TheGreyMiester

My baby TAG has punched a few holes in my hand and I haven’t even brought him home from the breeder yet. These were not anger bites but rather "test the material" type of bite. I have to admit it was very hard for me not to jerk my hand away. I calmly took my other hand and gently pushed his beak aside as more of a distraction than anything else. The very tip of his beak is very pointed and usually will break the skin but barley. It's important not to let your grey scare you or you could wind up on the lower end of the pecking order. Best thing to do I guess is try leaving the room when he bites. I have also read that when holding the grey and he bites, to lower your hand enough to cause your bird to let go of your hand and begin flapping his wings. You don’t want to cause your grey to feel like you are dropping him but lower him with enough speed to make him begin to flap his wings. He should let go almost immediately.<br><br>Post edited by: TheGreyMiester, at: 2007/04/08 03:29

I'm lucky, My TAG was only $750.00 hand feed. The bird has only been around humans since birth and My breeder is close enough to my home that I am able to see it once a week while it's beeing weaned. I can't imagine paying more than $1500 MAX for this bird.

Ever watch the TV show Smallville? Lonna is the character that is going to mary Lex Luthor. Perhaps I should have broken it up like this: Lon-nah.

I still have 6 to 7 more weeks before I can bring home Oliver, but today I took a few photos of him. I used Paint Shop Pro to edit the photos to sharpen the image. The original photo was pale looking so I played with the brightness and contrast to bring out Oliver from the background. Here are the photos:

I love coming up with names: How bout Lonna (pronounced L-on-a)

There are some cages that would allow a light, but a cage should be for sleeping or safety when you’re away. The bird should be allowed to be out as much as possible in my opinion. When a bird is perching on the play gym, the light could be used then. For me personally, I am not going to use a light.

Here is the one I am going to get but in black: Price: $280 Website: http://www.birdcagemart.com/ <br><br>Post edited by: TheGreyMiester, at: 2007/04/06 03:49

LOL! this will be something to see! I have to wait 8 more weeks before I can bring my TAG home and the wait is killing me. I want to take some pictures of him this Saturday. Will camera flashes be a problem?

If you are willing to wait a while, in about 2 weeks I am going to buy a cage online. When I get it delivered and assembled, I will take high-res pictures and post them along with a short review. I found a cage 32x24x30 for $280 with free shipping. The cage has metal back plates for every food bowl to reduce seed and water mess. It also has removable trays for top and bottom with a play gym on top. With greys you want more width than height, kind of like a wide screen TV.<br><br>Post edited by: TheGreyMiester, at: 2007/04/06 01:03

are these bugs alive? do they swim around in the water?

sound great! Ill be waiting for more results.

ha ha, now that's funny. When I'm at home I can get so crazy and goofy that it might be disturbing to the average person. My kids get a kick out of daddy beeing goofy and I usually can turn a tear into a smile. Some times all it takes is for me to say "why are your eyes leaking!" With my TAG, it is going to be interesting the personality spin-off he gets from me.

When you do get her in the cage, even if you did all the work, praise her and try to give the most irresistible treat, whatever that might be. Positive reinforcement is vital to training. Make sure you don’t accidentally reinforce any bad behavior, like praise her just after she bit you when putting her in the cage, only when it's a smooth operation. Just another suggestion to consider.

Thanks for the replies. I was mainly concern of my TAG going crazy and possibly hurting him self. If the TAG is not startled by the unexpected barking, then there will be no problems. I hope my grey DOES learn to say "Shut Up!" this will help me out actually. :lol: My breeder said in about 8 more weeks Oliver should be eating on his own and just about ready to come home. I go to my breeder’s house once a week to visit Ollie, so that when I bring him home, he will already know me at least. She also said he should be ready to start trying to fly some time next week. My last visit I spent 1.5 hours hanging out with Ollie and he is already starting to mimic my kissing sounds, as I am to embarrassed to baby talk to it in front of my breeder :blush:

My daughter has a small 15 pound cocker-poo mix and she can go from a laying down position to jumping up and barking over a neighbor's car door shutting closed. Will this sudden barking cause any problems? I'm also worried about the bird wanting to bark like a dog, that’s all I need is another barker :laugh: Will I need to try to keep the dog separate from the TAG? This dog is a real pain in the but! If were up to me it would be gone but I cant break my daughters heart so I'm stuck with it. The dog is not a bad barker, only a few times a day.<br><br>Post edited by: TheGreyMiester, at: 2007/03/31 05:28

My breeder told me that some birds will bathe when they hear a vacuum cleaner or even a lawn mower out side. She said it reminds them of thunder in a rain storm like in the wild. I guess this is common among many birds.

I french kiss my parrot.... Just kidding :woohoo:

I called my Quaker by the name of FLASH. I loved that name but I can't re-use it for me new parrot, it wouldn't be right. Call Him/Her Flash.

I choose the name Oliver for my TAG. I can't wait to say "Ollie want a craaaaack-er?" :laugh: :laugh: :woohoo: Just kidding:P<br><br>Post edited by: TheGreyMiester, at: 2007/03/27 01:40

She might be trying to regurgitate for you as this is supposed to be the greatest sign of affection a bird can give you. That's all I can think of.

Sometimes 1 to 2 years of age. Depends on the bird. Some will never talk although it's most likely that it will talk some day.

Thanks for your help! I'm just about set except for some toys.

I plan to take lots of photos so be prepaired.

You are right, that cage I posted had a 1.22" bar spacing, that would be dangerous! I found the pefect cage, look at this one, but picture it in black: Specs: Square Cage with Playtop Overall Height 67" Ideal for conures, senegals, caiques, congo & timneh greys, amazons, goffins, sulfur crested, other small cockatoos, moluccans, umbrella's and other similarly sized birds. 3 feeder doors and 1 breeder door make this cage easily accessible. 32"x24"x30" OH 67" 3/4" bar spacing PRICE: $279.99 <br><br>Post edited by: TheGreyMiester, at: 2007/03/26 01:43

Thanks Dave! You answered my main question about the bowls. I was concearned about the stainless bowls being tiped over by the bird. Most every cage I looked at online failed to mention that the bowls can't be tipped over as you have mentioned. As for the solid feed doors only on stainless cages, I have found them on powder coated cages as well in my price range: Dimensions: 73'' height, by 40'' length, by 30'' depth $287