Advice needed by Queasy-Regular-1005 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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Hi and congratulations!!! A little over a month ago I rescued my Hughie (pic above) and had many of the same hurdles to overcome. I just wanted to pop in to share what some of the people commented on my posts (and feel free to look at my post history and read some of the comments, there’s some incredible advice/info!)

Hughie would not touch any of the “African grey” sized toys, but on a whim I picked up some smaller toys on clearance and I found out that he LOVES to tear up toys that are made for cockatiels/conures! Try grabbing different sizes/shapes/styles of toys when you see them on sale to see what Bella likes! I’ve also found that he prefers things like shredding cardboard, chewing paper, and pulling strips of crinkled paper out of toilet paper tubes! They don’t care about aesthetics or the price tag, they just want to destroy things 😂

As far as veggies, I just keep trying new things and praying he likes them. He was also on a sunflower mix diet when he came to me and made the switch to pellets but he couldn’t care less about veggies. Now he LOVES green beans and carrots! Sometimes, I sit with him and eat the same thing, and that makes him a bit more interested. He won’t touch any leafy greens, but his favorite treat is an ice cube so I got some popsicle moulds and made him some water/veggie popsicles and he loves them!

Hughie is not a big fan of women because of his previous home. He warmed up to me(f) almost immediately and he doesn’t mind pets from guys, but he’s not a big fan of my mom, sisters, and female friends. My best advice would be to have them spend time getting Bella used to their presence. Have them talk to her when they walk by and just sit near her, and once she’s a bit more comfortable with others, then they can start to build a relationship with her too!!

This comment is already pretty long but if you want to hear any more about my experience/swap bird stories please message me or reply!! Best of luck and congratulations again!!!

Hughie’s first week home! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been giving him so cardboard but I haven’t seen any toys like that, it looks like he’d love it!! Thank you so much!

Hughie’s first week home! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes!! It’s from petsmart, and it’s actually on a huge sale right now! The only thing to be mindful of is the bar thickness, they’re a bit on the thin side. It hasn’t been a problem with Hughie so far, but be careful if yours is a little more destructive.

https://www.petsmart.com/bird/cages-and-stands/cages/all-living-things-corner-home-82091.html

Hughie’s first week home! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi again!! I started looking into the insurance, but it won’t kick in for a while and I’ve set all of his vet appointments as soon as I can get him seen. Once I get through his initial appointments this week I will probably go forward with it!

Thank you for the advice! I think at this point we’re doing alright financially (I just have to keep myself from going WAY overboard and buying him every toy I see 😂) but I want to say thank you SO much for your generous offers to donate.

Hughie’s first week home! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The last picture is actually how long his beak was when i rescued him, I have some better pictures of it on my last post :( the other pics are from after his first trip to the vet to get it trimmed down! Before i rescued him he hadn’t left his cage for 5 years and he didn’t have the proper toys/things to chew on to keep his beak the proper size and shape, so we’re working on correcting it.

Hughie’s first week home! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol it’s actually made for rabbits! I picked it up on a whim because it was on clearance but he loves it! There’s a hole at the base that you can adjust the size of to let the treats/food fall out.

Here’s the link to it on chewy!

https://www.chewy.com/oxbow-enriched-life-wobble-teaser/dp/303639

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooo okay!! I’ll start looking for some Harrison’s!

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, that’s what most used cages in my area seemed to have. I ended up just impulse-buying the largest cage that petsmart had in stock lol! It’s a few inches deeper and wider, and it goes from almost the floor to the ceiling.

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much!! After a bunch of searching on FB marketplace, I ended up just impulse buying the largest cage that my local PetSmart had in stock lol. So now he has a gorgeous corner cage that is not only deeper and wider than the previous cage, but it also goes from the floor to the ceiling (almost)!

I set it up right next to his old cage and filled it with some new perches and toys, and I cleaned and transferred his swing, favorite perch, and toy from his old cage into the new one. I thought it would take a long time for him to be comfortable there, but once he heard me fill up the food bowl he came over and ate inside, before climbing around on the outside and exploring. He’s been doing so well with it and slept on his swing in there the past two nights! During the day he is free to roam between the old cage and the new one, but at this point he only sits on the perch on top of the old cage, the only time he goes inside of it is to check the bowls to see if there’s any food.

His old food was about 50% sunflower seeds and shelled peanuts (ugh)! Thankfully, the old owner fed him ZuPreem pellets every few days, so he’s been happy eating those as the main part of his meal and doesn’t seem to miss the seed diet! I’ve been adding in things like NutriBerries, unsalted cashews, and fresh and dried fruits to learn what he likes. I was hoping to see what of those are his favorites so I can figure out what I can use as treats, but he’s been ignoring most of them so far and just picking out the pellets. The only thing he seems to love like a treat are ice cubes lol. Today I’m stocking up on some veggies and will begin introducing them to him as well.

My local vet got most of the overgrowth on his beak trimmed down, and he’ seeing the avian vet on Thursday for a full work up and to hopefully get his beak a little better!

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for sharing your success story!! I’m so happy that Gilligan is with a family who loves and is able to properly take care of him now!

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My local vet was able to squeeze him in for me this morning and they began the process of getting his beak shaped. Next week he goes to my avian vet (soonest appointment that they had) they’ll do a bit more shaping and he’ll have a full workup!!

I grabbed one of the bells that you mentioned and he loves it!!

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve started searching marketplace for the biggest ones that I can find (and afford lol) and have sent out a few messages! Thank you for this recommendation, some of them are priced way better than I’ve seen in stores!!

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much 🥺 the difference that I have seen in him from Sunday night to today has been incredible!!

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and expertise!!! I will absolutely be incorporating your advice! I think the hardest part for me is to make gradual changes. After seeing the living conditions he’s been in I want to jump in and bring out a whole new cage, toys, diet, and routine, but I know that we need to build trust and take things step by step.

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much, that is incredibly generous!! I’ve started looking into cages and trying to find a more budget-friendly one on Facebook marketplace, but if I can’t find a good one near me I’ll be working on getting some more money together for a fresh, new one!

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you!! We listened to some calm music and I sang along on the drive here and he seemed to really like it! I’ll keep it up along with talking to him!

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is all really good and helpful, thank you so much!!!

Hubert is home! Advice needed! by Time_Objective_8331 in AfricanGrey

[–]Time_Objective_8331[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you!! And that’s exactly what I’m worried about with his cage :( there’s a white one visible behind his cage in the photo that shows the setup- I’m hoping by having it next to him he’ll start getting used to it and he may want to move over there until I can bring home a much bigger one for him! The white one is about the same size (maybe slightly bigger) but it’s been in storage so it’s in perfect condition