African Grey youngster

Question
We have recently purchased an African Grey, and named him/her Tequila. The problems we have are numerous, but not due to lack of dedication, but rather lack of experience. When we purchased Tequila, s/he was 28 days old. s/he is now 42 days old. We were told to feed him/her 3 times a day, Beginning at 7'o clock, with 6 hour feeding intervals. So far it seems to be working out well, s/he seems to be in a good condition, and the vet agrees. We feed him/her Avi-plus. The most worrying of all our concerns is the fact that s/he does not want any attention, in fact, merely looking at him/her provokes a scream. The second of our concerns is the fact that s/he does not seem comfortable in the "accommodation" we have provided. It is a wooden "box" which has holes in it with a light next to the holes, so that s/he can move closer to the light without burning him/her self when s/he's cold. Now, The last of our concerns is hardly tasteful. We caught him/her eating his/her own faeces, now, I am aware some animals do this, but I was unaware that a bird would... Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Riaan


Answer
Hi, Riaan.  Thanks for posting your questions.

I don't think very highly of a breeder/pet shop that would sell a 28-day old Grey to someone without much avian experience, particularly if you don't have experience with handfeeding.  A 28-day old Grey, particularly when moved to a new environment, should still be handfed 4 times per day in my opinion.  However, since you've consulted an avian veterinarian (hopefully, your vet is an avian vet) and the vet says s/he is healthy, good for you!  My website may provide you with more information about birds in general:
http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html  

Based on what you've stated about Tequila screaming when approached by you, it seems she hasn't had good experiences with humans.  This bothers me, as a bird this young should not have already had negative experiences with humans.  S/he should have imprinted on humans by now, meaning s/he should think of humans as it's parents and should love/look forward to being fed by and handled by you.  You need to take action to turn this around immediately.  To do this, her feeding experiences must be positive.  You should be taking s/he out of her "accommodation" and playing with s/he, cuddling with s/he, and otherwise interacting with s/he as often as possible.  Greys are considered the most intelligent parrot and likewise REQUIRE much daily interaction with their humans.  They also require much mental stimulation because of their intelligence.  On the internet, look up Dr Pepperberg and her work with Alex and other greys...you'll be amazed...here's the website:  http://www.alexfoundation.org/

I don't like the accommodation you describe that you have set up for Tequila (and perhaps s/he doesn't either and this may be part of the problem).  S/he needs to be able to see what's going on in his/her environment.  If not fully feathered, and also because of his/her age, I believe Tequila still requires heat in order to properly grow and metabolize her food.  I recommend you switch s/he to a heated avian brooder, a glass fish aquarium with heat pad UNDERNEATH (at least 10-gallon size or larger, slightly damaged ones can be purchased cheaply at pet shops that carry fish), or to some type of "container" so s/he can see what's going on in his/her environment and can have the warmth s/he requires versus the wooden box that you describe.  If Tequila isn't fully feathered yet, and due to his/her age, this parrot needs to be kept warm 24/7, and not by means of a light outside the box that she can move into.  S/he needs to be kept in a container that is warm all the time with an area where s/he can move to in order to get away from the warmth when necessary, not vice versa.  This could be a good reason why she is not comfortable, screams, and is not friendly at this point.  You have to turn this situation around ASAP or you will have a problem bird as a juvenile and adult.

Yes, some parrots do eat their feces...the reasons vary (a disorder called copraphagia).  Sometimes this is because there is bacteria in the feces to aid in digestion (perhaps because of the lack of warmth to aid in digestion, Tequila has had to resort to eating bacteria in it's feces to aid digestion).  Perhaps Tequila is starting to show signs of starting to wean, i.e., in other words, parrots start pecking at items on their cage bottoms (a natural act) when they are hungry.  Try placing some large pieces of fruit or vegetables or large avian pelleted food or primate biscuits (something s/he won't choke on) and see what happens.  S/he may also be lacking some vitamins and/or minerals in his/her diet.  Your avian veterinarian should be able to help with this problem.  It may be a process of elimination.  Perhaps the handfeeding food you are using is inadequate.  I'm not familiar with Avi-Plus handfeeding formula.  I use Kaytee Exact, and I've never had this problem with any of my parrots in the 16 years that I've been breeding birds, and the babies I've handfeed have been of good quality and healthy.

I wish you much success with Tequila.  Greys are fantastic parrots, but require lots of human interaction, mental stimulation, etc.  If I can be of further help, please come back.

Chrys