Is 5 months of age too young to have picked a favorite?

[Gizmomania]

Maalik seems to have picked both me and my daughter as his favorite peeps. He warns my son and husband when they're going to touch him that he doesn't want them to. Is this a little young to have picked favorites

 

[lotosha]

I brought my CAG at 5 month from the breeder. As I was the primary caregiver and my husband didn't know how to handle her, she picked me right away.

 

[MikeyTN]

They know who they like at a young age. But you can try to have the boys socialize with the birds a bit more and as young as Maalik is, he should be easier to train to be with them just as good.

 

[punkindave]

Took a year for Neytiri to not be nippy and defensive around me. Now she tolerates me and even seeks me out for attention.
I've read that babies tend to bond to the one giving the most care and later they can bond to someone who is stronger and teaches them. Kinda makes sense.

 

[Gizmomania]

I've read that babies tend to bond to the one giving the most care and later they can bond to someone who is stronger and teaches them. Kinda makes sense.

Yes, it does make sense. I'm probably going to be the 'all in one' person for him then.

Mike, I'm working on having my son interact with him more. What happened initially is my son would go towards him way too quickly, and refused to read his body languages when Maalik was clearly backing away from him. He continues not to heed my advice; hence, Maalik isn't very fond of him. As for my husband, he only recently decided to not enjoy his company as much as me, although he seems to tolerate him more than he does my son.

Maalik will happily fly to both my daughter and me, and occasionally to my husband. It just seemed to me way too soon for such a young bird to establish such strong preferences.

 

[legal_eagle]

Remember ... it's not a human being. The concept of "too young" doesn't apply to parrots. They usually act upon instinct. Your bird is probably more comfortable with you and your daughter, because the others, as you've described, scare him. Your son and husband probably have interests other than working on making the parrot more comfortable around them. As long as it's a matter of preference, it's really not a problem.

 

[Gizmomania]

Remember ... it's not a human being.

No, I get that. It's just that through my research of CAGS most sources comment that the preference period usually doesn't start until 6-12 months of age, which is when they begin developing more of an awareness of themselves, what they like/dislike, who their favored person is, etc. Got me to thinking how he's already going through this stage.

 

[Shayner]

Greys are highly intelligent birds and iv seen them know right of the hop, who the like and who they don't just by the way they act and body language! That can change over time to! Sometimes the Congo's more than the Timneh's will change there "favourite" person or mate! Thats because from what iv heard they stay with the main caregiver for a certain amount of time! Usually 3 - 5 years then they choose a mate so thats why there fav person CAN change it doesn't always. It all depends on the bird i guess! hope i helped!