Quick thoughts on adopting a Grey. . .

[kesma]

We have an Eclectus who is a velcro bird for my husband. I have been looking for a bird to be "mine" and we love the African Grey. Today we met a beautiful, 25-year-old CAG who is up for adoption. His current owner said he clearly prefers women. He has had a few owners and we really want to be sure that our home is the right situation for him so I would REALLY appreciate your thoughts on adopting him. We met him today and he was too nervous to really be himself of course but he did start to relax after about an hour. He clearly has a large vocab and a sweet personality.

Do you think Eclectus and Grey would get along? Both are males.

He is 25 - do I need to be concerned about him being set in his ways? Do you think I can still bond with him?

Any questions I should specifically ask that would be different from Eclectus?

I love these forums and really would appreciate your thoughts on this. My biggest concern is bonding with him.

Thanks!

 

[Blue]

I've heard Greys tend to only flock with other Greys... My Grey and Eclectus' pretty much ignore each other

only time will tell if he will bond with you, just have to spend time with him

 

[SandyBee]

I have never had a grey, but we adopted a 35 year old amazon 4.5 months ago. He is now bonded to me and took to me within a few days of being in our home. I'm sure some grey owners will come give advice. BUT older birds can and will bond, my amazon is a cuddle bunny these days LOL

 

[CoCo1]

I have a grey and a m2 they actually get along pretty well. The grey was the newest addition and is 20 years old. She only had one owner and was never socialized to anyone so we have our own set of issues with her. But my advice would be if you are serious about the CAG then make several visits to hang out with her and watch how she interacts.

 

[freedwithwings204]

I adopted an older TAG about 7 months back. (He passed away last month, and we discovered he was about 55-60)
With Sydney it took only a week to warm up to us. And he had been poorly treated for most of his life. So it can depend on how he was treated and where he's lived. Sydney did get along well with our IRN who is about a year old. Taught him lots of words and sounds.
I would highly recommend spending more time with him if you can. Because once he's comfortable with you he'll really show his personality. I've noticed with my Greys (both are rescues) once they realize that they're in a place where they feel appreciated and loved they really come around. It really depends on the CAG's personality.

Hope it helped some.

 

[MoonRock]

My first Grey was 30 when I adopted her. She was a sworn feather plucker and no matter what I did, she kept plucking. However, she was a happy bird and even the veterinarian was charmed by her. This CAG opened up to me just fine even though I was at least her 5th owner, and she had been in at least one bad home previously (she was kept outside and rodents would get to her food).

I am a huge proponent of adopting older birds, they deserve a great home in which to live out their golden years. My new CAG Oscar is about 8 years old and has been severely neglected. Still, he is liking me better every day and we are honestly beginning to bond. It is amazing to witness an abused bird "find his wings", so to speak.

I say go for it, adopt the Grey, but do read up on bird introductions and how to keep the peace between everyone.

 

[Karigan]

I find that greys do love attention from a favourite person, but mine certainly arn't what I'd call snugglable. If you're looking for one that refuses to leave your side you may be disappointed, but of course it all depends on the bird. If you don't mind being 'appreciated' more than anyone else in the house, go for it! (I'm sure there are grey owners that will say theirs are snugglebutts, but such is my experience