GandalfGreybird

Hey all, I'm bringing my first grey home in a month or two and wanted to get some input on my cage strategy. The living cage I've had for a while. I know it's plenty big, but just posting it so there's reference as to what he's used to when I discuss the travel cage. - I have a 1L mountain dew bottle on the porch for scale - Obviously I need toys in there, but as a brief overview i currently have one manzanita "straight" perch, one twisty wood perch (not sure no the species, but its a hard parrot perch), one bendy rope perch. In addition the top opens up and a perch is placed across to keep the hatch open, as well as the top arch flips down for a "porch." My parents bought it for me for Christmas one year, i believe they got it from Mounds. Any suggestions as to how many perches to put in here? There's a lot of room with the cage standing about 5'Hx3'W/2.5'D not including feet/wheels. How many toys should populate the cage at any one time? Here is the Caitec Perch and Go travel cage i just ordered off of amazon. - pop can for scale - The store photo has a TAG in the cage, and my grey is a CAG so obviously he will take up just a little more room. The travel cage, while maybe a little iffy during assembly, once completed seems to be quite sturdy. I haven't been able to find any great photos of it online, so i thought i'd post a few for those who may be considering it. I'll probably replace the original perch with a wooden one. The side has lots 15 air holes. The back grate doesn't open which is good, and the front door has an odd latch. Even though it's fairly sturdy and doesn't flop about, I'm going to stop by the hardware store and see what types of clips they have that might keep it from being picked by a certain grey felon. All in all it seems to be a nice middle of the road traveling cage. It's quite light, and not too expensive at $119-139. I like that the bird has 360°+ vision and that it's vertical instead of "cat carrier" horizontal. I'll be moving into the city and its perfectly sized for busses (if they'll allow him) or at the least taxis. It also seems large enough for a perching cage for afternoon visits and overnight stays. The handle doubles as a perch and is steady, not rotating. I may eventually find myself purchasing something more along the lines of a Kings cage for extended travel, but for day trips and afternoon outings this seems appropriate. I also received an Aviator harness. Can't wait to start him on that. I bought one for my room-mates BaG for christmas, and while he just tolerates the process of putting on any harness, he seems to be far more comfortable and agile in it over his old one with buckles.

Hey all, I've had my cockatiel Marble for a few years now, maybe 4-5? I got him from an aviary rescue as my first bird. Now don't get me wrong, I love the little guy, but he's a freakin spaz. He steps up fine, and doesn't bite anywhere near as hard as he could. But he seems to • be "angry" at anything that moves • doesn't like toys (except his one little mirror) • not a fan of other birds: whenever i take him in to my local shop for grooming there's always at least one or two other tiels trying to woo him. (first time a beautiful lutino fanned him instantly) but he just gets nervous. • if i leave the room he does his "help" squawks almost non stop until i leave him there for good while, or come back in. - his "help" squawk is the same noise he makes if he flies down/up to somewhere he's not comfortable. (like the floor or the face of a curtain). • I don't think he was hand fed • maybe have been "netted" with towels in his first home, and grabbed with open hands. If i were to anthropomorphize him a little bit it seems as if since he's intimidated by anything other than his food. I've gotten him much more comfortable with me than he was at first, so progress has been made. He'll even take showers with me now and loves it. I can put my hand over his back to put him in his travel cage etc, and it doesn't stress him out much (not that he likes it). Hes becoming more comfortable with being confined in that way. Useful for grooming etc. He doesn't seem to be food motivated too much, and like i said doesn't like toys. I can scratch his head and neck when he's got pin feathers, or possibly seasonally as well. I'm not sure how to start working with him. I have a lot of background in dog behavior and training, and much of that seems to translate. Obviously with accommodations for species roles etc. He will only take a few types of foods, and only if they're crunchy and tiny. I've toyed around with clicker/targeting, but not given it a good go. I also keep intending to start a crabby journal to keep track of seasons, and how we light the room he's in. Any suggestions as how to get him to open up and become more comfortable and confident would be greatly appreciated. I'm bringing my first grey home in a month or two and would not only like them to be able to enjoy each others company, but not have the grey pick up the "spazz alert" squawks. I realize the tiel may not ever be buddy-buddy with any other bird, but at least if he could be tolerant of them both being out in the same room would be nice.

Two baby greys and four Blue headed pionus. Feeding time! Hopefully one of these little guys is, well, a guy. If so I'll be taking him home in July!

Yeah. I'm planning on getting an Aviator. Bough my room-mates macaw one for christmas and really like it. Like i said i doubt i'll ever be "free" flight. but mostly looking for flight training so i can have a responsible flighted bird in the house. skill, movement commands, etc. Indoor free flight with control and structure, Outside -> aviator harness.

Hi birdhouse, Yeah "Tinkerbell -love of a flying CAG in Taiwan" was one of the first posts i read on here, and may have even been how i found the site. Thanks for reminding me. I'm not sure how far I'll go with free flight outside. Especially because the raptor population is so strong here in the midwest, but you never know what will happen over the course of 50 years. I'd love to be able to of course, but just depends on the birds personality, the training we accomplish, geographic location, and other risks. On the other hand it seems silly to me to have a fully capable bird have to climb down a perch and walk across the floor to come to me, or vice versa. And if i'm going to have him flighted, he needs to have training and skill. My cockatiel doesn't really know how to fly (well), he was an adoption. If it just comes down to a matter of education and training on my part, I'd rather put in the work to do all I can to enrich my future birds lives.

I'm very interested in learning about free flight training. I realize that it's a very intensive option, bu I'd like to at least be informed on the subject. Now I may never get involved to the extent of doing timed courses. At minimum I would love to be able to keep my CAG fully flighted and hav basic training for around the house, and at most maybe harnessed flight outdoors. Honestly I'd would be ecstatic to have free flight outdoors but knowing nohing at the moment, I'm a little apprehnsive. That and by the time he'll be of age, I *should* be in living in Chicago. which actually might be better than where I live now as we have Red Tail and Chicken Hawks as well the occasional Bald Eagle on the river (though dont they focus mostly on fish?) Any advice for resources. I just finished reading "The Parrot Problem Solver" by Barbara Heindenreich and I was really hoping she had a course for it. She speaks of the free flight work she's been involved in quite frequently throughout the book. Any tips would be great! Again I do have time as Gandalf isn't even layer let alone hatched but as with all training, I'd prefer to lay the ground work from the beginning instead of straightening out things later.

I seriously almost didnt. But I already have Marble, I'll be moving into Chicago towards the end of the year and be busy with school again. So i won't have time for three birds. Plus my lady says 2 is her limit. The conure is still at the store for now, so I make sure to play with her when I visit.

Yeah i found my breeder a couple months ago. She breeds mid Jan. so i should have him sometime in June-July. Buh.. long wait! But gives me time to budget responsibly

I Posted those photos over in the Other Birds forums.

guess they don't support photobucket video. i'll have to post em on youtube. *done*

Here's some shots of Marble my tiel. I got him when he was somewhere between 2-3 years old from an Aviary rescue in Madison, WI. (I live in N IL). I started a twitter account for him @OrneryMarble just for some fun tweets so i have something to look back at over the years. Fairly sporadic for now. Hope to have it more frequent once I get @GandalfGreyBird home this summer. Fresh from the shower. Fluffy naps. This is a 3 mo. little Sun Conure I nearly brought home from my grey's breeder. If I hadn't already decided on my second bird I probably would have. She was beyond cuddly and totally adorable. Danced for me the whole time I was in there. Apparently she really likes guys. At one point I tried to get her to step-up and she just rolled over for a belly rub with her eyes closed.

Lol. Sums him up quite nicely.

Thanks for the recommendation Katana. I picked up, or downloaded, The Parrot Problem Solve via the Kindle app and have been tearing through it. Great book. I've heard of Barbara from the podcast she is(was?) part of. They haven't put up any new episodes in quite a while last I checked. The interview with the Canadian research group was great though. I'm probably going to pick up The Alex Studies next. btw i have a twitter feed i sporadically tweet from from for my tiel Marble (@OrneryMarble) and have Gandalf's saved. Seems silly, but I'm going to use it for a 365 journal of sorts. I'll probably post that in the "others" forum with a couple requested photos of Marble.

@Katana600: Thanks for the tip Katana, I've heard her on the podcast they (used to) do. Haven't released on in a while. Now i've got two books to track down. lol. I come from a heavy dog behavior background as i mentioned so i took an entire weekend calling around to find a breeder that understood the importance of developmental stages and exposure, socialization, etc to as much as possible at the right times. Like you said. simple things up front can save a lifetime of agonizing problems. @Ray P: Thanks Ray! me too I'm sure he will.

Thanks for all the welcomes! Thanks for the tip Judy. Oddly enough I almost ended up with the combo you've got. I was visiting the breeder's place to pick up some millet for Marble and she had a little 3mo Sun conure what was absolutely smitten with me the minute i walked in the door. It could have been that i was a guy, but either way I barely walked out of there without her(?). I just know i can't handle 3 birds right now. College student. I took video of her dancing etc. Missed the part where i went to have her step up and she rolled over for a belly rub instead.

Thanks! Plan on it. I wanted to get involved in a solid community for those nervous few weeks (and the odd things to follow) early on. I get along great with my to-be-breeder and she's been doing it quite a while.

Hey all, I'm a 25 yo guy and I live in Rockford, IL. I currently have an appx. 5 yo Cockatiel named Marble. I got him from an aviary rescue in Madison, WI. Had him for about 3 years now. He's the most neurotic little feather ball but he's been getting better all the time. Don't know if he'll ever be cuddle-ready, but who knows. When I first got him he'd flip if expected to do anything more than step-up. Was real hard to get at pin-feathers or any type of hygiene. I'm eagerly awaiting the spring clutch at my local breeder. Unfortunately they probably won't be available till June or so. I'm intending on getting a male CAG, and his name will be Gandalf (hence my forum name). I was thinking Isaac, until my girl said if we ever have a son, thats top on her list of names. That night i shot upright in bed as i was falling asleep realizing i could name my Grey Gandalf. Struggled a bit cause i didn't want to end up with a "fido" type name. But after asking around, and asking my breeder, she'd only known a couple. Plus my girl is a LOTR nut, so it got me and the bird points there. I've always wanted a Grey and now seems like the perfect time. I may be getting married in the next few years, and I want to have Gandalf through puberty and the like before any dogs or furthermore kids come into the picture. The cool thing is my breeder has a rottweiler mix, a lab, and a mini-doxon. Considering I will always have a doberman in the house, and my girlfriend loves labs, this is great news. The birds grow up used to big dogs as well as all the other public and toy exposure the breeder gives the birds. I wanted to get on the forum to further the mad amounts of research i've been doing. I read through Barron's Guide to a Well Behaved Parrot as well as Barron's African Grey. Both excellent books that seem to have a very well balanced and informative approach. My history is in dogs, like most people. My mom was a vetrinarian technician for 25 years so i literally grew up in the clinic with all breeds. She's still very involved with dog behavior and training. I've picked up a lot if not most of the training she does. I just don't do it for a living. I was pleasantly surprised how much of the training concepts and even some techniques transfer to birds. The biggest difference being body language and different reward foods. My room-mate has a 3 yo Blue and Gold Macaw who's pretty funny.

Welcome. I'm new here as well. Oddly enough I have a friend who just returned from working in Soldotna for 3 years. Well she was a recruiter for ACC so she worked all over AK, but was based in Soldotna.