would also not understand where his flock is or family.

If he was domestically raised we dont know if he was abused, or manhandled.

so time an patience. I would open his cage, let him come out, and do as I suggest with the reading to him. Take it slow. he needs to trust you and trust is earned, not given.

the other poster had some great suggestions for food. Often this is a great way to make friends.

[my-africangrey-echo]

Wonderful advise I must say. I agree 100%. As hard as it is you must let him decide when it's ok to get close to you..

[whoisthemaster]

Hi,
when I first got my african, S/he was very angry, afraid, crying even if we looked at him/her. Than I read in a behavior book that I should be taking it to a dark and unfamiliar room and wrap it with a gray or similar colored towel and keep him/her wrapped in it (head partially out) and talk with it, rub its back soothingly etc etc for about an hour (lights either too dim or out). Well it worked, it is still one of its favorite moments, we still wrap it in a towel and keep it on our lap, talking, rubbing, scratching its head etc from time to time. And best of all, the cries, angry actions, animosity stopped. I don't know if it was luck or happens every time with every gray though.... Just wanted to share....
oh by the way, this was about 9 yrs ago....