Sallas

Thank you all for your input so far. I did like the way Saphira and Shruikan go together (but in the books, they are actually enemies), but hey I don't really know if the two birds will get along either...

I have named my female TAG Saphira (after the dragon from the Inheritance Cycle books (Eragon, Eldest, Etc..)) So If I go on that theme, here are the choices for the other Male dragons. 1. Thorn 2. Glaedr (Pronounced Glay-der) 3. Shruikan (Pronounced Shrew-kin) 4. Other: (Post your opinion of a good name to match Saphira)

I am pretty excited, my female TAG is a red factor TAG. She has red on her belly and the top part of her tail is bright red like a CAG (the bottom part is still maroon). And yesterday I found out that my baby boy (still trying to decide on a name, thinking either Thorn or Glayder) is also a red factor TAG. I have owned birds in the past, but I have really fallen in love with my TAG. She is so smart, it is hard to believe that a bird would be so smart. The breeder said dhe was going to send me some picture of the baby soon, once I get them, I will post them.

My TAG does that when she wants formula. She acts like she did when she was a baby to get formula. I still give it to her because it will be easier in the future to give her meds if need be.

That was what I was thinking, but when the vet said that it is a dangerous surgery, I really started to worry if that was the right thing. My TAG has such a great personality now and steps up to anyone, I would hate for her to change because of the traumatizing nail clippings.

This is very hard for me. When we got our baby grey I noticed her third toe on her left foot had an issue. The breeder said she had splay leg when she was born and her vet put her in splints. I guess when he splinted her, he damaged the last digit of her toe, now the nail grows right into her toe. Our vet said we need to clip it every week or two. The issue is that you have to clip it so far up, that she always bleeds. This last clipping we could not get the bleeding to stop and I had to take to to a vet (of course we were on vacation (yes I took her on vacation with me)). We had tried two different brands of stypic (i know i did not spell that right) powder, but we could not get it to stop ourselves. This seems like it would be so traumatic for her every couple weeks. But my vet said the only way to remove the nail is to amputate the first digit of that toe. This sounds drastic, but maybe in the long run, it would be less traumatizing.... Help with any advice.

A little parrot that is a decent talker is a Quaker. You would need to check your state and see if they are legal there. But you may want to really think about this, two birds is more of a time demand on you than just one. If when you get home you do have time for two birds, have you thought of maybe tying to find a rescue Grey? You may need to be picky, some rescue greys need a LOT of work, some are great birds that just lost their home for some reason.

That is good to hear, I am defenately going to try and get her to fledge after her first moult as she is fairly clumsy. I am told that African Greys are fairly clumsy birds anyway, my vet even told me that as far as birds go Greys are not the best fliers. This was just something that has been bothering me. My fet said with a grey you only need to cut the first 3 -4 flight feathers because they are not that good of fliers, that would be enough.

I was told by many to share my meals (small quantities) with my TAG. It helps promote bonding with your bird. I do have a hard time giving her chicken though (as chicken is a bird, it makes me feel like I am asking her to be a cannibal) But I am sure that is just me. I think as long as you let him/her taste it and don't give them alot. Personally I think it is good bonding. The main thing that you want is a happy, healthy bird. And you having a good relationship with your bird will help promote that.

I was told by many to share my meals (small quantities) with my TAG. It helps promote bonding with your bird. I do have a hard time giving her chicken though (as chicken is a bird, it makes me feel like I am asking her to be a cannibal) But I am sure that is just me. I think as long as you let him/her taste it and don't give them alot. Personally I think it is good bonding. The main thing that you want is a happy, healthy bird. And you having a good relationship with your bird will help promote that.

I am affraid that my TAG will not have the self confidence that others have. Before we took or TAG from the breeder her wings were clipped. Then we found out she had never fully fledged. What problems will this cause? Is there anything I can do to fix this?

Yes, we have a food dehydrator also. I love dehydrating different fruits to see how she likes them. And we dehydrate them for the same reason. I hate the fruit flies. And with he fruit dehydrated, it seems easier for me to work with as treats when training her. So far she loves Mango, pineapple and guava.

I use a mixture of Zupreem Pellets (The Pellets make up most of their diet), dehydrated fruits, Nuts (low percentage of nuts because of fat content), fresh cooked pasta, lima beans, Kidney beans, peas and small samples of some of the things we eat (for bonding purposes).

Recently I saw a product while looking for a new cage. It is sold by Kings Cages and is called "Pluck No More". Maybe it would be worth a try? http://www.kingscages.com/pluck_no_more.php I really hope something works for you.

There was a recent post about this same thing. Saphira just recently started and she is about 4 to 4.5 months old. She has been testing making every type of sound for a while and about two weeks ago she said "Pretty Bird" for the first time.

The birds seem ok, but they hide illnesses. The leak was fixed the same day it was found, but it was there and not found for about a year. I am not extremely worried about before it was found because it was beneath the floor of our kitchen and not open to our apartment. I am worried about the time they had the floor open and stirring up the mold spores.... Grr, I hate this apartment complex. I cannot wait to move. But, my TAG ("Saphira") seems to be okay, I taught her a new trick lastnight in about 15 minutes. The only thing I noticed is her feces has a orange color to it, but I am sure that is from the dehydrated fruit that I use as treats for her with training. The fruit is orange. She just loves it and wants to do about anything to get another piece of fruit. And I figured it is not bad for her. (anything in extreme amounts is not good for you of course). I hope they come out of this okay.

We live in an apartment right now. Should be moving to our own house soon though. But what I am worried about is: The apartment maintenance came to us and said that there is a leak coming from our apartment into the downstairs apartment. They tore apart under our kitchen sink (the floor) and found a pipe leaking badly. The issue is the pipe had been leaking for a while I guess and there is mold that the maintenance guy stirred up. Both my fiancee and I have had really stuffed up noses since they worked on the pipes and I am really worried what this may do to all of our parrots (TAG, Two Sun Conures, and a baby Quaker (who is going home with my fiancee's mother tonight, we picked her up from the breeder and hand fed her until she was weened because her mother did not know how)). If I lose my baby from this I will be very upset.

Yes, this did make me worried at first as my TAG has quite a bit of red factor. Even the top of her tail is as bright red as a CAG (not the bottom tho). But she has quite a bit of red on her legs, belly and under her wings. I would hate to think that she is less healthy or would more susceptible to illness.

My TAG is just starting to try and make out words now (4.5 months) She says uh oh a lot when she goes poop (I wish I could get her to say that before she goes, also she has been doing that since 3 months old) but just today I heard the first "pretty bird" and a tst, tst sound we make when we call our cats, then she makes a laughing sound right after she tries to call the cat... I really think she knows that sound will call the cats too.

I really want to get into breeding, expecially with how awsome her temperment is, I think her babies would make awsome pets for people.

Our TAG is 13 Weeks old right now and we already had a male coming that is currently 6 - 8 weeks. So they would not be that different in age. I knew It would be somewhat of a gamble if they would ever pair or not. I guess I do not know where to find already paired and proven birds. If a breeder has a proven pair, why would they want to get rid of them?

First of all, let me start by saying, she has the best personality that I have seen in any TAG or CAG. She loves to be pet and get head scratches, and will step-up even for strangers. My question comes with the fact that she had leg splay as a chick. We asked our Vet and she did not know if leg splay was hereditary or just something that happens. Our Vet recommended asking around in the online communities. I would love to be able to pass along her personality traits, but do not want to pass along bad traits (if leg splay is hereditary). Please help:( We bought her with the full intention of breeding her. I am disabled, and we thought that breeding birds is a job I could handle with my disability. Now with that said, even if she is not a good candidate for breeding, there is no way I would give up my little angel. I have come very attached to her, and she cuddles with me every evening.

Yes, she does have quite a bit of red factor on her legs and under her wings. I will be getting a male TAG soon that is supposed to have even more red factor.

We just got our new TAG home this last weekend. We Drove from Milwaukee area to Cincinnati to get her (because i felt more comfortable driving to get her then sending her on an airplane). She had a few issues before getting to us. At one point just after being hatched she had a pulled neck muscle from being in the egg, she had to have a neck brace for a while But she is home and very healthy now. She is so friendly to everyone. She loves to cuddle too. Post edited by: Sallas, at: 2008/07/18 19:58<br><br>Post edited by: Sallas, at: 2008/07/18 19:59

I REALLY recommend feathered Playpen in Cincinnati, OH. The owner was very nice and knowledgeable and even kept us updated with baby pics as she was getting older (before we could pick her up) look at www.featheredplaypen.com She socializes all the babies she raises. I was so impressed that I could go up to about any baby i wanted and they would just hop on my finger.