daviddogma

I won't argue semantics on this one. I answered the question. Everyone now knows how I feel on the subject. I won't fall for the trap of being asked a question(s) only to have the person asking the question(s) comment on the answer if he or she doesn't like the result again. Thanks for the questions. I am sure you will have the last word so please try and be nice

Well, correct me if I'm wrong

danmcq wrote: One last thing, all CAGs are flighted. They are born flighted. Mine is no exception. The birds with the clipped wings are flighted too. They have been purposely crippled for convenience. Justify this anyway you want, argue personal choice, environment, but it is a fact that birds were meant to fly.

My son is very cautious and he understands the rules. Otis lives upstairs in a room across the hall from my office and my son lives downstairs across from my room so Otis would have to fly downstairs out an open door at the bottom of the stairs (which is never be left open) then out another door (which are never to be left open). In fact, I never open the door to any room Otis is in. My son understands Otis is a family member not a toy, and has not introduced him to any of his friends so far. We went over and over and over this before we got him. I work from home so Otis is out of his cage a lot. It hasn't been that long, but so far he has added quite a bit of excitement to our lives.

Dan, are you trying to "correct" me I "correctly" picked the "correct" word. I understand it is not the word you would have chosen, and his school is home with me. cor·rect [kuh-rekt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –verb (used with object) 1. to set or make true, accurate, or right; remove the errors or faults from: The native guide corrected our pronunciation. The new glasses corrected his eyesight. 2. to point out or mark the errors in: The teacher corrected the examination papers. 3. to scold, rebuke, or punish in order to improve: Should parents correct their children in public? 4. to counteract the operation or effect of (something hurtful or undesirable): The medication will correct stomach acidity. 5. Mathematics, Physics. to alter or adjust so as to bring into accordance with a standard or with a required condition. –verb (used without object) 6. to make a correction or corrections. 7. (of stock prices) to reverse a trend, esp. temporarily, as after a sharp advance or decline in previous trading sessions. –adjective 8. conforming to fact or truth; free from error; accurate: a correct answer. 9. in accordance with an acknowledged or accepted standard; proper: correct behavior.

And to answer the future questions about how would I feel if Otis were to get away? Well, how would I feel if my 7 year old ran out in the street and got hit by a car? Come on...I will make damn sure he doesn't fly away. It is called responsibility. It is called parenting. Believe me, if I thought we would just get away I would have never invested all the time not to mention the extra money this costs. Believe me, it is worth every penny when Otis flys from my arm to the ceiling fan and then back to the perch I have for him next to my imac. I can't imagine having to move him around from place to place because he is a crippled bird. Feel free to flame me on this subject as I was asked my take on the subject. I guess now you all know

All organic nuts, berries, veggies. Otis eats what I get at the Farmer's Market. I live in southern CA so we have that luxury.

He gets around I have researched this over and over and it is my 100% belief that anyone who clips the wings of a bird just to make life more convenient has no business living with a bird. The CAG is a bird! Clipping the wings of a bird just so you can have a teddy bear with a heart beat seems ridiculous to me. I personally believe it would be the same as breaking a leg (or two legs so he won't run around in a circle) of my 7 year old son. I love seeing him fly around. I haven't taken him outside, but I didn't have him move in with me, share a life with me, just so I could go to the bank and show all the tellers what a cool toy I have. I would never tell anyone what they can and can't do, but you can bet your a$$ I will be secretly judging the cruelty. If I got to vote on this issue to make it a law I would vote against clipping.

Again, I am a newcomer to this post. But, I would like to make a point about "bad language". What exactly is "bad language"? If "off color" or potentially offensive language does what it intends to do then how is it "bad". The original post included a video of an african grey (which is certainly on topic) and says it is X-Rated. If this is a Christian african grey forum I would understand why people might get upset (and if it were I would never have joined), but this is not. Since this a "family forum" then we can debate what is and what isn't appropriate in a family. I do not have a problem with anyone using what others consider offensive language. My 7 year old son sometimes uses swear words, and I never correct him. I just make sure he uses other adjectives so he is educated about when, where, and how to use them more effectively. Again, this is a debate about taste. I have read other posts that I found offensive, like anytime anyone clips wings, but I would never ask for those posts to get removed simply because I disagreed with them.

Thanks for all the support. Now you guys are becoming "real" to me. Funny, how you read posts and people move from characters to actual people. Anyway, I will upload pics soon. My CAG's name is Otis. I don't know his/her sex, and I am not planning on finding out anytime soon. It really doesn't matter to me, but I refer to Otis as he. He was born May 4th in Ojai, CA and I have been with him since he was an egg. I hand fed him at the breeder and brought him home when he was down to one a day (I fed him from a spoon until a couple weeks ago). He doesn't have his wings clipped and loves to fly. My breeder made me promise I would never clip and I never intend to. He doesn't talk yet, but has learned to step up, give kisses, and never poops on me. I've wanted a parrot companion since I was a kid and now at 36 I feel I am ready. I will keep you guys posted. Again, Thanks.

My breeder wouldn't release Otis to me unless I promised never to clip his wings. I guess everyone has a take on this subject.

Just saying Howdy. I'm new to the forum (although I have been reading it for awhile now), and brought home my first CAG. I hope this forum will continue to be the wealth of information it has been so far. Mostly, I just wanted to say Hi ;-)

I am new to the forum. I just registered, but have been checking it out for somtime now. I have a 4 month old CAG (my first), and my question is...if this is strictly a family forum, then where are the "adult" african grey forums? I would hate to join a forum that pulled posts because the link to them might be offensive to someone. I think you guys are arguing taste. I have seen the videos before and I find them funny. I would love to have a relationship like the guy in the video with my grey, Otis. Thanks for reading my first post. I certainly hope my opinion doesn't get deleted