Lots of Backstory and some Questions/advice - my 13 year old grey

[Staceydid]

Hello!
I am new here. I have so much back story and a handful of questions! Feel free to scroll down to the questions and skip the long back story...
I did a ton of research before I got my CAG, 12 years ago. I don't want to say I wasn't ready or wasn't prepared... I knew what I was getting myself into... But at some point, after a couple of years with him, I lost control.
I got Sarge from a breeder when he was a little over a year old. He has a long neck and a big beak and is not a picture perfect model Grey, but that doesn't bother me.
Sarge was MY bird, and MY buddy. He lived with me, at the time I was a young teen, and my family. He would tolerate being handled by others, but was very bonded to me. I could trim his nails with no fuss, hold him like a baby, put a harness on him, etc. and he was so lovey, fun, and sweet.
I don't remember a specific event happening to trigger this - but Sarge started biting me, for "fun"... any time I would go to handle him, he'd bite me. Like, bite down, and grind my flesh between his beak mandibles. Ouch! This behavior started when he was around 3 1/2 or 4 years old - going through sexual maturity, no doubt.
Well, since every interaction we had would end with me bleeding, I stopped handling him. And he started chewing his feathers.
We moved his cage to the dining room and built him a "tree" (perch with bowls and toys, made from tree branches) and put it next to his cage. He would come out every day, climb around on his cage, find some snacks on his tree, and hang out beside us (on his tree) when we ate dinner or gathered around the table for one reason or another.
This has gone on for almost 10 years. I moved out for college... My parents took care of him and kept his routine the same - he gets hours of out of cage time, on his cage and/or on his tree, and goes back inside his cage at the request of, "Go home!" But no real interaction.
I feel absolutely terrible that his life has been this way for nearly 10 years! So, so guilty.
So, I just moved back home for a couple of months, but am moving again at the end of this month. I want to turn his life around, and make things right.
I gave him a mist-bath a few days ago... He loves to be misted. And then I decided, I need to just grow a pair and ask him to step up. If he bites me..? oh well.
Much to my surprise, he stepped up! A little hesitation, but no aggression. I was so happy! For the last 3 days, I have been asking him to step up repeatedly, from his cage door, to my hand, back to the cage, head scritches, repeat. He has not bitten me once. I've spent a few hours with him, one on one, for the past 3 days, and I am absolutely thrilled that he is enjoying the attention.
I know we have a long way to go... and I want to bring him with me when I move (about 2 hours away)... I know this will probably be really stressful to him...
Onto my questions and plea for advice...

He is SKINNY. I think this is partially due to the fact that he very rarely flaps his wings or flies. Only if he is startled does he take off. He is lazy! Just climbs around, never flies. So he is definitely way under-muscled.
His diet is Harrison's High Potency coarse, Harrison's Power Treats, some seeds, dried papaya, and a veggie mix of corn, peas, soy beans, mango, peach... Sometimes other fresh foods are incorporated as well. I began doing some diet research a couple days ago and I feel terrible about his diet... he is almost certainly malnourished. I am incorporating sweet potato, red pepper, kale, and carrots into his diet. Will this help him gain some weight? I don't want to just give him seeds and fatten him up. Any other food suggestions are welcomed.

He has been lovely and sweet to me so far... He is regurgitating for me... It is flattering, but I remember reading this is not to be encouraged. How do I deal with his regurgitating? Walk away? Let him do it?

He also will hang his wings super low and a little away from his body when I interact with him. I don't know what this means? Is it mating behavior?

IF he does decide to bite... How do I react? I know attention to the bite will encourage him to bite more - because it gets a response. But what is the correct reaction, so as not to encourage it?

His cage is pretty large... 3' wide x 2' deep x 5' tall. He has varied perches and toys... But perches and toys are not rotated very often. He is TERRIFIED of new perches. Will throw himself on the floor of the cage, away from them.
New toys he is much more accepting of, and he does love to play. Especially bells! I think his relationship with his bells is not healthy/too obsessive...
Do I take bells away? Tips on incorporating new perches? How often should I rearrange his cage?

He is a very nervous guy, and I know that is 98% my fault, for not changing things or introducing new things to him very often.
I really want to help him have more confidence.
His nervousness makes me nervous about the prospect of moving him with me when I move... Moving tips??

Whew! This was really long... I'm sure I forgot like 40 questions... But thank you for reading, and thank you for any and all advice!
I feel absolutely terrible about how his life has been for the last 10 years and I desperately want to turn things around for him, and be a great owner and flock member, instead of a neglectful one. I hope that we can achieve a happy new life for him

Attempting to add some pictures of my Sargey boy... Hope it works! These are all from the last few days. If they upload, you can see his funny wing positioning... And, yes, he wears fuzzy grey pajamas Hopefully we can get him to stop chewing his feathers eventually, too. Goals!

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[Bandespresso]

First off: you are so wonderful for changing his life. You can see how happy he is to be spending time with you!! He is displaying mating behaviors that you definitely want to discourage (putting him down for a time out is a great way to do so). The good thing is that, all in all, his life was not that terrible. I know of many birds in far worse situations that have bounced back wonderfully! Keep doing what you are doing, add daily fresh fruits/vegetables/grains, give him some more nuts, and he will gain weight very quickly.

More importantly, I would definitely suggest getting him to an avian vet toget his beak groomed and get a general check up. It is important to make sure he is healthy before focusing on getting him to gain weight. with a better diet and regular interaction, your handsome man will bounce back in no time! Take him on adventures and introduce him to new, exciting things and you'll have a best buddy for life.

 

[jasper19]

The harrisons alone will make him get to proper weight. Remove ALL seeds from his diet. Absolutely no sunflower seeds, it is like candy to us. no sun seeds and no peanuts.

If he starts acting like he is going to regurgitate on you...just set him down, either on/in his cage/playstand.

If he does go to bite you, you need not to overact. You keep your hand there confidently, say NO...Not yelling it, but saying it with confidence. Then the bird gets a timeout in the cage. The after a bit, see if he wants to come out again.

If you react with pain, or yell, or make a big scene of it...they learn to do it. If you just say NO, make your face look very unhappy (birds can tell when you look pissed off)...then ignore the bird in the cage for awhile. They do learn not to bite, more so its not fun for them to bite if they don't get a reaction.

Not to say he will never bite, they will bite if they are unhappy about something going on, or other events. But for the general every day stuff he shouldn't bite when you take him out.

Set perches on a table that is close to his cage. Leave there as long as needed for him to get use to them. Ideally have them set somewhere close to his cage/playstand, so he can climb over and check them out on his own time.

I wouldn't take the bells away. Angel loves bells, she goes crazy on them, trying to rip out the dinger. She will hang upside down and go nuts its very funny. I don't think taking away a toy they love is the right move.

The nervousness you are right is a result of over time not seeing or doing new things. Start by taking him around the house with you when you are doing things. Places you wouldnt normally take him. Whatever you are doing, have a perch there so he can hang out....Something like this isn't going to change very quickly, it will take a long time to get him use to different environments.

 

[Allee]

I think what you are doing for Sarge is wonderful! Thanks for sharing your beautiful boy's story! I totally agree with everything Bandespresso had to say. Sarge is still very young and his life hasn't been all that bad. The best part is, you are willing to make positive changes for him, I have no doubt you and Sarge can reach all the new goals you've set.

 

[rope]

i'm not reading anything about his uv light....does he get any?and what kind?...if he doesn't get enough uv light then i read this can cause a bird to chew his feathers......grays have oil they spread all over while pruning...when the sun light hits the oil it makes vitamin d...when he goes back to prune himself he will ingest the oil and that helps him make calcium...he could be plucking because hes getting when he ingests the oil it doesn't have vitamin d in it...so hes searching for something to help him make calcium...maybe...

 

[jasper19]

I provide angel with a UV light during the day. I picked up a tall lamp, and the bulb i got from my safe bird store. Check there.

I think having the light is good, i will see her sometimes just sitting by it on her perch. I think they know it is providing something other then light. Because the whole room is fully lit, and it doesn't provide any heat.

 

[Staceydid]

Thank you so much Jasper19! That was all really super helpful.
His cage is next to a east-facing window... he doesn't get direct sunlight since his cage is right next to the window, but there is definitely sunlight every morning... should he be able to be directly in the sunlight? Or should I just get him a UV light?

 

[jasper19]

Thank you so much Jasper19! That was all really super helpful.
His cage is next to a east-facing window... he doesn't get direct sunlight since his cage is right next to the window, but there is definitely sunlight every morning... should he be able to be directly in the sunlight? Or should I just get him a UV light?

Windows filter out the UV that is good for them to get. The light makes it in and will brighten the room, but glass filters out the good stuff. So no, by the window will not do it. Unless the window is open.

 

[Staceydid]

Windows filter out the UV that is good for them to get. The light makes it in and will brighten the room, but glass filters out the good stuff. So no, by the window will not do it. Unless the window is open.

Got it! Lamp + UV bulb in the works. Thank you so much!!
Should it be on and available all day (like, 12 hours a day)?

 

[Kyoto]

I have Kyo's light on a timer and on for 12 hours each day. The timer also helps remind ME when it's bed time (sometimes when I have her out I lose track of time.. heh).

You're doing a great job so far! Just keep on with it and he will be fine.

 

[Flboy]

Wow, your story is so encouraging! Please hang in there with us!!