cdelatorrejr

My thoughts are heart go out to you! Please keep us informed as to the root cause.

I agree with the advise others have posted. I found the 7 week old age a great time to explore what your bird will and will not eat. At that age they are so inquisitive and will try food with different texture and color. My grey is 5 months now and he loves peas, carrots, broccoli and corn. He prefers his veggies steamed. Enjoy your TAG (Timneh African Grey)!

Awesome stands! I like the natural wood perches. Your greys are lucky.

I heard mini-macaws are good medium size birds. They have the personality and looks of a larger macaw but just smaller. The Hahns or Noble Macaw might fit your needs.

Maybe Blue can come stay with us afterwards and teach my 11 mo. old, Bobot, some good habits! Thanks for posting your story.

When folks take their greys outside harnessed, where do you take them? I live about 2 blocks from a large park where many sunbath, read, do yoga, walk dogs, etc. I do the walk from my house to the park at least twice a day - walking the dog and trip to the playground for Noam. My concern is there may be too many stimuli - dogs, kids and cats. On the walk, I pass two houses that have various outdoor cats lurking about. The cats are usually in the "ready to pounce" position even for my medium size Chow/Retriever mix. I guess I could take my TAG in the car to the park but that seems to silly for a 2 block stint. We are not too far from the famous Balboa Park in San Diego so that might be a possibility.

Awesome video! You mentioned a book. What book are you referring to?

I think having a bird is infectious to those who do not have them in their lives. My parents, now retired, were together with me when Bobot first came to me at about 6 weeks. They saw the joy and also the commitment I made towards him/her. My father, used to come and take Bobot out on his own and place him in his lap while watching some TV at the end of the day. They recently told me, they contacted the breeder and bought a 5 month old female eclectus. This was the bird my mother was fascinated with when I went to the breeder's home to pick up my grey. The breeder told me that when my father picked up the eclectus, he instantly knew my father was in love with the bird. In fact, my folks are regularly attending local bird shows with the breeder who has now become a family friend. About 3000 miles separates me from my parents but we talk regularly. Now when I talk to them, a good majority of the discussion is on 'Ellie' - the female eclectus.

What really did it for my grey and my tiels was an afternoon bath together! Before then, the grey would try and play with the tiels but the tiels were so afraid of the 'big bird'. One warm afternoon I decided to put them together on a playstand and give them a nice misting. The misting took their minds off of each other. Afterwards, they just spent a few hours preening. Since then, they are doing well together but not yet playing together. Who would have known they bonded because of an afternoon shower. Good luck!

Just to let you know, I was faced with the same decision. My TAG, Bobot, is about 13 weeks old now and after thorough research and reflection, I decided not to clip his/her wings. I am not trying to steer you either way but bottom line is... it is a personal decision to be made after extensive research and contemplation. I wish you good luck on your decision either way. If you do decide not to clip his wings, it is true your grey will be proned to many hazards. You can minimize the hazards but not completely do away with them. Training is the key by letting your grey know where he/she can go and where not to. It's been about 2 weeks now and my grey flys freely around the family room and already knows where to land and perch and where not to. Now I'm working on getting Bobot to stop landing on my head when I'm watching a good movie. :woohoo:<br><br>Post edited by: cdelatorrejr, at: 2008/08/19 00:41

Good luck in finding a quieter bird! I took in about a year will be looking for a medium size and quieter bird. I have similar requirements; even though I'm in a house, there is only a walkway separating both houses on either side. The front and back yards are larger. Dave007... thanks for your response on quieter vs. larger birds. My parents have an eclectus and say she is quiet.

Congratulations! What a beautiful TAG. It sounds it will require a little patience before s/he will trust and begin bonding with you. As for a balanced diet, you came to the right place. Search on various forum posts and topics on diet and hopefully you will find the info you need. Good luck!

Sounds too good to be true but I haven't heard of CNN writing an article on any "off the wall" hoax. Thanks for passing this along, I am interested in what testing reveals. It's quite possible.

Suzzique... I think getting your TAG to play on it is something learned. Most of our feathered friends would like to be with their owners all the time. You may try experimenting with various toys to hang on your playstand. If it has a base, you may want to get some blocks so s/he can climb down grab one and just start gnawing. This is what my TAG, Bobot, does. S/he usually stays on the stand for about 15 min. at a time, loses interests and flies off somewhere else in the house. I'm trying to encourage more time on the playstand by returning Bobot to it often.

I'm greatly impressed! But the one that got my attention was the stairs in the subway - so cool!