CAG Owner seeks Forgiveness / Advice

[merlin]

Dear Tim, Maureen, & Alex,

You have already witnessed a miracle by having Alex be willing to come down the stairs to be with the family. Usually after an experience like that, most Greys will turn phobic of their owners and cagebound at-best, after being alone in a cage for so many years. This tells me that Alex is a special bird with a lot of potential for becoming a loving companion bird. He's a gem and I applaud your determination to make up for lost time.

The first issue is to realize that pet birds DO bite. You need to learn how to not be afraid of it... and to learn to read Alex's body language that will forewarn you before he's going to bite. Then there are strategies for handling different situations. My Greys are FINALLY well-behaved, but they still bite me every once in a while, when they are irritated with me. You may want to read my pet manual on Greys. It is a Barron's book, but you can order an autographed copy off of this site. It focuses a lot on basic behavior and gives you a few strategies for handling biting. There are also a few articles about biting behavior on this site (in the article section). You can get the book here: http://www.africangreys.com/greyplace/autographbook.htm

Also, Lisa Bono, who is an African Grey behavior consultant, will soon be co-moderating this Q&A with me. I'm a Grey "expert," but Lisa has a regular background in bird behavior. I'm also a marketing consultant and author, and I don't focus fulltime on bird behavior. I'm sure Lisa would be able to help you on this board... and/or by way of telephone conversations in the near future.

Meanwhile, you can really cultivate your relationship with Alex through positive reinforcement work. Identify his absolutely favorite treat, such as sunflower seeds or cashews or somethiung like that. STOP serving it to him in the cage. Instead, break it into pieces (so you can reward more often). That means, to break the cashews or peanuts into small pieces... or do ONE sunflower seed at a time. You will want to use this as a food reward when you are happy with what he is doing... reward for good behavior. Always do it from your hand. You can serve it to him in the cage when he behaves, but from your hand... no longer in the bowl.

Keep a small supply of the reward on you. When you put your hand out for him to step up and he appropriately steps up, reward him verbally and give him a piece of the treat. "Good boy!" When he perches on that stand, you can reward him too. Do it lavishly, but when you are happy with the behavior. This will help tremendously.

What kind of dogs do you have? Are they hunting dogs? You will need to be sure to supervise very closely. You do not want Alex to flutter down to the floor when he's nervous about something and have a dog pounce. That would be devastating for the relationship. You should be strict and make your dogs understand that Alex is family and if they pounced, they would be in a lot of trouble. PLEASE do this now so nothing bad happens. From your past experiences, you seem to have "accidents" happen around your home... with birds. If something happened to Alex, you would be devastated. PLEASE be careful and strict and set up a safe situation. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!

This board is not set up so you can reply to my reply. But you can ask another question through starting a new topic.

Hoping this helps for now. Congratualtions on having a beautiful Grey companion who appears willing to forgive and try again.

Be Safe! Wishing you blessings,
Maggie-