Newcomer

[Evies1990]

I just purchased my only bird, an 18 year old red factor Congo African Grey. She was with the same family all her 18 years until I got her. I've had her just under one month. We bonded very quickly. She has started nesting activity on the bottom of her cage. I'm wondering what, if anything, I need to do to keep her safe and comfortable.

[Pajarita]

Hi, Evies and gray, welcome to the forum and I am sorry I did not see your post earlier. Grays are short-day breeders and they are beginning to show signs of breeding behaviors so what she is doing is a little early but not enough to be of concern. I recommend you put a nice, big, cardboard big box at the bottom of the cage - and have a lot of boxes handy because she will chew the back and scratch and chew the bottom and you will have to give her a new one often. Aside from that, the most important thing is making sure she has enough calcium in her system to lay the eggs without getting eggbound. I don't know what kind of diet she had before she came to you or even now so you will need to do a thorough evaluation as you will need to supplement calcium and D3 and, as these cannot be given too much or too little because both are bad, it's super important that you give the right dosage and as you don't have any experience, I suggest you take her to a vet and have them do an ionized calcium test which is the ONLY test that will accurately tell you what the situation is. Another thing and please do not take this the wrong way because it's not meant to pop your balloon but to inform you, but she did not bond with you because no parrot bonds in a month. The behavior you are seeing is simply a consequence of her been very hormonal. Mind you, this doesn't mean that she won't bond, it just means that you will have to watch yourself and don't take things for granted.