annmarie73

I would recommend never leaving your CAG alone. I never leave Sterling alone. If I am not around he is always left with at least one cat to keep him company, so he never feels like he is being abandoned. I am guessing he sees all of us, (him, me and my cats) as being one little flock.

Sterling can't get enough of his Popeye's chicken bones. EXTRA SPICEY He has a thing for the rice and beans too. {Nature-0002009A}

Madness ~ My parrot is a rehome and he is free from baggage. I had no prior bird experience aside from wild injured birds that I attempted to rehabilitate with the intent to release back into the wild. I have no idea how old Sterling really is and either does the vet, but I am guessing he is probably over 15 years old. I didn't go shopping for a bird. God just sent him into my life. I have always admired African Greys for their intelligence and beauty ever since childhood, but I didn't ever feel right about buying one, but rescuing was always an attractive option. I would definitely say go for the rescue bird, because thus far my experience has been a VERY positive one. MUCH LOVE, ANN MARIE & STERLING {Nature-0002009A}

Again, I am trying to get a different perspective. Clearly there is a distinction being made between good breeders versus bad breeders. What criteria do you use to determine this distinction? Looking forward to hearing your reasons.

{Communicate-0002011B} I understand that not everyone is going to have the exact same definition of a good/bad breeder. But I have noticed that comments like "find a good breeder" are commonly shared with someone who is looking for an African Grey. If someone is instructed to go to a good breeder what should they be looking for to know if in fact they are a good breeder? ***** Looking forward to your responses ***** MUCH LOVE, ANN MARIE & STERLING {Nature-0002009A}

{Nature-0002009A} Thank you Carolyn and Mika for your input. Any other input would be great! Looking forward to more responses that address the question!

I am trying to get the other point of view about good breeders and I am trying to understand the difference between a good and bad breeder. Your insight would be much appreciated! {Love-0002011E}

I probably should.

{Love-000200C2} Would you say a good breeder is a breeder who takes responsibility for the birds s/he breeds and sells when the new owner is for whatever reason unable to keep the new parrot purchased no matter what age the bird is? Also, including all parrots he was responsible for breeding and selling that self mutilate or demonstrate other difficult behaviors. or Would you say that a good breeder is defined as someone who takes back only the birds that are "re-sellable" with a non-return policy for "non-re-sellable" parrots? Looking forward to your ideas on this matter! MUCH LOVE, ANN MARIE & STERLING {Nature-0002009A} Post edited by: annmarie73, at: 2008/11/30 01:58<br><br>Post edited by: annmarie73, at: 2008/11/30 02:08

Great points Dave! I am beginning to see that going cageless is NOT a very popular notion, at least in this forum. I have been visiting other boards with more varied ideas on the subject, but I can definitely see your point about the dangers of going cageless. Redkim is an avid researcher, so I am sure she will explore all of her options before deciding on which route to take as she embarks on her grey journey. She seems to be a very level-headed lady, who is out to do the right thing. MUCH LOVE ~ ANN MARIE and STERLING {Nature-0002009A}

(in reference to the common sense comment) Not enough can be said about decorum ~ I thought this was a safe zone for learning and sharing. By the way, I would never even consider keeping a two year old in a cage. Why not look on craigslist for a cage or perhaps EBAY? No one likes getting ripped off. :angry: MUCH LOVE ~ ANN MARIE & STERLING {Nature-0002009A}

Any thoughts on going cageless?<br><br>Post edited by: annmarie73, at: 2008/11/20 21:18

Hello Redkim ~ You should blow up some pictures of the cages and show them to the grey, and see which one s/he gravitates towards. You have to hold them all up at the SAME time (obviously). Do the test a bunch of times and see what happens. I am guessing s/he will have a favorite. You would have to do this BEFORE you bring him home ~ you are right ~ he should have the cage ready when you bring him home ~ unless if you want to go the cage-less route. I have oftentimes been tempted to take this path. To find out the grey's preferred color maybe you should bring in different colored blocks (green, gold or whatever colors you are debating for the cage) and have the grey do the choosing. Throw all the blocks in his cage and the grey should pick up the one it likes best. Of course, do it a bunch of times to be sure of his favorite. I wonder if anyone has ever tried this method before?!?! B) I am pretty sure these tests wouldn't work that great if the grey was still in its egg ~ just another reason to get an older, more mature, grey. {Nature-0002009A}

Hi Redkim ~ Perhaps you should let the grey decide. You know possibly run a few tests for color and shape preference and let the grey do the choosing. The grey is the one who will have to call it home. Just try to get a feel for what the grey likes and go with it. Let the lil' one be a part of the decision making process. Let him know he has a say in things and that his feelings are valuable. These are hallmarks for any solid relationship. {Nature-0002009A}

Welcome Redkim ~ Wow you have really have some SUPER questions, and I appreciate that. It seems like most people don't bother to investigate the essentials before taking on a new family member. Clearly you have A LOT of experience with animals and you seem to want to do the RIGHT thing, which would mean getting a bird (s) from a rescue. I am hoping that with Obama as president the crackdown on indiscriminant bird breeding will begin. There are just way too many unhappy birds who have resorted to yanking out their feathers by the beakful to justify all the breeding that goes on. Not to mention the fact that bird rescues are full and are forced to turn away unwanted birds every day. I wonder what happens to the birds that don't get accepted into rescues? My Sterling, who is a rescue bird, does not take too kindly to being told that rescue birds tend to have baggage. {Communicate-0002011A} His motto is, "Everybody is somebody, and every bird is some bird." *** Clever little bird, I know. ** Anyway, welcome to our little forum where everybody is able to express themselves openly ~ it is a very accepting group. May your journey be an enjoyable one. Much Love, Ann Marie {Nature-0002009A} ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br><br>Post edited by: Talon, at: 2008/11/13 03:36