CARING FOR YOUR GREY

CONTENTS:
Daily care
Weekly care
Periodic care
Safety

HOUSING AND ASSECORIES
Cages
Perches
Toys
Play-Gyms

BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
Screaming
Feather picking
Avoiding boredom

DAILY CARE

1.Your African Grey needs approximately 2 hours (of course not all at once) of human interaction and bonding a day (cuddling, petting, talking, grooming or just hanging out together) or they may develop habits due to boredom and loneliness. Also it is good to socialize your parrot to other family members. This keeps your parrot from being possessive of you and from being shy around others.

2.Offer your parrot fresh water daily. Parrots can get a water dish nasty fast so make sure to wash the water and feed dish daily.

3.Offer your grey an assortment of fresh fruits and veggies twice a day. Never leave food in cage longer than 2 hours. Food can spoil and contaminate.

4. Offer, along with fruits and veggies, a pelleted feed such as Zupreem pellets and Nutri-Berries. Pellets can remain in the cage if dry.

5. Clean the cage's bottom tray daily and replace fresh paper. Parrots can be notoriously sloppy eaters and food can fall to bottom and spoil not to mention the excessive droppings make it unsanitary.

6. At bedtime, cover your parrot's cage. I prefer a dark cover that doesn't allow much light to filter through. Some lighter covers allow light to seep through and can cast shadows that can frighten a bird and cause him to panic and thrash about the cage causing injury.

WEEKLY CARE

DISINFECT CAGE- Use a parrot safe disinfectant (find this at your pet store) to wipe cage bars down with. Scrub perches in disinfectant solution. Allow perches to dry before replacing.

ROTATE TOYS- To prevent boredom.

MISTING- Mist your bird with a spray bottle. Doing this keeps your bird healthy and keeps feathers clean as well moisturizes their skin.

PERIODIC CARE

BATHING/SHOWERS: Some Greys love them others dislike them. Baths are necessary for maintaining your birds health. If your Grey cannot tolerate being exposed to running water you can saturate your Grey with a misting bottle. It is best to do this in the morning so they will have ample time to dry before nightfall. Keep wet birds away from drafts and make sure the room is not cold. Some parrots enjoy being dried by the blow dryer as well.

WING CLIPPING

NAIL TRIMMING- Occasionally your bird will need a nail clipping if he doesn't have a concrete perch provided. When clipping, only clip the smallest portion on the tip of the nail. If you are not comfortable with nail clippers you can use a nail file instead.

*** If wing clipping and nail trimming is something you do not feel comfortable doing, your avian vet can usually provide this service for you.

SAFETY

1. Never let your parrot out unsupervised. They, like toddlers, always want to learn and explore their surroundings. 2. Always make sure the ceiling fan or any fan in the room is off. 3. Make sure screens on windows are closed

HOUSING AND ASSESCORIES

CAGES: Should be a minimum of 2'x2'x3' Some cages have a Play stand on top, although I prefer not to use it. A bird higher than its owner tends to think it is dominant over its owner. Bar spacing should be 1/2 inches apart. Perch diameter should be 1- 1 1/2 inches. It is best to have one of each It gives the bird a good chance to stretch his foot muscles.

KINDS OF PERCHES:

1.Traditional wooden dowel

2.Manzanita- A little more expensive than the average perch but the is a branch like perch that varies in diameter in different sections

3.Cement- Allows birds to groom their beaks and toenails on. Saves on toenail clipping.

4.Rope-Provides softer perching

PLAYGYMS/ T-STANDS: This is where your Grey will spend most of her out time. I like to keep mine in front of the window so Ceasar can watch the birds outside. Play gyms come in many forms. PVC and Manzanita are both common types. Some come with a variety of toys attached, ladders and swings.

TOYS: Greys enjoy playing with blocks of wood strung on ropes, bells, Ropes with knots that they can chew on. Be sure to check your birds toys periodically and remove toys with broken or loose pieces or ropes that are frayed.

BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AND PREVENTION

FEATHER PICKING- Feather picking is a hard habit to break once it has been established. Some parrots can literally pick themselves bare. This is a sign of stress, or can be a sign of a intestinal parasite. Parrots who do this do it out of boredom or a sudden change in their environment Feather picking is soothing to them and it becomes a negative routine. Parrots love routine, which is why consistency is important in caring for greys. Consistency and proper amount of attention is required to prevent feather picking. Sometimes changes in the environment such as rearranging furniture can cause stress to the bird. Its best to arrange the furniture while the bird is able to see what is going on, and not be surprised by coming into a room that was once familiar and now different. Greys can adapt to change just not readily.

SCREAMING: Greys are generally quite birds as far as other Parrots go. Although they can and will scream if they are not paid attention to or are bored. They do this to get attention, which becomes a negative habit when the owner rewards this behavior with immediate attention. Even negative attention to the grey is better than no attention at all. Once again to prevent this habit consistency is important. The owner should not spend time at great lengths with the parrot only to turn around and ignore it the next day. Birds come to expect what is routine and any major change in routine can create these habits.

WAYS TO PREVENT BOREDOM: Occasionally Play a TV or radio while your away. Rotate you parrots toys. Just like children, Greys get bored with their toys too. Replace old toys. Put them aside; bring it back a week or 2 later and its like a new toy again.

 

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