zooman

Hello; I am so glad i was able to find a good quality forum about our amazing birds. I have always loved animals and grew up raising pigeons with my family and then rabbits and then we had cats. I got my first bird 3 years ago a male alexandrine Tiago and from then on fell in love with birds. I brought little Zuri a male Timneh grey last summer he was born on jan 1st 2007. I will share my experiences and lessons and hope you all can help me as well.

It may take a while to get him to trust you. When i brought mine home i put him in his cage and talked to him gently and stayed with him but gave him space at the same time. I tried to take him out the next day and he drew blood with a bite and I left him alone. Still talking to him i offered a peace offering a peanut and he snapped at my hand so i put it in his bowl. The next day tried again and offered a peanut in one hand and my other hand to his chest and he had to choose yummy peanut or bite my hand he chose the peanut and thats the last time i was ever bit. Now hes like glued to me anywhere i go. Patience and calmness is key. Him being thrown to the ground is a set back but you have to gain his trust. get that and you have a friend forever.

I have to agree If you have a congo especially thats a big bird, I have a Timneh and he spends most of the day on it so I had to make mine large enough. If you just need a small one to have in a room while your in there like i have a smaller stand i built in my office that so they are with you then it would work, but not a considerable amount of time. Im trying to get my digital camera back to take an updated pic of mine but Ill include a old one before i did renovations to it lol. Now its twice as large like height wise and lots of toys and tree limbs etc.

I too am weary about pvc as well, more so the glue you need to join the pipe more than anything. I have rather chosen to make it out of wood, yes it harder to clean but i feel safer. Its a matter of choice for all of us to use it or not.

The first one is boring for birds, i think of muself if i was stuck on a simple t-stand like that id be bored out of my head..the 2nd is a nicer one that ive seen, and yes manzita is a safe bird wood. I personally built my own stand and it cost me around $30 and 2 hrs of work and is pretty similar to the 2nd link one. I dunno i was really turned off when i saw the prices they were asking i feel so much better just doing it myself. If you want tips and a pic of mine ill be happy to share.

hope this works you can view the picture of the stand this way if you like. Let me know if you need any help.

Here is the stand i built when i first got Zuri. I have added alot to it and created 2 more levels and many more toys but i thought id post it so any of you can get an idea. I was soo turned off of the hude prices that were being asked for much smaller stands. i sit this on a old coffee table and with all the levels now its about 3 feet away from the ceiling so Zuri my Timneh is never bored and spends the major part of the day on it. Hope this helps in any way.

hey nice work with the stand i want to make a smaller version for my travels as well, what did you use to hold it together a bird safe glue or just just fit tightly together?

I agree with most of you, I truly believe a grey will be as loud as the environment thats sorrounds him/her. Zuri my Timneh is quiet as a mouse when the apartment is quiet and im reading etc. Other than the time when i first bring him out for the day or when he cant see me and wants to know where i am the most i hear is him talking and him eating and playing. When the tv is lud then yes they want to be heard and become louder still not as loud as my alexandrine not even close actually. as for the socialization they are rpone to be one bird persons but with time they can be receptive of others my girlfriend is still trying and hes better but i agree that constant attention from other humans will help/

I truly believe that the bird will be as loud as the environment thats around. If you have a loud lifestyle than they will be too

Id have to agree Zuri is a Timneh and I have to say hes been amazing compared to my alexandrine. Yes he has him moments but they dont last long and i have to blame my alexandrine tiago for teaching him some louds clicks that hurt but before that just whistles were as loud as he would muster. I find when i have the a/c on or tv loud he gets louder and thats natural he wants to be heard thats all.

Id have to agree Zuri is a Timneh and I have to say hes been amazing compared to my alexandrine. Yes he has him moments but they dont last long and i have to blame my alexandrine tiago for teaching him some louds clicks that hurt but before that just whistles were as loud as he would muster. I find when i have the a/c on or tv loud he gets louder and thats natural he wants to be heard thats all.

Zuri is a Timneh and about 2 years old and weighs about 308 in the morning and 320 by the time he goes to bed on avg.

My little guy Zuri has been talking since i brought him home..hes now almost 2 years old and has spoken at about 5 months old. He learns new words and whistles alomost weekly..hello, gotta go, i wanna shower, are you all wet, hey gorgeous, good boy, whats your problem?, what?, be quiet, i love you, paul, tara, hey baby, honey im home, to name a few and the usual wolf whistle and the bomb he learned last week.

Well i was worried once about Zuri's weight too i could never find a real avg weight on the internet the vet said he was ok so I just went with that. Zuri weighs between 308 and 312g depending on what time of the day. Wow CAG's are heavy boys and girls!