FeatheredFiend

hmm. we both work outside the home, and for that matter, we each commute about 40-50 miles one way to work. we have one child who goes to the middle school. our birds (one QP and one CAG) are home alone all day m-f. this is the schedule they are used to - our CAG actually came to us from a homelife very similar, which is one of the reasons we were able to bring him home. they have HUGE cages and many toys. we leave the radio on during our absence for "company." i believe that while some birds do ok with this situation, others would not fare well at all - it's all individual. i actually thought i would never be able to get my CAG due to our schedules, but we found the perfect match. i don't know that there is a "set" type of schedule that works for a grey, it's all about each particular bird's personality. you should interact as much as you can with your flock, just remember to not do too much (as in giving more attention in the beginning than is a realistic amount for the next 50 years) in the beginning or you could be setting yourself up for problems in the future. this is not to say that home and work situations don't change, but it's kind of a "general" rule. for the most part, i think they can adapt to your schedule and any changes. our CAG, goofy, LOVES my daughter. i think she is his "person" as he will let her touch his tail, he will most times step up for her (when he won't for the rest of us lol). he is pretty social on his terms, and did very well on christmas when we had family over who he had never met, even stepping up for my dad and letting my birdphobic mom scritch his head. some birds might clam up in the presence of "new" people, but mine just continues to jabber on and on lol. kris

we have a dometop that opens up in the middle - we call it the sunroof. and it's true, you are limited in placing and hanging toys in that setup. everything must hang from the sides of the cage, or be on the bottom of the cage (getting pooped on i might add). goofy's cage is the one that he came home with tho, and it is HUGE, but when it's time for a new one, i am going with playtop. as far as the corner cages, i think they look cool but have heard that they are very difficult to clean. hope this helps, kris

if he hasn't been vetted in a while i would schedule a vet visit. while it could be stress or something else behavioral, rule out the medical possibilities first. once that has been done, you can move onto behavior possibilities. has anything changed, even something you don't think might affect him? the first interaction i had with any bird was a grey during my vacation in august. she was being birdsat while her family was on vacation. she plucked all her tail feathers out too, and we assumed it was from stress. she was very sociable and entertaining otherwise, and hadn't plucked any other areas. ::shrug:: anyway, that's what i would do.

i asked this question also before we brought our CAG home. the prevailing wisdom i received (from experienced owners and from reading information) was that generally speaking TAGs are a little more outgoing/less shy than the more reserved CAG. in nature, TAGs tend to wean earlier in their life than CAGs, so they become more independent earlier. that being said, it really does boil down to individual personality, so hanging out with any potential addition is a good idea. i'm sure there are plenty of stories about outgoing CAGs and just as many reserved/shy TAGs to dispel "conventional" wisdom. kris

as has been mentioned, i would think hard about placing the cage directly in front of a window. overheating and the possibility of getting frightened are two factors. both of our bird cages are in opposite corners of the same room. this provides them a sense of security (they aren't exposed on all sides). our quaker, louie, can look out the dining room window if he is toward the front of his cage, and goofy the CAG can look out the living room window from the left side of his. i also read somewhere to be careful of putting your birds in front of windows because someone could get it in their head to break in and steal your bird. if you don't put him or her in direct view of the outside world, there is less chance someone will know you have an exotic pet, one they could get top dollar for if they were to resell. just my 2 cents. kris

we have a gigantic housecat along with our 2 birds (grey and quaker). our birds get out of cage time every nite from the time i get home until bedtime (normally about 5:30-8:30) and most of the day when i am home (weekends, vacation, etc). they each have their playstands and own areas in the tv room, so no interacting between them. it's certainly possible to have them out with the dogs, you just have to keep a close eye on them. ultimately you know your dogs best and how their behavior/temperaments are, so that is a decision you will need to make. kris

if i would of excepted this constructive criticism, than i could of seen that your just trying to help.

ok, i got another one from earlier tonight. i was changing the papers in the cage, and goofy was on his playstand. as i started to roll up the papers, he said, plain as day "there ya go" and then a few minutes later, "work work work" up til this point, he hasn't spoken. he really is so funny, between the back up alarm, the fart noises and now this :laugh: kris

thanks for all the input - helpful and reassuring. i have asked my hubby to disassemble the regular cage for me to really clean it, and so that we can move it upstairs for the remainder. one of us (me, hubby or daughter) spends the evening with him every nite, and throughout the day on weekends. we have another bird also, so we have to spend time with him too. when i am up there, i open the cage so he can come out. he has a couple toys and we give him paper to destroy, and he has chewed thru 2 perches. we have seemed to make a little more progress - he will fly off the cage to the floor, and has let us pick him up no problem. tonite i put him on his playstand, and he stepped up from there to my hubby, then from hubby to me i took him for a little walk from the computer room to the bedroom and let him walk around on the bed. i guess i kinda figured by now he had already gone through his molt... that coupled with the traumatic vet visit, i am surprised he even looks at me lol. kris

consistency, consistency, consistency. i also believe that explaining things makes a difference, just keep it simple - think toddler. they are very intelligent, so don't underestimate that. our new CAG is very hand tame, but still learning about us, and us about him. he will try to get on my shoulder, but that makes me very nervous. the dominance issue isn't even on my mind at this point - it would only take me bumping into something to spook him, and that beak is too close to my face for comfort. tonite i had him on my hand, used the egyptian hold and told him we didn't know each other well enough to do the shoulder perch thing when he made his move. he did some flapping, but he didn't go for my shoulder as much. kris

one of the many sounds our new grey does is a back up alarm from a delivery truck. well, the other day i bent over to pick up something and what do i hear but the back up alarm! talk about an ego bust! kris

hey everyone. i posted in the intro forum a few (?) days ago. we have a 13 year old CAG who we brought home one week ago. since we currently have a quaker in the house, we are doing the mandatory quarantine with goofy (CAG). this is gonna be a little wordy, so bear with me. goofy has been vocal since the initial car ride home, going thru his repetoire of sounds - farting being the most often heard :laugh: he also has let us scritch his head since the first day. he is somewhat flighted, although he has been clipped. if he flies off his cage, he lets me pick him up and hold him. but to be completely honest, his beak is very intimidating to me. his previous parront was very good with him and they would play around, with goofy hanging onto his finger and letting his dad bob his head around. i know it's not IF but WHEN he will get me, but i guess i would prefer to be a little more used to him. i know that these birds are very sensitive to stress and can start plucking or other types of behaviors, so i am concerned that the stress of moving in with a new family combined with being quarantined for 30 days (min) will incite some unwanted behavior. he is not able to be in his regular cage as it is too wide to fit up our stairs. he has some toys in his travel cage, and we do spend time with him when we are home. when the adults are hanging out with him, his cage is open and he is free to go in or out at will. ok, now to the point: when i brought him his dinner tonight i saw a feather on the bottom of his cage. the entire feather. i can not tell where it came from, but he has no history of plucking. also, his tail feathers look a little ragged to me. i do see him discarding a lot of downy feathers tho. is this something i should be concerned about, like is this the start of some stress induced self mutilation, or is this something that is normal? i have never experienced a molt before, so hopefully this is all it is? thanks for any help, kris

thanks for the warm welcome! i hope i don't drive you guys nuts in the coming weeks with my questions. :blush: he seems to be a very well adjusted bird, but with only the CAG rep to go on and no personal experience, i am concerned he will be irreparably unhappy with his change in circumstances. that's your warning for my upcoming overreacting his name is goofy and he is reported to be a male. he has not been sexed, but apparently was purchased from a breeder who is confident based on his head shape. ::shrug:: his previous owner attempted to change his name to coco, but goofy bird didn't want anything to do with that :lol: he is 12 or 13 years old and can whistle a few tv theme songs. he says a few things (so i am told) and makes some interesting noises. kris

hi! my name is kris and i brought my CAG home today. we currently have a big 16 pound housecat, a QP and now our CAG. in addition to the feathered and furred members, our family consists of me, my husband ian and our daughter. i am sure you guys will be seeing a LOT of me here as the Greys are very new to us, and we want to make sure we do things properly. kris