by merlin » Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:46 pm
Hi Carol,
You have a beautiful heart and the grey is blessed to have found you! I have Googled the Net and found some sites that talk about and show what handicapped parrots can do. Don't fret. Instead, get a positive and determined attitude that you're going to help this little one get a happy and productive life.
I would suggest that you get a wide cage with very low perches, at least in the beginning. You may even want to get something like a large rabbit cage that is wide but not tall. You may want to place soft materials in there so he has a flat surface, and then a few very low perches.
As for the fear, you need to treat him behaviorally like a phobic bird. Place his cage in a quiet room or in a quiet corner of the room that you choose. Place the cage with its back to the corner so that two sides of the cage are facing walls. This is so that a fearful bird does not become more terrorized because he has to watch all sides of his cage for "danger." Keep the lights low and play soft music. Spend time near the cage talking to him and reading to him. Tell him how much you love him and he's going to be alright. Avoid direct eye contact, but instead enter the room and look at him at an angle. This is to make him feel that you are NOT coming after him. Find some treats that he may love... break them into bits (ie... cashew bits or one sunflower seed at a time). Give him the treats as reward thru the cage bars and don't serve them in the cage. Instead, give him the pieces from your hands. But don't overfeed. This will help him get calmer and it will help you begin to build that bond of trust.
Below are the links:
http://www.africangreys.com/articles/behavior/phobia.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER7zkJMAlzs
http://www.skarlettsweb.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=52
http://birdboard.com/forum/topic/5886023-disabled-special-needs-parrot-project/
http://www.parrotchronicles.com/features/disabled/disabled.htm
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Parrots-1638/2008/1/Teaching-handicapped-bird-play.htm
Good luck. Please keep us posted!
Blessings,
Maggie-
www.AfricanGreys.com