DaFunkyChicken

I brought my lil guy to the beach today.. the tourists absolutely ADORED him! I had about TEN people come up to me and ask about him and to take photos! He was really calm the whole time (he is quite the camera ham), but he didn't like the sand much cuz his feet kept sinking into it. :laugh: As far as i know, most birds are fine outdoors so long as they are near you i.e. on your shoulder. But bear in mind, clipped or unclipped, one sudden shock is all that's needed to startle your bird into flight mode! My baby's clipped, and got so excited by the waves that he jumped right into it and started floundering around. I totally freaked out and grabbed him right out of the water cos i thought he was gonna drown, but after the initial, verrrry WET shock, he seemed quite cheerful! Mine likes getting out and about, and comes home completely pooped, but happy.

Oh no, you guys misunderstand! I know that they're grey because of their genetics. Personally, I think they look very dignified, especially with the scalloped edges of their feathers! I just get really pissed off when people come up to me and ask me why my parrot is so "ugly". Yes, ugly. Someone actually came up to me and said that. Others have just asked me why my parrot was devoid of all colours or "when are the colours gonna start showing?". Have any of you guys faced that? Given any snarky replies? :evil: Normally I try and explain that it's an African GREY... therefore it's grey... blah blah blah... but when I’m especially irritated, I just go, “Why CAN’T they be grey?” That usually shuts them up.

Wheeler, my 14ish week old CAG, is my first proper pet (I’m facing a verrrrrrry steep learning curve, as you can tell) and although things are going along wonderfully, I STILL have a TON of questions to ask and I was wondering if you guys could help me. 1. I know this is pretty pointless, but I just have to get this out once and for all. Have any of you had people who have seen your parrot ask you "Why's it grey?" or "When do the colours start showing?" Am I the only one who faces this and finds this profoundly annoying? I have a friend who jokes that the breeder didn't sell me a parrot, he sold me a PIGEON. :lol: 2. Wheeler normally is very nosey and gets his beak into everything AND everyone, but he’s absolutely terrified of the two birdie toys I’ve bought him. One’s a string of different shapes, colours and tassles strung together, and the other one is a small swing. The first time I put them in his cage, he remained crouched down with his feathers fluffed and stayed motionless in the farthest corner. I’ve tried taking them out of the cage and putting them further away but in plain sight, but that just agitates him. I’ve tried covering it with a blanket and uncovering it bit by bit and giving him lots of treats when he goes nearer to it, and he’s okay with it at first, but the moment I’ve uncovered the whole thing he backs up and tries to hide from it. Right now I’m considering taking them apart and introducing the different bits to him individually and then stringing them together again in front of him, and that’s gonna be SO painstaking. Any other suggestions? 3. This is probably the most important question I have to ask. It’s about wing clipping. Wheeler’s cage is in the hall, and he’s out of it most of the day when I’m around to watch him. He’s already fluttering all over the place, and it’s an absolute joy to watch him. The thing is, Singapore’s hot and humid 365 days a year. The windows are always open and the fans are always on. Also, I’m definitely gonna bring him out and about when he gets a little older. I’d hate for him to escape or to fly into something and get seriously injured. But, at the same time, I feel awful for wanting to restrict his mobility :dry: I also heard that a lot of a birds neurological development depends on their ability to fly. What should I do?<br><br>Post edited by: DaFunkyChicken, at: 2008/01/22 21:00

Thank you everyone for the lovely welcome! Now be prepared for me to bombard the forums with lots of questions! Also, thank you for replying, judygram. I'm nineteen.. young, but not THAT young! Just that here in Singapore, culture (and to a lesser extent the skyrocketing property prices) require us to stay with our parents until we get married. So i have a looooooonnnngggg way to go. My parents had pets when they were younger, and they discourage pets not only because of all the trouble, but also they say that the pain from dealing with the death of a pet is almost unbearable. Lucky my bubba is gonna be my companion for life!

Hey guys! I'm new around here, so I guess I'd better introduce myself. My name's Charis, and I am the mommy/sister/friend/companion/boss/owner of Wheeler, my 14 week old CAG. I’d been toying with getting a grey on and off for the past year, because I know that they require LOADS of attention and care. Finally, I decided that now was as good a time as any, so I went ahead and got one. Backed by one of my friends who owns a grey, and another who is a professional bird trainer, I thought that the path would be relatively easy. Boy was I wrong. In fact, it was nothing short of melodramatic. This post is gonna be a long one, so go ahead and grab some popcorn and put a pot of coffee on. I fell in love with Wheeler the moment I saw him. He was about 10 weeks old. He was fast asleep in his food dish, chest deep in half-eaten pellets. When he crawled onto my lap and fell asleep, I knew I just HAD to take him home with me. The day I brought him home, my parents, who are passionately anti-pet people, claiming that they’re more trouble than they’re worth, had a fit. My mom, who had specifically warned me NOT to bring one home, threatened to throw him out the window. She said that the first sign of screeching, biting, inhuman amounts of poopage or any form of unruly behaviour and he’d be out the door. For the first few days, no one went anywhere near him except for myself. They complained about how much trouble he was when they saw me half asleep while hand-feeding him at 7am in the morning, or when changing his soiled newspapers. But slowly, his charm and insane cuteness was beginning to win them over. Our domestic help started taking him out of the cage to walk around. My mother would try to pet him. My dad, well, he’d just stand far, far away and whistle at him, hoping to get a response. Instead of the usual “that bird” or “it”, they gave him a nickname, “Petoh”, which is Sinhalese for Parrot. Creativity isn’t exactly one of their strong points! As a pet, I couldn’t ask for more, really. He’s so unbelievably accommodating, it surprises me sometimes. He doesn’t bite, save when he grabs my fingers and jerks them thinking they’re gonna dispense food. Even when my 3 year old nephew and 1 year old niece come over and yell and scream and try and prod him with their grubby fingers despite my fruitless attempts at trying to get them to be gentle (you know how kids can be), he takes it without batting an eye. Then he’ll suddenly lunge for me, wings a-flapping, to try and nibble my toes in our version of “tag”. And then he’ll try and claw his way up my lap to and settle down on my thigh to take a nap. He’s been here for less than a month and I’m already beginning to wonder how I survived without him. This is DEFINITELY the beginning of a pretty big adventure!