Seasa

Hi I finally got Art home this weekend. I was able to take a look at his leg band. As I mentioned before, I thought he may have been wild caught. It is an open ring band with the following initials on it. FLI 068 From what I could gather was that at one point in time, he came through a port in Florida - could be Miami or Key West. I tried calling the USDA, but they were no help at all. Is there anyway I can find out more about him through this number? It just doesn't seem possible that he is only 4 years of age. I believe that he is much older than that. Also, he is just awesome. In just 2 short days I have come to the conclusion that he is not at all agressive or cage agressive, only afraid of hands coming towards him. I was told he can only be handled with a towel. I have not used it. Instead I let him step up on a ladder and when I put him in my lap, he talks and I can pet him etc. I can even pick him up off the floor with my hands. The only thing I cannot do is get him to step up on my hand. He is terrified of hands coming towards him and will try to bite, but they are not hard bites that break the skin, just warning pecks and so it will just take some time for him to trust. I did notice that if I approach with my hand from his foot level, he accepts it more than when I approach with my hand at his eye/head level.

Thanks all for all your input. The decision has been made and I will pick him up this Friday. I learned that he has been taken to an avian vet in January and was then pronounced a healthy bird. I will, of course, take those vet records with me to show to my own avian vet. I'm calling him a "he" although he has never been DNA sexed, it has only been assumed that it's a "he" So that is on my to-do list as well, down the road sometime. Sooner, if any of you think that his gender may play a role in his behavior at this time and would be of importance to know in my training and bonding with him/her. Are there any visual clues as to gender identification with TAGs? Second - Apparently this bird has had as many names as homes thus far. He doesn't seem to respond to any of them, although he does say "G-nite Art" every night. Should I give him yet again a new name, or use apparently the familiar "Art" or one similar thereto. I would like for him to experience as much consistency as possible from the very beginning. Thanks all.

Thank you everybody for all our input. I appreciate that. I do not have this bird as of yet, just went to see him to get a feel for him. However, I can already say that I totally fell for him. I know that it will be a lot of hard work and patience to get him to come around, but I feel strongly that we can accomplish the goal of him at least having a forever home and feeling happy and safe. The rest will come when he's ready. Maybe him seeing me interacting with my GCC will help him see that human interaction can be fun. What do you think? Thank you again for all your information.

Hi, I have a few questions concerning a Timneh AG. This poor bird has been a wild caught bird, as he has one of those open rings around his leg instead of a normal breeder band. He is not tame but is very curious and to the current owner's surprise took a treat out of my hand very nicely several times without attacking my hand, which he usually does. This bird has had 3 owners thus far from what these people can tell, but don't know anything else about his past. I know he is a mature bird as his iris has changed colors. My question is, is there any way to tell on a mature bird its approximate age? These people were told he was around 4 years of age which apparently the vet aggreed to. However didn't the law to ban import of wild caught parrots go in effect in 1992? Is it common to still have young wild caught greys in the US? Thank you very much for your help Thank you.