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gotcha, thank goodness I had this vision in my head of a snake, don't ask me why but I am deathly afraid of snakes, and we only have gardner's here. Anyway thanks for the clairification.

Talon I am wondering what is a bison?

I have 3 dogs two small but one German Shorthair pointer that is a champion hunter, he is all about hunting he is also in the house, I have a cockatiel, hamster, 5 fish, 4 kids and lets not forget my husband, before I got echo I started exposing Tiki (my cockateil) to Kyba (the hunting dog) and man was he hysterical about smelling him and trying to get to his cage, but I would take Tiki out and put him (on my hand) right in front of Kybas face and tell him very sternly thats Mama's bird until he got to a point that he would back completely away from mama's bird then I would let Tiki run on the floor with me right there telling the dog mama's bird and eventually Kyba would go across the room to stay away from the bird. Of course my husband was worried he would never hunt again which did not happen he is still as good a hunting dog as ever he just knows that the birds in the house are Mama's it took months, but now with my TAG he does the exact same thing when Echo is out he is across the room just observing him, now I SHOULD SAY NO MATTER HOW MUCH I THINK HE WON'T BOTHER ECHO I WOULD NEVER EVER LEAVE IT TO CHANCE IF I AM NOT IN THE ROOM NEITHER IS MY BIRD. Something funny though the other night one of the dogs was playing with a toy on the floor and Echo spotted it and flew down to inspect and the dog dropped it and let echo have it. That was pretty cute.

Thank you, I knew fruit was supposed to be good for him and he does love it, I just wasn't sure if he was having a bad reaction, so we will keep up with the fruit. I read a lot of your posts Dan and love the knowledge you bring to the forum for us new bird owners.

I am wondering I notice that when I give Echo fruit in his food even if it is a little bit a couple of small pieces of Apple, Banana which I only gave him one time ever and a small piece, a small piece of orange and not all in the same day he has very watery stools, after a couple of those it does seem to get thicker but I am wondering if it means I should not give him fruit. He does love the fruit. Also I should mention he has axcess to pellets all day but his normal feeding is a homemade mixture that the breeder gave me the ing. for it is lots of different beans (15 beans) Frozen veg. pasta noodles, dried cranberries which he will not eat and steamed sweet potatoes and squash. I freeze it in bags and give him a plate full every morning. So my question is should I eliminate the fruit all together or is the watery stool normal and just keep giving him the fruit. I hope this makes sense.

What I am learning from Echo is he is not afraid to tell when he needs more time, so as long as Pumpkin is happy sounds like he feels it is enough. Good job

I will leave the advice of Brodie to the more experienced people on the site since I have only had mine for a couple months, I do sternly tell him to step up if he tries not to and for us it works, but I just wanted to tell you I am so sorry to hear about your losses my prayers go out to you and your family.

my cage 36 x 30 I believe that is right it is very large I got it on Ebay and only paid $169.00 dollars for it, my breeder said it was quite a deal, I know I saw some for 4 & 5 hundred dollars it is a very well built cage. I was a little nervous getting it on e bay but am completely satisfied, I think it was from RARCages online store that may be a place to start.

I also can ask my Echo for a nice kiss and he will fly to me from across the room after I beg for a while for him to come and give mama a nice kiss, and he will give me a very nice kiss, one time I forgot the nice before the kiss and he got a little bit of skin, so now I just make sure to tell him nice kiss, I just love this site I love all the info and just the stories you all point out how much fun a bird is with all the stories and ideas Thank you all.

I cannot wait to hear Echo say Love you I tell him that a lot, he is almost 5 months old and this week I had a post asking why he mummbles to himself what sounds like many words but if he sees me he instantly stops, and last night he was on his play swing and low and behold he started talking right in front of our whole family I couldn't make out very much but every time I said something he followed up so I assume he was trying to repeat after me, anyway congratulations on the love you I will be so excited when I hear those words.

Echo is a TAG.

2 hours a day or less? I was told by my breeder several hours a day, now I am concerned I am over doing it. Will it hurt if it is more he seemed to really like it?

I must really be nuts then cuz I spend a good 2 to 3 hours a day holding Echo, not all at one shot but throughout the day. he is out most of the day unless I am leaving since I am now a stay at home mom to a bird. My husband and kids tease me that I don't love them anymore since Echo has entered our house. My 15 year old said I never tell him he is beautiful, and since he is a boy I assume he isn't serious but when he gets home today I think I will tell him he is beautiful and see. Anyway I would definetly say my echo is spoiled, but I love it.

Thank you I definitely don't want to give the impression that he is speaking clearly, He does an extreme amount of mumbling, I just know what I say to him and what I think he says back but only if he cannot see me, his name however is very clear but in a bird voice. I truley do enjoy him, I also notice if I am in the other room and laugh he seems to copy me and laugh this may all be in my head but my family seems to make out the same words as me. I am home all day and spend most of my time talking to him also I have 4 kids and a husband and between us we all talk to him a lot. I could not imagine my life without him he is adorably funny his actions down to his facial expressions, I leave a bowl of water out on the counter for him and this last week he has been going to the bowl and dipping his head in it flinging it all around and then flying across the room squaking and repeating this behavior, I can't even put into words how funny this behavior is. Anyway thank you all for the input, and know I do love him to pieces whether he is talking or not.

Is there anyway to not make him a closet talker, I have tried with treats to get him to say hello to me but I guess when I say baby talk I mean he just chirps when he is on my lap, like a baby bird would, now don't get me wrong I know he is a baby bird, I just didn't know if I am somehow making him not want to talk to me, or promoting his baby chirping, he is my baby we snuggle and cuddle and he has started to put his head down when I hold him and if I don't give him a scratch he will scratch himself and then look at me and put his head down again as if he is telling me he wants a scratch. I am not overly concerned about him taling just want to make sure that I don't somehow teach him not to. I love him to pieces I could never of imagined loving a bird so much and just how smart and loving they are he is a blessing, I just want to make sure I do things right..

My TAG seems to be saying a lot of stuff in his cage, I think I can make out his name Echo, Hello, he says my sons name followed by time to get up, whoa, and I'm almost certain he laughs, now they certainly are not 100 % clear but he is not just making random noises. I try to go to his cage when he is doing it but as soon as I get close he goes back to his baby chirps, I am wondering if this is common, him not wanting to talk directly to me, or if I have made it so he doesn't want to talk to me in person. He is a big mama's boy and we spend a lot of time together, but I have to tell him, no baby talk do you want to go back and he stops his chirps for a short time, and then I say it again and again. I am wondering because I read on a site that if he will only talk in his cage he may never talk out loud, I should mention he is only 4 1/2 months old so I know he is young I just want to make sure that I am not promoting him baby talking to me somehow and causing him to not use words.

She thank you for the ideas I just got done telling my husband pretty much the same thing he really likes echo a lot and I think it was pthering him a little I suggested to him he not try and take him from me but get him out in the morning before I wake up and spend some time with him then, as for the kids he loves them to pieces as long as I am not there, and I do put him on his perch swing that is the living room quite often I don't just sit and hold him all the time so I will have them all wait until he is on his swing to get him. I have to say it is a little flattering that he is so protective of his time with me but we are a family of 6 and I really want him to like everyone. One of the reasons I got the TAG is I heard they are a little more accepting of more people as opposed to the CAG, is this true? He is such a special bird he does some of the sweetest things with me the kids tell me they love the way he looks at me when I am holding him in their words it is with love in his eyes.

My 5 month old TAG is a momma's boy if he sees or hears me he is flying to me and wants to be right in my face rubbing his head under my chin. I notice he is biting my husband and kids if they even try to touch him when he is anywhere by me, he bites my husband very hard and actually is extremely aggressive when anyone even approaches us, if he is not by me he is sweet to all of them it is only when I am in the room. I love that he loves me but I really don't want him to bite, how do I make him not so much of a mamma's boy without not handling him, he is my bird I wanted him, I take care of him so I don't want him to cling to them instead but just to accept them. Is this even pheasable with him or will it have to be one or the other?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUICK REPLY, I WAS PRETTY SURE I ALREADY KNEW THE ANSWER BUT FELT I SHOULD ASK JUST INCASE I WAS MISSING SOMTHING.

I am wondering if anyone can give me some advice on how to handle my TAG's incessive chewing up of stuff he is only 4 1/2 months old he spends most of his time out of his cage since I am home all day he has tons of toys but after a few times gets pretty board with them, loves remote buttons and anything leather that he can chew up. I do watch him constantly and as of right now just tell him no no and try to redirrect his attention, I am wondering if this is just what a bird does or if i should be doing more to stop the behavior. I would appriciate anyhelp or advice HOLLY

Thank you for the quick response, I just brought him home on Sunday, so all this is new to me.

My baby Echo stands on one foot alot is there any special meaning of that or is it just a normal thing birds do? I have a cockatiel and never seen him do that?

I did I named him Echo, the breeder said he was about 99% weaned, she just sent the formula with me and told me to try to feed him at night before bed and see if he would take it, she told me about 20cc, he ate very little of it last night, I am also weighing him now to make sure but he will eat about anything. I have a bunch of pictures of him I will get some up soon, I need time to load them on my pc, Do you know is the constant chirping while we interact with him normal? Is he crying or is he just trying to communicate with us? He stretches out his head and want to look you in the eyes. I just want to make sure he is happy and not crying because he needs somthing. Like I said if we put him back in his cage he stops, unless we walk by. Thank you, I think I am going to love this forum

I was wondering I just brought my baby Timneh african grey home last night, today everytime I talk to him he chirps non stop, same thing if I hold him, if I put him back in his cage and walk away he is quiet, I was wondering if this is normal or if he needs somthing, it is almost like a little cry, he also wants to get real close to my face up on my shoulder but under my hair, the breeder told me not to let him on my shoulder or he will try to dominate me. I mostly was trying to figure out the noise it is a real soft chirp and he really wants to be out with us. I am hand feeding him once a day but dosn't show a lot of interest, but does eat a little. Thank you in advance for any advice.