Hello ,
I just joined today to get some tips on my African Grey . His name is Max . I inherited him when my mom passed away in 2019 . He is approximately 25-27 years old . I forgot exactly when she got him . Max has quite a few bad habits that I have no idea how to break . He was never taken out of his cage often . So for his own safety and ours ( we have other pets ) he stays in his cage . He does not like change . We tried to get him into a nicer cage . He would not go in . He also does not want any new toys . He has a few in there that he loves and that’s it . He also has a little bird bath that he enjoys . He makes this high pitch chirp that is beyond irritating . After he does it repeatedly he then says SHUT UP .. mimicking my mom and my grandma ( whom he lived with ) he also bites on his cage which also makes an annoying sound . Aside from me losing my patience and yelling at him which I do not want to do as I know this is giving him attention , which is not the right attention he should be getting . I have tried to ignore him … sometimes it works sometimes it doesn not . I am newly retired so I am home more with him and also have my young grandchildren 2xs a week there . Any tips on how to break this habit . When we first inherited him he quickly adapted to our schedule with our dogs . He wants to eat by 4 pm have his cage cleaned and covered . If we do not abide my his wishes lol he will make those sounds and say good night max go to sleep over and over ( the talking is fine it’s the 2 noises that drive us insane ) we are also not allowed to watch tv in the living room after he is asleep . He doesn’t like when I play music either . I’m not sure if this is because my mom and grandma constantly left the tv on for him wether he was awake or covered that tv was on . Any recommendations? What we should be doing , not doing . He loves when the living room is empty . He will make his nice birdie sounds and talk .
I just joined today to get some tips on my African Grey . His name is Max . I inherited him when my mom passed away in 2019 . He is approximately 25-27 years old . I forgot exactly when she got him . Max has quite a few bad habits that I have no idea how to break . He was never taken out of his cage often . So for his own safety and ours ( we have other pets ) he stays in his cage . He does not like change . We tried to get him into a nicer cage . He would not go in . He also does not want any new toys . He has a few in there that he loves and that’s it . He also has a little bird bath that he enjoys . He makes this high pitch chirp that is beyond irritating . After he does it repeatedly he then says SHUT UP .. mimicking my mom and my grandma ( whom he lived with ) he also bites on his cage which also makes an annoying sound . Aside from me losing my patience and yelling at him which I do not want to do as I know this is giving him attention , which is not the right attention he should be getting . I have tried to ignore him … sometimes it works sometimes it doesn not . I am newly retired so I am home more with him and also have my young grandchildren 2xs a week there . Any tips on how to break this habit . When we first inherited him he quickly adapted to our schedule with our dogs . He wants to eat by 4 pm have his cage cleaned and covered . If we do not abide my his wishes lol he will make those sounds and say good night max go to sleep over and over ( the talking is fine it’s the 2 noises that drive us insane ) we are also not allowed to watch tv in the living room after he is asleep . He doesn’t like when I play music either . I’m not sure if this is because my mom and grandma constantly left the tv on for him wether he was awake or covered that tv was on . Any recommendations? What we should be doing , not doing . He loves when the living room is empty . He will make his nice birdie sounds and talk .