sarahp

So, how is the new addition to the flock coming along?

Well it seems my original timetable for getting an AG has been pushed back quite a bit. The Dude is currently in school and apparently next semester he will be in classes from about 6am to 5pm, leaving me to deal with two conures. I'm a little peeved that he just bought a baby Sun for himself before letting me know about this: between the Sun and my Green-cheek, I'm going to have my share of needy birds (both of which are under a year old). Plus we're thinking of moving in together and out of my current place by March (when my lease is up). So as much as I'd love to take in that TAG, I don't think it would be at all fair to the bird. Perhaps with a baby that doesn't know any better it would work out, but with the instability in the coming months, plus my learning how to give care equally with multiple pets (my poor little mutt has gotten the raw end of the stick this past month ), I don't feel at all prepared to take in anything else. A Grey is in my future - when things get much more settled, at least. This will just give me time to plan things out even more and stabilize myself to caring for multiple animals (I grew up in a multi-pet household but they were either multiples of the same species or the others lived in a barn - I've never cared basically solo for more than 2). So if either of the AGs get adopted out, well, I hope it's to loving, knowledgable homes. And if that TAG is still there when I/we get our act together, I'll be that much more ready to bring her home.

Hey Dan, looks like I'm right up the road from you! Both of the AGs I'm considering are at Whitie's Pets in Fresno.

I'm looking into adding some full-spectrum lighting to the area of my place that's to (ultimately) house all the birds but am not sure how to go about it. I rent which puts a damper on some of the things I can really do with regards to in-home renovation. Are there any bulbs available on the market for regular lights, IE the kind you find on ceilings, fans etc, or should I get a floor lamp? I currently have 2 conures and hope to soon add a Grey. Would I need to get a lamp for each cage, or how far do I need to keep the light source away from where the bird(s) would be? The longer, more detailed postings here made my eyes glaze over; I read them several times and my brain still refuses to absorb some of the info so I thought I'd start simple lol

In the semi-local pet shop there are two African Greys: a CAG that's 7-years old and allows skritches through the bars but is apparently cage territorial, and a 10-40+ year old TAG that doesn't appear at all hand tame and outlived its owner. The CAG is a sweetie pie but I'm gravitating toward the TAG, partly because that's the species I originally wanted and partly because I love projects (which may sound calloused but it's true, I prefer things that take some effort and work). The TAG comes with a cage that's likely as old as it is, based on the wear and tear, but if I were to get it I'd definitely hold off on moving the bird to another cage until it was much more settled in my home. My question is, what exactly am I looking at when adopting an unknown older bird? The pet shop staff knows next to nothing about this bird, other than it's been there a few months and apparently outlived its owner. It has an open-band on its leg so I'm assuming it's wild caught, which could easily make it older than me by quite a bit. I don't worry too much, I'm going on the assumption that it could still go another 10-40+ years easily and I am willing to work with a recalcitrant bird (and I get my lovins from my conures, so don't necessarily "need" a lover [although I wouldn't mind!]). Anyway, long story short, has anyone ever adopted a much older bird? What were your experiences with taming it or improving its quality of life? Any advice for a Grey newbie who may be jumping into something outside her comfort zone?

Thanks for the welcome everyone. I'm going cautiously, even though my heart is saying "Just make the leap already!". :rolleyes: I'm be visiting the pet shop on a semi-regular basis to figure out which bird I'm actually interested in, as well as build up a rapport. For now however, the new baby Sun conure needs to take up the majority of our time, but I'm gearing up for a Grey hopefully by the New Year or spring. I'm really interested in that (possibly much) older Timneh, so if I do end up getting her you'd better believe I'm going to be here asking a ton of questions! :cool:

Hello everyone! I'm looking into purchasing a Grey sometime in the next few months and have been researching the birds for about a month now. There are two locally in a pet store, a 7-year old CAG and a much older (and from the look of her band, wild-caught) TAG who outlived her owner. The CAG is sweet but cage territorial, while the TAG (I've heard conflicting reports of between 10-50 years old) doesn't seem to have been handled much at all and, while interested in humans and likes attention, doesn't like hands moving about inside her cage. I'm taking my time, but it's great to be able to interact with them. This wouldn't be my first bird; I had to tame down my little Green-cheek conure and the BF recently got himself a Sun conure so I'm not in any rush, but they really are majestic birds. I'm the laid back sort anyway, something of a homebody, and love the soulfull eyes of these creatures. Anyway, glad to have found this place, will be looking all around for information and stories, and look forward to getting to know you all!