FirstPenguin

I would avoid lamination. I would use plain brown cardboard. There is no way to avoid it getting chewed up and pooped on or in.

Congrats on the new fid! I've enjoyed reading all the updates and the pics, especially those concerning flying. Is Lily clipped at all? If not did you seek out a breeder that doesn't clip. I'm having trouble finding one locally. Have you considered using a separate sleep cage. I'm a bit of a night owl and our fid's cage is in our main open space where I can be found at odd hours (not unlike yourself). So we roost her in a small cage in a vented closet with a white noise machine away from any late night activity. It helps prevent cage aggression, and is very natural for them to roost in a different area. Sometimes if Evie has had a long day and I keep her up too late she flies to her sleep cage. Food for thought. Keep the updates coming!

Thanks for the response Barbara.

As stated before I don't have a grey yet but I am a parrot owner. I'm currently in a very long research phase of bringing a Grey into my flock. I'm still considering a rehome or rescue but I'm not sure that will work out since TAGs become available less frequently and a certain member of my flock has some high standards when it comes to a 2nd hand bird (even though it would be my bird:confused:). I've looked at some of the postings on BirdBreeder.com and the websites of breeders. So far the NYC / tri-state area breeders don't really blow me away or meet my parameters on paper. I have however found people in other parts of the country who match my philosophy pretty spot-on. I was hoping, a few experienced bird owners could give their opinions of going with a distant breeder who ships. In that case I would fly out and visit the breeder once. Some of the breeders are in areas that I have friends or family so the trip would be justified on multiple levels. I realize however some people will visit a clutch multiple times before bringing a fid home. This may help with bonding, and a number of other things. I'm also willing to do a day or weekend road-trip but that brings up new logistics. As I've said, I'm willing to go the distance to find the right grey considering it will most likely be my first and last grey if it lives to it's life expectancy. All opinions welcome. Thanks.

Thanks for your input. I'm wired fairly logically and had a feeling that what I was thinking wouldn't completely hold water but for a bit there it made sense to me. No work with our Sennie required. We can pass our Sennie back and forth all day, sometimes on her back. I could go on and on about how well adjusted our Sennie is. We travel with her quite a bit and I'll leave with her for a few days at a time and she's fine. However, if there is an agreeable dark haired female there she'll cozy right up to them after a little while. So no worries there. May need to rethink our approach to getting a grey.

Hi Grey Forum, As I expressed in my introduction, my girlfriend and I are considering adding a grey to our current flock of two humans and one Senegal fid. Our current fid is bonded to my girlfriend and we want our grey to bond to me. I know this might sound like a beginners mistake thinking that such a thing could be controlled. My theory is that since so many rehomes are the result of a bird bonding to someone that doesn't want the attention a rehome that has displayed a gender preference will be very unlikely to bond to my girlfriend. I realize this varies between the CAG and TAG so while comments on both are welcome (I personally would adopt either) I should mention that we are focused on getting a Timneh. Alone neither of us could give the proper care a bird needs with our jobs but as a team we do a pretty good job. So, my girlfriend needs to be comfortable with this bird. After handling and reading about both kinds she feels more comfortable with the TAGs. So Timneh it is. So, could a rehome that bonded previously to a man switch to a women in it's new forever home? What if anything can be done to steer a new or rehomed bird towards a particular person. We have accepted the possibility that a second bird could bond to the same person and we would never rehome. We're that crazy bird couple to our friends. I introduced my girlfriend to birds, and in just under two years we are equally crazy about it. The only difference being the birds we lean towards vary in size. She wants smaller, I want medium to larger birds. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your thoughts in advance.

I'm from lower fairfield county CT and have done many many breeder searches for the northeast and tristate area. The timing and money haven't added up yet so I'm still looking for a grey at the moment. Anyway, CT doesn't seem to have any decent breeders that have come onto my radar. When you're buying a pet that will potentially outlive you, I would get in the car and drive the distance to find the right one. I drove to upstate NY to get a senegal for my girlfriend and the 9 total hours driving, the torrential rains, and the resulting speeding ticket were well worth it. I would rather deal with a bird shop than deal with someone who just brokers finding and hand feeding a bird. At least then you get to handle visit and pick the right bird for you... which you should do anyway. I'm not a fan of buying birds from a store (or worse generic pet shops) but if I had to deal with one I would go to Parrot & Co in Stamford CT. I go here frequently for treats, toys and cage related items and have been tempted by many of their birds. I would go here just to visit with their birds but I made a rule not to visit with out buying something. In fact, there is a Timneh there right now (as of last week) that I almost fell in love with. If the money were in my pocket that bird might be helping type this (aka removing keys) very post. Keep in mind Parrot & co are a little higher than average price-wise. If you'd like me to share some more of my north east breeder research feel free to message me.

I'm specifically looking to adopt a Timneh that has previously bonded with a man. We're trying to avoid a new bird bonding to my girlfriend who is already taken by our Sennie. I'm located in the NYC area but might be able to work something out if it sounded like the right situation.

People like this drive me nuts. I think most of these candid comments from friends are the result of two things. One, most of these reports people are referencing are most likely referring to wild birds and I'll speculate further and guess they heard something about birds from densely populated areas where kids in the projects keep pigeons for pets. Second, it's just another case of stupid people wanting to sound smart by regurgitating a vague watered down fact they heard on the news. My response in these situations is usually, "thats interesting, I'd like to read up on that. Can you send me that article or link?" Nine times out of ten the person in question can't back up their information with a source. There's a reason you have to cite your research since the 3rd grade, why quit now? Sarcasm aside, since I'm new to this forum i should give the disclaimer that I tend to satirize and go over the top with some of my postings. So please don't take offense to what I say. Should a bird owner who gets lab work done throughout a birds life, have to worry about most of these diseases because your bird shouldn't have them in the first place? Or is the bacteria in question part of a healthy dropping? If you employ the idea of a closed aviary to your home and regularly clean are there still any potential issues?

I saw you have a Senegal as well. I was wondering if you could comment on how the Senegal and Timneh are getting along. I have a Sennie and we're considering getting a Timneh, so we were curious how bringing the Timneh around the Senegal effected it.

I hope to be a TAG companion in the near future. I currently have a senegal, so this is more of a general opinion about birds. Anyway, when it comes to TV noise it might not be the best place if it's all day, but put into perspective how much noise a parrot makes. They've evolved to handle noise. I will work at my home workstation with with video or sound or just catching up on TV online. Pro speakers at a comfortable close range volume. Despite all this sound my Senegal prefers to nap on my shoulder if I'm home during the day. She's got full run of the place (she's fully flighted) she could nap at a number her favorite hangouts but prefers my shoulder in front of near field monitors. It's my opinion that a lot of birds would rather be around consistent familiar sounds than too much quiet. In a lot of wild environments quiet can mean somethings wrong or a predator is approaching. Point is, for a noisy bird, a little noise never hurt. As long as he has some quiet time during the day I would put him in the more active living room.

To revisit your previous comment. We have always leaned towards TAGs because the more published opinion is they adjust easier and are easier to socialized with a lot of people. Then I read about people who breed and rear them differently and the resulting Congo is nothing like the stereotypical congo. So for a bit I was leaning towards congos. I just posted in the classifieds section looking for a TAG. My girlfriend is most comfortable with the TAGs so it looks like that's what we're going to hopefully find. We're thinking a rehome that prefers men would be good bet so it's less likely to bond with my lady who is already taken by our Sennie. My TAG Classified

Hi, My girlfriend and I are looking to complete our flock. Currently it consists of myself, my girlfriend and Evie our Senegal parrot. Evie was a planned present for my girlfriend who didn't know the first thing about birds but now is quite the expert. She and Evie have bonded nicely and we're ready to find a bird that will hopefully be my daemon. We're also strongly considering rehomed and rescued greys. Our hope is that we'll reduce the risk of a baby grey bonding with my girlfriend if we get a rehome who is predisposed to a particular type or gender. We'd really like to avoid two birds seeking attention from the same person. The thing is despite my desires,:rolleyes: my girlfriend has ruled out adopting a Congo. We've visited and handled both kinds of Greys and she feels more comfortable with the Timnehs. This is more than just a girlfriend getting her way. We're a team when it comes to taking care of Evie and this would be no different. So she needs to be comfortable with any new member of the flock. Hence, we're focused on finding a timneh. We're located in NYC and willing to road trip-it for the right bird. We drove 4 hours one way to find the right Senegal, and that was from a breeder. We're a fully flighted flock and any new additions would get to grow out there flight feathers. It would be even better if we could find a flighted timneh. We have a good rapport with our avian vet and get all the recommended lab work done for our Sennie. Evie just had her first annual visit and passed with flying colors. So that's a little about what we're looking for and a little about us. Hope to hear from anyone with a Timneh in need of a home.

I'm specifically looking to adopt a timneh because my girlfriend is more comfortable with them vs the congos. Our Sennie (featured in my avatar) is her baby and we want a grey for me but our flock only works with both of us taking care of the fids so Timneh it is despite my desire to rescue or rehome a Congo. Please contact me if you see this post.

Where are you located and which breeder did you go with? I might be getting a TAG next year.

Hi, I'm researching getting a grey but thought it might help, and entertain, to mention that our Senegal is terrified of beanie babies which we post like sentinels in her favorite high places. However, since she's so tiny she now lands on any edge, curtains, door frames. So even if you post scare crows who knows where they'll find next.

Thanks for the info and the links. Like you mention with the chickpeas. We worry if we make certain things available at the same time she won't eat her other stuff. We too include sweet potato in her our fids diet. Instead of a mash we chunk fresh sweet potato, lightly steam them till they soften and freeze what I won't use in two days. I heat a few chunks a day along with other frozen and or fresh items. We also regularly feed whole edamame. She spends a good amount of time chewing on the beans and the pod.

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I may have been a little sarcastic when I was ragging on seed mix. We use the tiniest bit with our Sennie but never in her main food bowl. She only gets it when using foraging toys in her cage. Many Pois are known for gorging on one source of food they like so we're careful about how much she has access to and make sure the healthier stuff is easier to get to first. That does bring up something my lady and I have formed an opinion on as well. We're surprised at how some of the experts out there vary so much on what percentage of a birds daily diet should be represented in pellets. I would be very interested to see some of the articles or sources that relate to pellets and kidney and liver damage. Thanks Dan, I'm counting on it. My sennie is napping on my shoulder right now. I'm well aware of a parrots desire to be part of the flock at all times. We've already run into the issue with Evie. She will play independently in her cage at times but other times she wants to do nothing but be with her human. In many book and online resources Senegals are not recommended as first birds despite having the attraction of being known as one of the better apartment or quieter birds. I'm starting to see why they're not recommended for first timers like my girlfriend. I had a conure when I was little among other animals and was much better prepared. Right now I'm dealing with the issue of her human being out of town and Evie being stuck with me. She likes to fly from one end of the room to the other. I think she flies around quite a bit more in hopes she'll eventually find her human or someone female and therefore closer to what she's looking for.

Hi, This is my first post. I currently play second fiddle as the companion of a lovely Senegal named Evie. She was a gift (a well planned gift) for my girlfriend. She's adored animals of all kinds her entire life but never had the joy (or the responsibility) of owning one. We've had Evie just over a year and what a roller coaster ride it's been. My girlfriend has had trouble dealing with the demands of a pet, let alone those of a Senegal parrot. It's been tough for her living in the close quarters of a one bedroom apartment. My gamble has luckily paid off. I refer to myself as second fiddle because Evie has bonded quite strongly with my girlfriend, but has stayed very social and handleable with myself and a few members of my extended family. We regularly travel with her with in the region to visit family and have left Evie with my mom on more than one occasion. In fact if Evie and I go visit my parents with out my girlfriend Evie seems to prefer my mom to me when we are just hanging out. She clearly has a preference for woman. The reason I've joined the Grey forum is to help my girlfriend and I develop a road plan to hopefully complete our flock. Evie has very much become my girlfriends daemon (in the golden compass sense of the word) and when we get the space we hope to get either a timneh or a congo for me. We originally went looking for either a senegal or a timneh when we decided to get a bird. My girlfriend still can't believe I talked her into it. Up until... about a year and a half ago she thought pet birds were entertaining animals that lived in a cage rarely interacting with people, and the ones at zoos and on TV were just professionally trained like the lions and tigers at the circus. We've already started browsing the web for the right breeder even though any such adoption would be atleast a year or more away. When we did research to adopt Evie we formed some strong opinions on what makes a breeder the right breeder for us. These opinions have only been strengthened and added to by a year of learning, reading and hands on experience with Evie. We believe strongly in the following... lots of socialization with people and other birds (the concept of nanny birds) longer rearing time at the breeders for Congos: These birds live a much different life than other birds in the wild. Full fledging: If possible never clipping, Evie is two flight feathers away from having a complete set of primaries and we couldn't be happier. Abundance Weaning: This is an obvious, popular technique these days but I think there are varying degrees of implementation practiced and some breeders may just use the term and not take the concept to it's fullest potential. Additional focus on nutrition: I click off pretty quickly when seed mix is mentioned on a breeders site. And the List goes on. Point is I've joined here to figure out which bird is right for me and how to find the best life time companion for me.