Buffy

I spend many more hours on this forum than I really should but have loved every minute of it up until this thread. The meaning behind written words can so easily be misinterpreted so I may very well be completely off base, but I feel that Kieron (key87) has been bullied, belittled, and misunderstood. He repeatedly stated that he knew he needed to do more research. After several harsh posts, he continued to thank everyone for their comments. As it turned more and more dramatic, it just became ridiculous to me. I feel that his cynicism was warranted, and am amazed that he continued to return to the website and respond to each comment, except for two, with explanation and thanks. When he stated that this was a hobby for him and not a means for making profit, I took it to mean just that, that he is interested in breeding these birds due to his love for them, not to turn a profit. I have to respect that. Dave's second post was very well put. This really isn't a forum for information on breeding. Why couldn't that have just been said in a kind way from the beginning and then left alone? But after that post, it just went on and on. You don't teach people by being negative or talking down to them. It got to where every time I checked my email and saw that someone else had posted on this thread, my stomach turned with dread. By the time Kieron had posted the ooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! post, I was right there with him and completely understood. I LOVE this forum and have not experienced this in the year that I have been following it. I would like to personally thank Morana and Judy for their much more positively stated posts. And again, I may be completely off base, but this was how I interpreted the things that were being said in this thread. To Kieron, I deeply apologize for not having said something sooner. As I said, I LOVE this forum, I LOVE having access to knowledgeable grey owners who can give me advice, share my ups and downs of being owned by greys, and recently I have relished playing in the silly game room with Ray P, Birdnut, and Luvparrots, so I did not want to do anything that would ostracize me from this forum. If we are lucky, we spend our entire lives learning and growing. I hope this experience hasn't thwarted you, and that you continue research and grow in your knowledge of these amazing birds.

Hi Tamara! Like you when I started researching Greys I too, decided to go with a Timneh after reading all the negative stuff about Congos. However, the breeder I was most impressed with only had Congos. Here I am now with 2 congos. I have not had any of the negative experiences I've read about with Congos. Socialize your baby bird early and teach bird and child to have a respect of each others space, and I think you will be very pleased with your Congo. good luck!

Welcome and congratulations to you and Millie for finding each other!

I love the picture!

Welcome to the forum Key87. Hope to hear more from you. England is always so far ahead of the United States in its animal welfare legislation and general attitude toward pet ownership, so it does not suprise me that you do not have the large number of birds available to be rescued that we do in the United States. I live in a rural area in the South, and I constantly see Greys being available for rehome. I was actually looking on three rescue sights today. They were filled with Greys. With that being said, I am a bit of a hippocrit because I bought both of my babies from a reputable breeder. Her knowledge and ability to answer endless questions was pivotal in helping me get through my first year as an african grey mother. I wish you the best of luck. Being a passionate bird lover manifests itself in many ways. Some people rescue, some breed, and some just have their pets. However, we are all blessed with the devotion of our fids, our strong connection and understanding of our fellow bird lovers, and the ability to empathize with the trials and tribulations of being owned by parrots. And I second what Morana said: Introduce us to your current flock!

So Thumper loves palm oil but Echo refuses so I tried yet again today. Echo loves almonds. I haven't bought almonds in about two months. So, I bought some almonds the other day and was sure that Echo would be so excited to eat almonds that she wouldn't notice the palm oil I had melted over the top. Ummmm, didn't happen. I put the palm oil almonds down, she looked at them and knew immediately that something was wrong. She looked at me like I was the worse person on this Earth. Needless to say, the dogs really enjoyed the palm oil flavored almonds! I'm going to trick her one of these days!

Whenever I'm reading the threads, I find myself wondering how people pick the names their birds have, so I just thought I'd go ahead and ask how your bird got its name. I'll start: I'm a huge Joss Whedon fan, so when I got Echo, that was the name of the main character in his show 'Dollhouse'. Thumper was originally supposed to be Sully after the movie 'Avatar'. However, he would thump his foot so loudly and frequently that the bird breeder told me it would drive her crazy because she could hear him thumping from the nursery all over the house. She said grey babies frequently thump and dig, but he took it to a whole different level. I would get so tickled visiting with him and watching him thump his foot, so when I would go visit him each Saturday, I'd say 'bring out my Thumper!' And ofcourse, it stuck. I never could call him Sully. I should have known then that he was going to always be in something!

Thanks for sharing. Its those moments that I love best.

Thumper will shake his head back and forth a make a series of sounds that I call his 'huffing and puffing'.

so very sorry.

Welcome to the forum and congratulations to you and Lona!

Marble looks very sweet in the pics. the sun conure was adorable. Made me want one, but I just need to keep reminding myself of how loud they are.

How funny! I'm glad Cosmo is ok!

I love the pictures of Isaac. He is very handsome! I know exactly what you mean Kim. I thought Echo would never finish her first molt. It seemed to last forever. Its been 4 months and she is still missing one flight feather on each wing.

Welcome and congratulations! It's going to be a long wait for your baby. I remember that wait well! Once I picked the bird breeder I was most impressed with, I had to wait 7 months for Echo, but it was worth it. I joined 3 forums in the beginning and have only followed this one for quite some time. In my opinion, it is by far the best!