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Feb 15, 2012 CHARLIE by: Anonymous thanks very much for your help we let charlie out yesterday just opened the top of the cage and he came down for a while and eventually found his own way back in though we need something to coax him back in as he would stay out 24/7 lol thanks again for your advice

Feb 14, 2012 6mth african grey training by: Linda You cannot leave him in the cage because he'll get to where he doesn't want to come out. Actually, it sounds as if he's already that way from being left in cage too much.All birds bite, so get used to a little bit of that. Your bird has to come out of cage and begin to enjoy it, so work with him everyday no matter what unless he is sick. Hopefully his cage has a playtop on top where he has a perch, a toy and a food and water cup. If he does have the playtop, you can put a special treat like a small piece of fruit or veggie he likes in the dish which will help him want to come out. Don't go overboard on toys as they frighten birds at first, so one on top and one inside cage is all he needs at a time. His wings have to be clipped so he doesn't get scared and fly all over and hurt himself. An Avian Vet can clip his wings and make sure he has no infections. Have them clip ONLY the 4-6 Primary flight feathers on both wings. These are in the row of long ones at the ends of each wing, and are all that need to be clipped. Have him checked for infections both bacterial and viral. You cannot begin a training program until this Avian Vet exam and wing clipping has been done because sick birds can't be worked with as the stress can kill them. Once he has his exam and wing clipping, you can begin training and limit sessions to no more than 15 minutes at a time several times a day. Open the cage door and walk away and see if he comes out on his own. If not, use a perch and see if he will step up. Birds have to learn how to step up, and there are some training materials here you may want to look at. Praise even a small little thing he does right to encourage him to try to do more things right. This is called affection training and works much better than food training. Don't even start food training because then he won't do anything without a food treat, and this is not the best kind of training. Make appointment with avian vet right away as we recommend ALL new birds be examined because lots of them already have infections from the stress of being moved around a lot. Keep us posted... Find an Avian Vet Linda

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