TeeMcF

Thanks all Captain Jack will only bath on his terms. If I see him getting interested in the water trickle I leave on, then I set up for him to play. He seems to need to finish in his bowl back in the cage. Love the sharing in this group Cheers

This was Captain Jack's first adventure in a sink bath - hope it makes you smile as much as it did me

Welcome

We recently adopted a CAG from the now closed World Parrot Refuge. I am a nurse and work days/night shifts, 7-7. I was worried about sleeping when I come off nights (2 nights in a row). So far I spend a bit of time with Captain Jack and the 2 dogs when I get home. I keep the drapes/blinds closed and am not all hyped up when I greet them. I do my "morning" routine, feeding those needing to be fed while I prepare a bite to eat myself. Then I head off to bed, leaving the TV on low. I have custom made medical grade silicone earplugs that don't do a heck of a lot for the CAG noise however, I am learning to sleep through. I make sure there are lots of things to keep Captain Jack occupied and entertained. I get to bed by 830 AM and am up by 4 pm, hubby is home by 3 pm. Then I leave for my next night by 6:16 pm, Captain Jack has hubby for the evening. The next morning when I get home is a similar routine however, I am up by 1 PM and we have the rest of the day/evening together. So far this is working out well. I am sure like anything with pets, it can change but so far so good That being said, I work part time so am home more All the best!!

please keep us posted on your dear Alvin - hugs from Canada

Congrats on the addition

This was chatty Captain Jack last night He is now starting to come out of his cage in the morning after getting his fresh food while I clean his cage, he will then head back into his cage when he is ready Progress a step at a time Also, vet DNA report confirms that we have a male CAG Cheers & Happy Sunday

That's what we have been doing. I just read so many posts that you *must* let you CAG out daily. We are letting Captain Jack/Jackie direct how fast or slow we progress. Some days we can do many step ups, other days not s much. Head scritches are a daily event often multiple times and for 10 minutes at a time or longer. Today was the day we decided to bath in our water dish - which was fun to watch. I will now put a larger water dish in the cage in the morning and remove early afternoon, replacing it with the smaller drinking water dish so Jack can dry off. We are having fun learning about each other. DNA ssexing should be back this week. Thank you again for letting me know we are on the right track Cheers

We have had Captain Jack/Jackie since Nov 14th when we brought him home from the rescue. At the rescue he was surrounded by 14 other CAGs in single cages. Prior to that, he was in a large free flight cage with over 500 birds (World Parrot Refuge). Currently Captain let's us give head scritches, steps up, takes treats, nuts & pellets from us gently. We have not had much nipping lately as we are getting to know the signs. The vocabulary, whistles and sounds are fabulous. We/I have opened the cage door many times, allowing time for Captain to come out at his choice. I keep reading that you must let your CAG out several times a day but what if the bird just doesn't want to or is not comfortable/there yet?? Am I a bad parrent? Based on the good health of our CAG, vocabulary, behavior, etc the vet does not feel Captain was in the WPR very long. We are taking our time and following the lead of Captain Jack. Ultimately he/she is calling the shots. Any suggestions or just let it happen as our CAG decides? Thank you, Cheers Teresa

Thank you for the welcome Step-up has gone extremely well within the cage. Head scritches continue with myself. Capt Jack will take treats from hubby but not head scritches yet. First thing in the morning Capt does a cough routine - obviously inherited routine LOL and it rather amusing. The youtube link is here - along with a couple of other short new bird videos. I am a nurse and working night shift tonight (7-7) so it will be interesting to see how tomorrow morning goes. Hubby & daughter (25) will be with Capt Jack tonight. I am thinking of delaying my sleep by an hour tomorrow to spend time with Capt Jack, then the custom silicone earplugs will come out for a few hours of zzzz's. Looking forward to hearing & learning more about our wonderful new feathered family Cheers Teresa

Good Afternoon - My name is Teresa and Monday we brought home our rescue Congo African Grey from the former World Parrot Refuge in Coombs, B.C. Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary has taken over the care and adoption of a huge flock of assorted birds. We are just outside of Victoria, B.C. Our previous avian history included budgies, love birds, canary & a cockatiel. We currently have 2 dogs - a lab, Mac and our rescue, Kona who is a bitza - a bitza this and a bitza that So far Mac is indifferent to the cage & bird, Kona is curious from a distance. Our new friend is a very chatty African Grey - age & sex unknown at this time. He/she does step up however, as the bird just had a day of travel and new experiences with a different cage, home, peoples, dogs etc, I have not attempted this action yet. Our vet visit isn't until the 23rd. I do want to try and handle our feathered friend but am not sure of how long to allow for a settle in time. Open to all ideas and options. The bird (leaning heavily to Captain Jack parrot) goes to the highest perch in the cage and settles well at night, making it clear that it was time to settle for the night. In the morning before the cover was off there were some soft clicks and noise but nothing obnoxious. Our bird is fully feathered and was a bit darker in colour than some of the others at the rescue (there were 15 birds to visit). The bird was eating a seed diet and I am integrating Zupreem into the bowl with great success. Loves oranges and cored apples. Added some baby garden carrots this morning, hiding almonds in balled up newspaper and a few other foraging toys. Captn Jack will take treats from our fingers and let's us know by bowing down that it is head scatchy time. Am giving time and space to settle before we work on the step-up that was happening at the rescue with him/her. I look forward to reading and learning a lot on this forum on how best to aide our rescue into the forever home we are providing. Cheers Teresa