wastrox

She's a girl! She was tested at the vet when I took her for her initial well bird check-up. She's a very healthy two year old TAG. Our family is learning her personality, what she likes and what she does not. She doesn't come out of her cage for anyone but me. She'll step up for others if I basically hand her off but not is someone tries to get her off her perch. She's been talking a good bit. She really got going after about a month. Then, she slowed down when we brought Noodles, a cockatoo into the flock. She's grudgingly tolerating him. She will not let him get too close and I know better than to see how they would do on a play gym together. She has warmed up quite a bit to scratches and snuggles. She likes to get up under my chin, into my neck. One thing we are working on is her "bites" of what I take to be affection but they often are painful. She seems over interested in my lips at these times. Once when she was on my shoulder, she bit my ear and drew blood. I'm always telling her to be gentle and if she is too rough, I put her on my knee. If she really bites hard, I return her to her cage with a neutral attitude although I do say ouch and that I don't like that. She's tolerating the shower. She'll get a little more wet each time but she clearly doesn't like it. I've had her out without a harness (she is clipped) which I know is a big no-no. I feel bad because Noodles wears a harness and goes out with me quite a bit. I haven't tried the harness on Cheerio. I value my fingers too much. I'm hoping she'll get the idea when she sees Noodles getting it on and going out, but I fear that is wishful thinking. I do take her out and about when I know we're primarily indoors. I took her, Noodles and our cockatiel to a little toddler program we were invited to at a neighborhood restaurant. Everyone was on their best behavior, including the children. Of course I kept her on my shoulder and wouldn't allow anyone to attempt to pet her. Noodles is the one who allows that type of attention. So, we're just one big happy flock. The challenge is ensuring everyone gets enough attention. So far so good.

Hi there --- I'd like to join the club. I have many more posts on this thread yet to read and its getting late (early) here in Northern VA so I'll get back to it soon. In the meantime, is there a way to "watch" this thread? That is, can I be notified by email everytime someone posts here? Thanks everyone. More to come.

Thank you so much spookyhurst. Your advice makes alot of sense and Francesca will have fun taking Cheerio out and about. We'll definitely start taking Cheerio out more. She isn't harness trained, so it will have to be indoors though she is clipped. As for the Cheezits, the pet store owner did tell me to limit her to 2 per day. I'll see if she likes the pine nuts just as well. Who knows, she may just have expensive taste:) BTW, do they typically allow birds in malls? I've wondered where I can take her, like possibly Starbuck's?

He will often take treats from her. I've never seen her refuse a Cheezit. Today, I decided to only use the Cheezits when she's done something really special, like tolerating me misting her while she's in the cage. I'm also trying to potty train her and might use them then too but that's harder to be consistent with. From now on, I will only allow her to have Cheezits from Francesca and when she does something special as referenced above. Thanks for your help.

Cheerio is becoming a one-person bird. My 10 year-old daughter is really sad. We got the bird "for her birthday". I knew, as an adult, I would have the primary responsibility, and I always wanted a parrot. So, not suprisingly, she is bonding to me because I spend the most time with her. I'm also confident when I handle her whereas others are not. She's nippy with them. She will do step-up with them if we do it together as an excercise but she won't let anyone else get her out of the cage or off a perch. She will allow others to scratch her if she's on my knee and I've been scratching her. Tonight, I had Francesca feed her. We did step up practice and she perched on Francesca's knee for a few minutes. She then would not allow Francesca to get her off. I'm thinking I need to continue to have her handled by as many people as possible, and she's generally okay with that so long as I'm involved. Any suggestions or other things I might do to keep her more social? Oh yes, and I will get Francesca to work with her on getting out of the cage having her step up on a perch.

Guru, I had originally thought of keeping my grey in the kitchen until I learned about the risks of toxic fumes. I've just now decided to get rid of all my non-stick stuff even though I'm keeping Cheerio in my family room. I see you are keeping a bird in the kitchen. How is that going? Do you have concerns regarding cooking fumes? Even without the non-stick stuff, do you worry about say smoke from debris on the bottom of your oven or if you burn something there will be smoke? I would love to keep the maccaw in the kitchen but I have these concerns. Your experience with this would be helpful. Thanks!

Regarding the dander, the birds will be in my family room that has hardwood floors with one are rug. We vacuum frequently. As for an air cleaner, are you recommending a small one that would be placed near the cages? Please describe. Thanks.

That is one reason why I am so taken with the maccaw, their disposition. My baby will be harnessed trained when I get him home so I'm thinking alot of our one on one time will be on outings as my grey is not yet harness trained and I'm not sure I can get her there. I'm very aware now I the developing routine with Cheerio who has been with us for 3 weeks and thinking of when Marley the Maccaw will get his time. I'm hoping though they can be out of the cage at the same time with supervision and not necessarily on the same perch, play gym, etc.

Wow, I wasn't aware of this. Will frequent showers keep the dander down? I'm planning on putting the cages nearly side by side. If this is a problem, I'm not sure what the alternative is. I can't have either in the kitchen.

Yes, this is the site I was reading that has me so alarmed. I have it bookmarked so I can refer to it when needed. The sad stories there about birds that have died because of these hazards are heartbreaking.

Thanks everyone. Now I'm wondering if I've made a mistake. I talk about my grey alot when I'm at the aviary where I'm getting the Macaw. I haven't asked specifically, but I will definitely have many questions regarding having them both in the family. I'm also going to call the pet store where I got Cheerio. Finally, I need to ask the breeder if there is any redress should the birds simply not be compatible, i.e. can I return the Macaw.

I've raad various posts and articles on this topic. Here's my story. I got my TAG, age two, three weeks ago. Our family is so happy with her and she has apparently adjusted very well. She's talking more and more and has been stepping up since day one. She's a bit nippy but not what has been described as a biter. Anyway, I put a deposit down on a green-winged Macaw over the weekend. He'll be ready to come home late September at which point he'll be almost 6 months old. Cheerio will have been with us 4 months by then. I'm prepared to take steps to introduce them properly while allowing Cheerio that status of top bird. Cheerio was in a pet store for her first two years with other birds, cats and dogs. I"m not sure but I assume she was out with other birds on a play gym thingy they kept in front of all the parrot cages. Does anyone have experience with Greys and Macaws in the same flock? Seems to me the Macaw is too big for the my Cheerio to beat up on. I would think the Macaw wouldn't be real aggressive since he's so young and coming right from the breeder where he's around a lot of other birds. I'll be talking to the breeder about this but I look forward to input from you folks as well.

How does one protect their beloved from all the possible toxins they can be exposed to?. I've been reading another site on this topic and the sad stories of parrot deaths due to toxins are alarming. Tomorrow, I'm replacing all my teflon coated cookware. I'm still worried about my cooktop though. I'm also getting rid of all the potpourie around the house. And candles... I have tons of candles but have not used any since getting Cheerio about 3 weeks ago. Are any candles dangerous or only the scented ones? Could the smoke from a match harm my bird? Also, we grill often and sometimes I can smell the charcoal in the family room which has a door that leads to the deck. The family has been told not to spray anything in the same room as Cheerio but I'm worried that even in another room, the fumes could harm her. What about a wood burning fireplace? I've read that others have not had problems with gas fireplaces. I'm so freaked out! Some advice please!

We got our 2 year old TAG one week ago. Cheerio seems to have adjusted well. He is mimicking our whistling but not yet talking as his previous owners said he did. I have no doubt that he was talking and figure he's just not fully settled in yet. In the meantime, its fun to hear him mimmick our whistling. Do you think if I encourage him to learn whistling tunes that this will discourage him from talking with the thought that whistling is easier for him?

Thanks for the welcome. Cheerio is our first parrot. We got him from a family-owned pet store that I have a lot of confidence in. I had searched for a local breeder to get a younger grey to no avail. The store owner tried to talk me out of buying him because she's apparently attached to him. She has asked if she can come visit. Everyone at the store was really nice and said they were very happy to know that Cheerio was going to a good home. As for other pets in the home, I have two cats and a dog. Cheerio doesn't seem too upset by them, I guess because he grew up in a pet store and got used to having other animals around. My pets are very curious though and I don't leave Cheerio out of his cage if I'm not in the room or all the other animals are put away. This is hard to do with the cats since they pretty much have run of the house. I wish I could just let him hang on top of his cage whenever I'm home but I don't trust the cats at this point. The other pets we have are 2 hamsters and several tropical fish. Back to Cheerio... the fact that cheerio was one of the words he was saying gave us the idea for the name. He hasn't tried them (Cheerios)yet but I'm told he loves Cheezits. His previous owners allowed him two per day. I already have many questions that I'm thinking I should post on the training forum. Again, thanks for the welcome and the interest!