afican gray parrot

Question
i have a gray and he was giving to me and the people that had him was mean to him he does talk alot but i have try to do the step up with him and he wants to be on my shoulder and wont go on my hand can you help me

Answer
it is important not to allow a larger parrot on your shoulder... or at least, in most cases. You can read more about parrots on shoulders here:

http://www.companionparrot.com/articles/shoulder.html

As far as getting him to stay on your hand. This will just take time and trust. Remember that African Greys are very sensitive and remember well. So never punish or loose your temper with an african grey- they will hold it against you and make training in the future very very difficult.

Try feeding your bird from your hand. This will help him learn to like the presence of hands around him. You can also try having him step up onto a hand-held perch. (Some birds are frightened by this, and other birds make incredible progress with this method)... so you just need to keep an eye out and understand your bird's body language and be sensitive to him.

I hope this helps.

-Maggie