Is your grey a one person bird?

[Eckobird]

My CAG Slater is 2 years old and I've lived with him for most of those 2 years. My mom got him as a little baby and hand fed him and everything so Slater LOVES my mom. But he hates everyone else. He lets my mom hold him, pet him and kiss him but he won't let anyone else do that. I'm the only other person that he likes just a little but he will not let me hold him and he won't let me pet him. He will however let me get close to him and he will let me pet his head, but not his back. If it's someone else that doesn't live with us he freaks out and screams bloody murder when they are standing next to him and attacks them when they try to pet him. I don't understand why he does this? Do your greys do this? Is it normal for him to freak out on other people. And why doesn't he like me? I feed him all the time, I talk to him all the time, and pet his head but he just does not trust me enough to go on my finger. Its funny though because when he falls off his perch or he needs help he does let me pick him up and put him back on it. Any advice on this? I really love this bird and really wish he loves me too!

[sandra902]

my merlin has a very strong preference for Big Daddy (my husband) as well as our daughter. I have been the Devil's Daughter to him for the past year but we have been making great strides lately since it is apparent that i am the biggest part of his day and am not going away.

we interact very happily but with carefully set limits. he will allow me to touch him now, but only through the bars or i will get a pretty good snapper. no touchy feathers yet, just a stroke of the beak or maybe a little smooch on the beak. but that is leaps and bounds from the trembling little fellow he was a year ago.

you will hear 'time and patience' on this site until it becomes a mantra. and i can tell you parrot time is next to the eternal. things change in parrot time very slowly indeed. but they do change.

start keeping a journal or a log and you will see as time passes the changes that will take place with time and patience.

good luck! and keep us posted.

[NASY]

Hi! we also have exactly the same attitude from Ricco. He only wants me as I am the one that takes care of him all the time.Our grey wont take food from anybody else which is a big problem when I have to leave for a day or two.When he just hears my voice he gets so exhited and makes all sorts of noise.He even doesnt like my children touching me.He gets realy angry.I hope as time goes by he will change.We love him any way he is.

[Raposa]

Jenna definitely prefers me, but she will take treats from other people (if she is inside her cage and they offer them to her between the bars) and she will OCCASIONALLY go to somebody else. I was recently away for 6 days, and the person who took care of her is someone she has known as long as she has known me, and has willingly gone to him in the past. But while I was gone he could not get her out of her cage, she simply refused to come to him. As soon as I got home, I offered her my hand to step up on, and she came right out. ~shrugs~ She is not always like that, sometimes she will surprise me by going to somebody different, but usually it is only me.

[judygram]

Josey is bonded to me and I am really the only one she will step up for and she doesn't much want to interact with anyone else but me.

She will take treats from my husband and she doesn't run away from him like she used to when I first brought her home. He is the one who gives her her weekly allowance of cheese, she loves that stuff so much I think she would take it from anyone.

[casper]

My three will only be handled my myself.

My husband will feed them on a morning and is able to put the bowls in the cages, he will also take turns in settling them on a night time and covering them. This is just incase I need to go away for some reason, at least I know there will be no problem feeding them.

the rest of the family are able to give the birds treats, but that is as far as it goes.

The eldest and youngest grey are fine when we have visitors but my middle grey will not have anyone go near his cage without letting out a screech!

[danmcq]

Dayo is very social with other people IF they have food he wants. he will readily interact on all levels with my wife and I, but she is his nighttime cuddle muffin. :-)

We socialized him with many different people of all ages from the time he was 10 weeks old. He is constantly surrounded during the day many times a week by friends and family that stop over and have full access to our house while we are gone.

Every Grey is different. There was one at the Breeders that attacked me and gave a deep wound and he was only 12 weeks old at that time. That Grey remained a hellion that I nicknamed the "Grey from Hell". Even the Breeders had a hard time with him after his was weaned. They ended up turning him out as a "Breeder Only" bird due to his temperament.

I guess the moral of the story here, is it's not the owners or anything bad they are doing that brings on this behaviour in some Greys. They are just like people, some have good attitudes and others don't from the time they are young.....

[Brittany]

Not so far, no.

He lets everyone in the house handle him. He just especially likes me and my boyfriend, doesn't seem to prefer one or the other though.

[judygram]

Well thats good to hear Brittany, you have one of the lucky ones who will tolerate everyone and I hope it stays that way. B)

[Brittany]

I hope so.

He's bit a few of us but none of it is "Im mad/mean im going to bite you" it's all been "im scared" "i dont feel secure" or "im trying to step up" biting