| My roomate Yvonne aquired an African Grey who was not hand fed,
complete naked except her head, and very mean. The woman who previously
owned the bird never spent time with it. Birdie growled, hissed, and
bit the first year Yvonne had her. With a persistance and patience
Birdie came around. Initially, when Birdie and I first met, she'd
try to bite, but the more time I spent, the more accepting she became.
Now she cuddles with the both of us, and is even happy to see visitors
(although she doesn't like to be handled by
anyone but us). Now that we have another bird (an Amazon) Birdie has
stopped plucking feathers as much. Birdie was 5 when Yvonne got her.
If such a meanie as this continues to get better, I bet those 2 could
be tamed as well.
So I suggest is if your son is *willing to spend time with the birds*
and not be afraid of a nip every so often, his efforts will be rewarded.
I'd keep the kids at a distance for a while, though. Also he should be
aware that African Greys (and most large birds) live quite a long time,
so it's a long commitment.
Best of luck!
Linda
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If these two birds have been kept together, then I wouldn't
separate them just yet. My suggestion would be to keep them together
until such time as they are used to their new owners.
When your son brings them to his house, they will already be
shocked due to moving to a new home. To separate them at that point
would only compound their shock and make them harder to tame. If they
haven't been kept together then, it would be ok to keep them separate.
African Greys, along with a lot of other birds, like to be where
the action is. Remember..., if you are successful in taming them down
, they will not be just pets, they will be members of your familly.
And you can bet that they will consider themselves just that if you
tame them well. Place their cage in the familly room, or whatever
room the familly spends most of it's time in, watching TV or whatever.
Don't be pushy. Don't start right off trying to tame them. Just
talk to them every time you pass their cage or come into the room.
They may growl, like junk-yard dogs and run as far away as they can,
but just talk to them pleasantly in your normal voice. No Baby talk!
I hate it when people talk to their birds thatway. If you talk
in your normal voice, they will understand it better. Hearing; "Jonsey
want a cracker" is a lot easier to understand and mimic then; "Jonsey-
wonsey wanna wuttle quacker?" Next time you see someone talking to a
bird like that, look at the bird's expression. He'll probably be
looking at the talker with that "who the hell is this wacko... can't he
speak normal or what....!"
Give them at least a month, (if not longer), just to get used to
their new home. You'll notice the change in them as they settle down
and get used to the new place. Just keep talking to them alot. You will
find that you can get only so close before they will really get nervous.
Don't go any closer then they want you to at first. As they settle down,
you'll probably find that they will allow you to get closer before
getting buggy, maybe not. Just go slow. If you try and force things,
you could end up having to start from scratch again.
When they will let you get within arm's length of their cage
without losing it completely, then you can try giving them treats. I
usually start off with Ritz crackers. My greys absolutely love them.
At first they may ignore you. If so then place the crackers in the cage
where they can get them after you back away. Near where they perch or
in their food bowl. Once you can see that they are eating the crackers,
then you can try handing crackers to them.
Most likely, the male, (if there's one there), will be the first
to take any food from you directly. The female will usually stay back
and get her food from the male, (if they are paired off or at least
going steady...). Sometimes it's the other way around but rarely.
The big thing to remember is to GO SLOW! You must have a lot of
patience and above all you must expect to get bit. Here's the hard
part. If you get bit, don't you ever, never, not even on a sunday,
ever jerk your hand away. That will pull the bird off balance and scare
him more then you. If a bird bites you, immediately, (but not too fast,
even though your hand may feel like it's being sliced and diced), raise
your other hand above the bird, but at least an arm's length away.
Unless the bird has lost his balance and is holding on to you for dear
life, he will let go as soon as you raise your hand. If you show fear,
by jerking your hand away, etc, then your grey will know this and use
it to keep control of you.
If I eat anything in front of my greys, I offer them some. Sharing
food with your bird identifies you as familly. Of course in my case,
Jonsey, my favorite, either gets his share or he comes over and
personally takes his share. His mate will sometimes take food from me,
but prefers to take it from Jonsey once he gets it from me. Needless to
say this sometimes causes some hilarious situations, as jonsey retreats
all over the cage, crawling around with a ritz cracker in his mouth
and telling Isabelle to "Go Home!", trying to save HIS food for himself,
with Isabelle close behind trying to get her share....
There are no guarrantees that your son will be able to tame these
birds. All you can do is give it your best shot.
Good Luck!
Mark
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