Hi! First time parrot parent. All advice welcome.

[MirandaG]

Hello everyone. I'm Miranda and live in Ohio. My husband and I just bought a 3.5 mo old female African Grey named Gypsy. She's been with us a week today. This is our first time owning a parrot ( or should I say, this is the first time a parrot has owned us) We do not have much experience with birds (I had a couple of parakeets as a child) but read several books and researched a lot of websites before acquiring her. She seems happy. She whistles and chirps a lot. She loves to play, listen to music and watch me dance and really enjoys showering with us. I would really appreciate any advice, tips, hints and tricks.

Thank you in advance

 

[Julie86]

Welcome! I am new to the site and soon to get my first bird! This is a great place with lots of info available! I hope I can be of some help sometime.

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new addition

It sounds like you are doing the right things, but there are many Grey Owners on here that will be able to give you great advice.

Do you have any pics to share with us?

 

[momto3]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Have you had her to an avian vet yet? I would suggest doing that right away if you haven't already done that.

 

[aliray]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new baby

 

[MirandaG]

Good morning. I will post some pics when I get home. I tried to do it from my phone, but cant. Hoping to pick up lots of good advice from here. Have tons of questions despite all the reading I've already done.

 

[MirandaG]

Hi! She was at the vet the day after we brought her home. We have a well respected avian vet in our area, thank goodness. Per the vet, her overall health was good. She has some stress bars on her tail feathers, but the vet said that is common in young birds. She also has a nasal infection. The vet said that wasn't uncommon, especially for birds in this area at this time. She is on three meds right now and I haven't heard her sneeze in a few days so hopefully its working.

 

[Sherry]

Hi, I think the best advise is to enjoy your baby grey. Find out what she likes and doesn't like. Try to only give her seeds as a treat or training reward, introduce new toys slowly (some might be scary to her) and lots and lots of love. Welcome to the group the people here are really knowledgable and very nice.

 

[MeganMango]

Welcome and congratulations! This is a great community, its been a great resource for me as a first time parrot owner.

 

[weimdog2]

Hi Miranda! I too am owned by an African Grey. My little Penny is a Timneh and will be one at Christmas time. I got her the fourth week in March of this year. She is AWESOME! You are in for so much fun. My suggestion is to make sure she is getting lots of fresh veggies cut into very small pieces. Penny gets carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, snow peas and peppers every day with two grapes cut in half for breakfast. I do have the small Zupreem pellets mixed in too. I offer her many of the foods we eat, some she likes and some she doesn't. She has taken to eating food she previously refused when she saw me eating though. Just keep trying. Talk to her A LOT! I have found that if we repeat things for quite a while and then stop, that's when she comes out with it. Handle your baby and give lots of loving!

Good luck! I look forward to hearing your experiences as we're both new Grey owners!

Jill and Penny

 

[MirandaG]

Thank you all. Im only giving seeds right now that are in the nutriberries. I have to squirt her meds on them. Its the only way I can get her to take it. She was on meds as soon as we got her so I didn't have time to getting her accustomed to drinking out of a syringe from me. She gets fresh fruits and veggies every day. Does anyone have any tips on preparing veggies ahead of time so it doesn't take so long to prepare at each feeding? I also made her a birdie bread that she seems to like. I stuff it in a jumbo maccaroni noodle and hang it in her cage for her to pick out. Im hoping it somewhat mimics foraging. Thanks again everyone. I already have a million questions to ask, so you'll probably be hearing from me quite often

 

[MirandaG]

Weimdog2 - What types of people food does your parrot seem to like? Whenever I give Gypsy a bite of what I'm eating, she usually tastes it and drops it.

 

[weimdog2]

Hi Miranda,

She loves eggs, cheese, cheese crackers (but gets them rarely), noodles, pizza, ice cream, (I know she probably shouldn't have this but she loves it. No chocolate. It's in moderation though.) chicken, roast, bread, cereal. I made a hot wing casserole tonight and I heard my son laughing his head off because she was being such a pest about wanting some. He gave her some of the chicken and potatoes and she gobbled it down. I really think it's just a keep trying thing. She never used to be this welcoming of new foods. I just made a big deal out of eating stuff and she wanted it then. Now she recognizes boxes, and I think even smells as she started dancing all over when the kids made a pizza last night but couldn't see it. As far as cutting up the stuff ahead of time, I've tried and it doesn't work. The veggies just seem to get slimy if I do. I've just resigned myself to getting up a little earlier and fixing her breakfast. Hope this helps.

Jill and Penny