MarcusCAG

Please keep us posted about your Gracie as things move along!

Congrats on your wedding/marriage!

I found our Marcus on Craig's List and he came to us with his cage. I definitely feel that I was blessed to have found him... The few behavioral issues that Marcus came to us with are all but disappeared now, and he is just the most loving and wonderful boy. My chatty, bright, sweetheart of a boy who now steps-up regularly for me--that is definitely a big accomplishment for him!

Today Tybalt hit some sort of major milestone with me/us by actually making willing physical contact with us--and all it took was the allurement of one organic apple (well, two, actually)! Long story short, while the bigger boys were out of their cages in the birdroom--Tybalt has been slightly nicer to Bunsen lately but I still don't trust them out together unsupervised--I grabbed an apple and waltzed into the midst of them all. "Who wants some apple?" After the rounds were made from Marcus on the Boing to Beaker on top of Marcus' cage, from Bunsen who shied away from the Big Red Scariness to Tybalt... to Tybalt, who flew from the cagetop and landed first on my wrist/fingers to steal a bite before flying away again; then on my arm and perched there while he chewed the apple for a bit; then to my shoulder--and he stayed there! He had a good grip on me, better than Beaker generally does. I was a little nervous after Tybalt ate more of the apple and just was gazing at me with his big blue eyes. I couldn't tell if he was happy and wanting to feed my ear or something (I will say I did get a certain sense of adoration for a few moments from him, at least), and a part of me was worried that he might suddenly want to take a chunk out of my ear. But I talked to him, and he replied with his lovely high Ringneck shrieks, his eyes pinning like they always do whenever he communicates with us like that. After a few moments of this (and he let me walk around for a bit with him on my shoulder, he wasn't at all scared by the movement), Tybalt took off again. He did come back, once, and ate some more apple and talked with me again... it was so sweet. He really seems to be 'coming around' anymore--we tried to replicate the scene later when my hubby got home from work, and Tybalt landed momentarily on his fingers for some apple, too. And so I like to think Tybalt is happy here with us and our flock, and that he's settling in here, although sometimes I wonder about his other Daddy who seemed to want to treat him so well. I hope he doesn't miss him too much. I do email him sometimes to give him updates on Tybalt and everything, but I haven't heard from him in a while. I believe we are Tybalt's third home in his three young years. He's moved around enough, that's for sure. But that brief moment of 'love' I felt from Tybalt today when he was perching on my shoulder just touched me deep inside, I feel like maybe it was a brief glimpse into the loving heart I know is snuggled within that regal green breast. I'm just so happy our Tybalt is with us.

Lovely story... I always figured you for a writer. Thanks for sharing, and you know your Shelby is just gorgeous!

Egan is so beautiful, I'm glad to hear he's safe at home with you and enjoying his new experiences very much.

I never thought of trying to give our boys pistachios. Thanks for the idea! It sounds like they may go over well.

As you brought out, Dee, I'm sure everyone at home will be so glad to see you both. Thinking of you during your trip, please be safe...

Every once in a while I'll pull out a particularly nice outfit from my closet to go someplace special. When I get dressed in the boys' room during such relatively exciting and unusual times (my closet is in the birdroom), I'll often turn to Marcus and say, "Do you like it? It's my pretty blue dress," or whatever the garment is. He generally just kind of looks at me when I ask him those types of questions, giving no sort of reply (or any indication of even vague interest at all!). Well, today I received a package of clothes I had ordered online recently, and like I do with their orders of pellets and such, I opted to open this box in the birdroom in front of the boys. After fawning over everything for a moment or two, I tried on one of my new shirts and I turned to Marcus. "Does it look good?" Marcus was hanging out in the corner of his cage, as close to me as he could get while I knelt on the floor. Not missing a beat, he replied, "I think I like it."

It's really not that complicated... I'm sorry if I made it sound so! This video has been living in my camera for about two weeks now, and since I actually have ten free minutes or so I've just uploaded it to YouTube. Marcus was on the lower part of the swing before I ran and got the camera, but by the time I was recording him he was up on the top of it and didn't seem to be enjoying the water quite as much as before. (BTW, the swing seems to dry very quickly once it's out of the bathroom. I'm really pleased with its construction and the way everything's working with it so far for Marcus--in and out of the shower.) [video=youtube;wns7BHl60-o]

While I was out today getting some necessary things done, I also ended up at the flea market with a friend who wanted to visit someone who is chronically ill, who works there. While we were talking to the lady I kept hearing this macaw calling... my friend said to me at one point, "They have parrots here! Do you want to go see them?" I vacillated back and forth and finally made the wrong choice: I said, Yes, let's go see them. As we were walking there, of course I was thinking how I'd have to wash up and change and everything when I got home, to protect our boys. I was thinking, What a wretched place to sell birds! I was thinking... all this stuff. When we got there, the lots (stands?) rented out for this flea market bird store were crammed with cages and smaller parrots, but I saw them later. The two baby B&G macaws were in a big tub thing in the middle of the "street" and some lanky teenage kid was just putting the cage part--the top of the rodent/bunny cage--back onto the rubber tub. The macaws weren't fully feathered yet and they just kept calling. There was this big guy who smelled of cigarette smoke hanging around them. My friend doesn't know much about birds or parrots, so I was surprised when she started asking the guy all these questions: How old are they? How much do they cost?... all that stuff. He said they were about 11 weeks old and so I asked if they were weaned, since they seemed to be for sale (I was playing dumb, in a way). The kid said, I just got done hand-feeding them. I asked something to the effect of, But what if people don't know how to feed them? And the big guy said that he'd teach them how to hand-feed so they could take the bird home right away. Or it was close enough to that because by then I could feel my face getting hard and I wasn't really listening... I was surprised, really, because my friend started babbling about how she wanted a parrot. (Really? You do?) She stared asking about "little green ones". He led her over to a cage that had green-cheek conures and budgies in it, next to a cage with various mutations of cockatiels. There was a cockatoo there in the store, too, I think. My friend asked, What if I want to go away? and the big guy said that you can leave the green-cheeks for up to two weeks alone (!!!) as long as they have food and water. She was asking about the parrots bonding when I kind of just herded her out of the parrot store area and muttered that if she has parrot questions, ASK ME! because even if I don't know the answers, I'll locate someone honorable and knowledgeable who does. I told her he just was trying to make money off of her. And I really think he was.

We have fiberglass walls in our shower/tub and not tile, too, so my hubby said that the suction-cup parrot perches wouldn't work in our home. So what I did was buy a nice, large, higher-quality parrot swing online that is wrapped with cotton for a better grip (like a Boing) and I also bought one of those toy extender things. I had my husband hang a hook from the ceiling where I wanted it in the tub, and so now when I want to try and let Marcus have a real shower (instead of just a spray bottle shower), I move the swing from the den onto the hook in the tub, and I put him on it. The spray can't quite reach all around the swing, which is probably for the best, since Marcus isn't too crazy about it yet. He usually climbs pretty far away from the water, but he seems to have a good time when I splash around with him in there, so I'm hoping that with enough time he'll come to enjoy actually climbing down and really getting soaked! Anyway, that's our personal solution to the shower perch-dilemma we had, and so maybe the idea will be of some help to some other fid-filled family, too.

Chrissy, a lot of your questions are common to people who have never owned a parrot before and/or new parrot owners, so there are plenty of threads here in the various "rooms" of these forums that will probably address them. Feel free to look around, read, ask questions, and learn as you go. And remember that there are other parrot forums around online (Quaker parrot forums, IRN forums--maybe there's an Ekkie forum!) that may also help give you a better idea of what the other species you mentioned are like, too. If you really want to be a parrot person, you will be, just take your time and enjoy the process and you'll find your special "fid" someday, even if it's years down the road.

A few years ago, before he got his office job, my husband used to be a plumber (well, not licensed himself, but he was a bit beyond the "plumber's helper" stage in the company he worked for). They used to use Bio-Clean a lot, but you really have to let it sit and do its thing before it will really work. He said too many people would flush the toilet or rinse out the tub too soon. I'd kind of forgotten about it, honestly (we haven't had any plumbing issues in a while), but I would think that as long as the birds don't eat it--or bathe in it, like Dave said--then it would be okay to use in the house around them.

Well, I could tell you about the first three listed: We have a CAG, an Indian Ringneck, and a Quaker parrot. They all have very different personalities, and although we love them all (and our little cockatiel), I think for someone who has never owned a parrot before, it could make a big difference for you in deciding what you choose to adopt. Greys, definitely, are a lot of work. They take a great amount of time, attention, love, patience, and understanding. They are exceptionally intelligent and often you end up wondering, Is that a little kid wearing a bird suit in that cage? Especially if the Grey is a talker, I think that effect is more pronounced, although don't ever let anyone tell you that a less-talkative parrot is less intelligent than another! Anyway, the Greys live for quite a long time, whether you adopt/rescue or buy from a breeder, they are a big investment financially and emotionally. But I wouldn't trade our Marcus for the world. He's my little boy, and he's a part of our family, and he loves being together with us. Our Quaker parrot, Beaker, was the first parrot my husband and I adopted as a married couple (I grew up in a household with an Amazon who was only semi-tame, but that's another story). Quakers are quite fiesty, they are full of spit and vinegar and cuddles. Quakers are generally known as great talkers although our Beaker is more on the quiet side (at least in terms of speaking, he squawks plenty!). They are smart too, but they're just as stubborn, and full of energy; so if you like a little hot sauce with your meal, a Quaker may be just right for you. They can be full of love but they definitely can have attitudes! The Ringneck that we have, we adopted a few months ago. He is still not handleable (sp?) for us, generally-speaking, although he is at the point where he will take treats from our fingers. Tybalt is a sharp little guy, very smart... he has more energy than Beaker, which is saying something. Tybalt will fly around and around and around the birdroom--I've never seen a parrot with so much energy. I don't know if it's common to the species. He's very affectionate with most of our other birds, usually, although like all parrots, he can be territorial at times. I would say the impression that Tybalt, as a Ringneck, has left on me compared to our other three is energy. He's just a ball of fire. He says two words clearly and one of them is his new name (we renamed him when we got him) so he must be kind of happy here. But I have seen videos of other IRNs online who are just excellent talkers with little crystal-clear voices. The thing about IRNs, though, is that I've read if you don't consistently handle them, they will revert to a semi-wild state. At least, they won't want much physical contact with humans, if any. I feel our Tybalt is at that point. We are hoping in the future he will enjoy being with us like our other birds; but even if he does not, we are just glad he seems to be happy being here with the rest of our flock. And if I didn't mention this already: all of our parrots are rehomes, and were adult when we got them. Rehoming an adult bird can bring its own challenges, true, but I maintain that it is all so worth it. Still, our experiences may be somewhat different from those of individuals who adopted baby birds from the get-go. So hopefully some others will add some more constructive input here and give you a better perspective on everything, that way.

It is a "sandblasted grapevine" perch. I ordered one of the cagetop varieties (complete with treat cups and a toy) for our boys a little while ago--you can see it in my signature picture--and the smaller parrots just adore it! So I wanted to get Marcus a grapevine perch for his cage, too. http://www.mysafebirdstore.com/product.cgi?group=3069&product=7048 I generally order all of my parrot-related products from this store. I have had nothing but AWESOME interactions with them, they have always been fantastic with customer service, and they are very friendly. I don't know if they ship overseas or not (I don't see why they wouldn't), but if they do and you can't find anything locally that is 'grapevine' for Zak and want to get such a perch for him someday, I would highly recommend ordering from here.

Marcus has been avoiding his new perch for the past two days, ever since it came in the mail and I rearranged his perches and toys in his cage to fit it in there... I think the hesitation came because he couldn't figure out how to perch on it without whacking his tail into one of the arms of the branch. But tonight when he was climbing down the side of his cage, I asked Marcus if he was going to go on his new perch; and when he paused, I said, "Turn around, it's behind you!" (We've been working on 'turn around' together lately.) And Marcus did turn around, the good boy, and he climbed onto the grapevine to claps and hoorays from his Daddy and myself. He just looks so cute in this picture, I wanted to share it with everybody.

So nobody actually has one? Hm, I guess I may not get the feedback I was hoping for!

Paul, I will admit I've been avoiding logging into the forums for the past day or so because I didn't want to write anything here in this thread. It's just so wretchedly sad, I can only imagine the pain and grief you're feeling right now. How you described yourself at the outset--it was almost too much, I could see Marcus in Murphy's place so easily, too easily. But for you it isn't a "what if", it's real, and none of us--no matter how much we would like to be able to--can heal the great wound in your heart. If you decide to get another bird is up to you (and perhaps not even a Grey but another medium-sized parrot, if another Grey is too close). I do feel that Murphy is out there somewhere, and I pray still that you two will be reunited in the future. But if you need to love another 'baby' in the meanwhile--and then in addition to Murphy, should that happy day come about, not soon enough!--then that is certainly all right too. When my first and most beloved pet rat died, I knew I couldn't get another rat just yet, but I also knew I needed to love and be loved by another small, furry animal. I got my beautiful chinchilla two days later. He was my little buddy for 13 years before he died last year... and then, again, I knew it was time for something else, a parrot. And we got our Beaker. And the rest is history. I'm just trying to say, nobody, nothing will ever fill your Murphy's "shoes" in your heart, but if you ever get to the point where you feel you have the room in your heart to love another creature who needs a good Daddy and a good friend, then you will not be wrong to get another parrot. You know Murphy would want you happy, even if he might be a bit jealous at first! And should he ever come home to you, don't at all be surprised how large your love has grown to encompass two wonderful fids so tenderly...

Oh, poor Jimpster! I could see that happening somehow, though--Beaker goes through his feisty moods, too, but in terms of Marcus he usually keeps a safe distance. (I get a lot of his spit and vinegar, though, much as he loves me! His Daddy is his absolute favorite.) However, our Indian Ringneck, Tybalt, sometimes seems to think that he is about Marcus' size, and I've had to jump up and run over and startle him off Marcus' cage a couple of times because Marcus was just coming down on him like a big T-rex... Our boys only started eating greens when I found the big, leafy varieties at a supermarket farther from our house. I didn't put in a garden this year, but I probably should next year, because Marcus just loves the collards! Kale is ho-hum, and I've discovered they think turnip greens are nice for variety. But they won't eat the "baby" greens! I had been offering Marcus them for a while and he just wouldn't touch them unless I pureed them with some apple or something. But he and Tybalt in particular like the big, leafy greens. I've seen little Bunsen nibble on tiny pieces I ripped up for him, once or twice, too! So maybe if you haven't tried giving Brutus and your gang the full, mature leaf greens yet, that might make a difference. They seem to be fun to play with, too. And here is the flock dynamic at this point: Marcus doesn't seem to mind any of the smaller parrots if they keep their distance. He won't go after anyone unless they tread upon his territory too long while he is hanging out there (like if he is on his cagetop and somebody else suddenly decides they want to preen there). And little Bunsen, the cockatiel, is generally indifferent to everyone. He seems to want to be friendly with Marcus (!) if he wants to be close to any of the other birds, so we need to make sure that he doesn't try to get too close when Marcus wants his space, because we're afraid of nipped toes or worse--not that Marcus would be particularly vicious, I couldn't see that, but simply for the size difference a chastising swipe could be very bad for little Bunsen. Still it is funny because Marcus will often get frustrated with the other, smaller parrots flying all around him and--presumably--being annoying to him. He'll say "Stop it!" and "stinker!" when he gets really irritated. But Tybalt and Beaker really seem to kind of like Marcus as a presence more than an actual, interactive flockmate, although once Tybalt actually regurgitated for Marcus up on the Boing--I nearly had a heart attack!!!! Tybalt and Beaker are best buddies: they preen each other and Tybalt feeds Beaker occasionally, so they're happy to have each other. Tybalt, though, will pick on little Bunsen if they have out-of-cage time together... he often pulls on his tailfeathers and makes him scream. So if I want to have Bunsen out I either take him and Marcus in another room with me and let the "Greenies" have the run of the birdroom (with many visits back to check that they're okay). Or, I give Tybalt an almond and keep him in his cage while I let the others out in the birdroom. And Beaker usually takes no notice of Bunsen at all unless he lands close to him, and then Beaker will yell at him in a very Quaker-ish way and move away an inch or two, and that's the end of it! So, usually, it's a happy little family here!

Actually, when we brought our two most recent additions home, we did all of the above ^^ and it was maddening! Everything you posted about the same air space and whatnot is true, we had no place to keep them except in our house in another room; so technically it wasn't a true quarantine like would be desired/necessary had one of them actually been ill. Still, we did everything we could to keep whatever type of quarantine we had going, a quarantine. I actually started having problems with my feet because I was showering X-amount of times per day. But thanks for all the reminders...

It depends on the day.

You have very handsome birds! May I ask what type of parrot Hooper is? I'm sorry, I don't think I've ever seen a parrot with that coloration before...

Hello everyone... So my husband and I have been discussing getting a backpack-type travel cage for Marcus. He is just in love with his Paradise Perch and Go travel cage--rather, he is in love with the fact that he can leave the house with us now--but honestly I think another carrier would be better for him, something we can really take him out and about in, comfortably, for longer spells. I know a number of forum members here have the Pak-O-Bird carrier, but I like the idea of the Adventure Pack a little better because it is a real cage inside of the backpack, and therefore would seem a bit stronger and more durable to me. http://www.parrot-and-conure-world.com/adventure-pack-cage.html I was consequently wondering if anyone here uses an Adventure Pack for taking their Grey around with them, and what the pros and cons of it might be. Thanks in advance for any input!

What kinds of toys does my Grey prefer? Marcus REALLY likes his big bell. He'll chew on a hanging wooden toy (cage type toy) for a while and then get bored with it. His Boing is his absolute favorite plaything, although I don't know if you could call it a toy per se. And the foot toys... ehhhhh... he seems to have decided he's "beyond" that phase at this point, but while he did play with them he generally liked leathery things.