Ryan13

Does anyone happen to know of a good place to get Zupreem pellets online? I have found it for around 49.99 plus shipping for a 40lb bag. Does anyone know of a place cheaper with shipping? I moved and do not have any good stores to buy food besides petco which I don't like.

It actually has been almost 2 years!! Well since I posted that, I have had great success with My Timneh. He is letting me pet him and loves to come out of his cage all the time! He still doesn't step up for me, but its a working progress. I honestly believe he was never worked with, or even abused before I got him. Since I have had Pee Wee(timneh) I also got a Congo named Reggie. He is just a great bird, even though he prefers males! Having them two in the same room is just a riot! Once one gets going and talking, the other is just whistling off him! But thank you for your concern.

The responses are right, it is a myth about Greys bonding with the opposite sex. My CAG Reggie bonds only to males. He dislikes my gf and any other females. The previous owner was a Male and his wife was scared of him which made me think that Reggie believes most females are like that. You have to remember how old these birds live to be, so having it be young, it is common for behaviors like this. She will come around eventually with some training and handling. I do want to add that when I hold Reggie, he tends to give me a warning bite when a female is around, which is common when they bond with a certain sex. Good Luck tho!

I use Zupreem Pellets and Kay Tee seed mix. I havent heard many good things on Chet, I read alot of reviews that the guy doesnt send the videos after you pay him. And others claimed that his videos werent even that great.

I will also add, I bought a Sun conure about 2 weeks ago. My Timneh is an unhandled bird and since I have had my conure, My Timneh has came out of his shell and loves to try to talk and whistle and play alot. I didnt get the Grey a friend, but I bought the conure, waited 2 weeks and than put them in the same room, not same cage, same room. But my point is I doubt the grey will ever play with the conure, actually I read somewhere that greys do not like other birds but if u buy another grey Im sure he might get attached to it and get less attached to you. In my case, It helped me bc my bird was unhandled and he saw the interaction between me and my conure. Good Luck...Keep me posted!

I have posted a couple of times on my Timneh that I got that wasnt handled. Since then I have worked with him and bought a Sun conure and as soon as I got to put the birds in the same room, Pee Wee( Timneh) started making all kinds of noises, ones he did before but lots more. He whistles all the time and it sounds like he is trying to talk but he sounds like a chipmunk. Is this what greys do before they start talking is make their own sounds at first? I could have swore he said Come here but in a chipmunk voice one time but it was hard to tell. I was just wondering if most peoples birds started talking clearly or if they make their own sounds at first to learn how to talk. Thanks!

WhiteCrow - The problem with finding your grey a companion is that he could end up loving the companion, than not have much to do with you. Thats why you see breeder pairs not good pet birds because they are used to being with another bird. I am almost positive it wouldnt be a good idea but ask around. So if you dont want a close relationship with him than get him another bird, but who knows, he might not even like him and other things could occur. Sorry!

joePanic - I have submitted a couple of threads online and I will say right now I am far from a bird expert but I was in the same situation you are in. THis is the question you have to ask yourself, Are you happy with where you are at with ur bird? IF so, leave him be and let him run the show. If not, Start by working with him. The first thing you have to do is to get him in another room away from his cage to he cant see his cage. Alot of people will say, Be patient and he will come to you eventually, and I will you the odds of an adult bird doing that? It wont happen. You have to make the bird uncomfortable before he gets comfortable. he is just as scared as you are. You absolutely cannot react when he tries to bite because this forces negative reinforcement. So Take him in another room with nothing in it. Try petting him and getting him to step up even if u r following him around, so try in a corner. ONly do it for 30-45 minutes and let him rest by takin him back the his cage. Within a couple of weeks if u follow properly, u will make good gains. Keep my posted.

The is the risk of buying things online. I would recommend to find out where any Bird Fairs are in your area and buy one from there. They always have the best deals around. If you cant find one, Shop around at stores. Its risky buying things online so sometimes its not always the best thing just to save a couple of bucks.

I would try what you said and leave the following out. Do not use gloves, even though it sounds smart, it is very bad. Try a towel. Other than a towel, use your hands or wait for him to come out and close the cage. Do not use the light method either, I have never used that, how does a bird get used to another surrounding when you are playing peek-a-boo with the light? Take him into another room with nothing for him to get on or away from you and work with him to step up and and try to pet him. Good luck!

I would call the Vet and ask their opinion, but it sounds like you need to take your bird into the vet soon. Birds can hide illnesses very well. Keep an eye on his body language also.

Felix - I too got a bird that was unhandled. People on this forum were very helpful but I took a couple of different approaches. I do think time and patience is a factor, however with a bird that was never handled, it could also go against you because time could allow the bird to be set in his ways. What you need to do is get him out of the cage and into a room. Place him in a corner of a room thats empty and be there, Talk nicely and be patient with him, even if he bites! If he does bite, do not react. Use a stick for the first couple of times and try to have him step up. Keep trying this and eventually he will give up and step up. than start using your hand. if you are scared of being bitten, use the stick and your hand. I am in the process of doing this now. He doesnt react when I pet him and I also pet his neck, my gf however is scared of him and doesnt want to be bit so she allows him to run the show. Dont let your bird do this otherwise its pointless to have him in another room to do these taming sessions. Good luck and be consistent as far as training. Dont do it anymore than 30 minutes each time and allow your bird a couple of hours to rest between sessions. Good lUck! Ryan

My friend who has parrots told me that Parrots have their off days just like humans, sometimes you wake up and it just isnt your day, same way with birds. Its weird he is comfortable one day and growling the next, but he is still very new. I wouldnt leave him there for a week till he tames a bit, leaving a bird alone when he growls enforces negative reinforcement. Give him a day or so to chill out and then continue working with him. Did the websites give you any luck with the treats and pellets you were looking for? Ryan

Go to this site and look near the bottom, it has the cakes. http://www.lafeber.com/Products/avicakes.aspx Here is another site but for Pellets. I feed my grey Zupreem fruit mix pellets. Here is the site for those. I have a store I go to 20 miles from my town to buy food in bulk for my bird, but I hope you have success with these sites. If not, go to Yahoo.com or Google.com and just type Zupreem pellets or Avi-cakes. http://www.zupreem.com/animal/bird/nourish/avian_m.shtml Also try to get a sweet potatoe at the store next time, Pee Wee loves his sweet potatos! Good luck! Ryan

Falconeer - You did not offend me in anyway. I was only saying that I am glad you didnt get a bird that was untamed like mine. I guess you could say I got a bird from a questionable source, but he did send the bird, an untamed one. I am upset about that but it is not Pee Wee's fault so anything you said didnt offend me. I was just telling you my opinion on your situation and giving you my experiences with my Timneh. I only give him peanuts for a treat, I dont give him that many. Whenever I say Peanuts its funny because people usually say, Dont give them to him all the time! Well I dont, only once in a while for treats, I also have aviary cakes, which he loves for treats and are very good for him too. EVeryday he gets a nice mixture of veggies and some fruit. I have his diet down pretty good. As far as your bird taking food from you and throwing it away, I think alot of birds do that at first or still do it, You have to keep trying with the same peice of fruit or vegetable. Pee Wee LOVES grapes, apples, pears, corn, and Sweet potatoe. Those are his favorite but he is getting really good at eating other things too. I try new veggies and fruit sometimes to get him to like a mixture by not giving him his favorites because birds wont starve themselves. He has started eating his pellets and loving them( Thank God)! In your case, find out what Boo Boo likes and it will be to your advantage because you can use that to lure him towards you! Pee Wee stopped growling for food. He knows he is safe when we feed him, especially when it comes to treats like peanuts or sometimes I like to make a sweet potatoe and hand feed it to him because he is so gentle takin it off my fingertip. I am fairly new to birds but have gained alot of knowledge from readings and observing, but am willing to take advice. So you did not offend me in any way shape or form! Good Luck! Ryan

I am glad to hear you are having success. I just got my parrot off a guy in florida and had him sent to my through airplane. I am pretty sure they guy screwed me but it isnt Pee Wee's fault. I wouldnt trade him for anything but I am glad to hear you can pet yours. That is good he is coming out of his cage. Mine does come out every morning and lots at night. I could have had my bird eating out of my hand earlier I think but I had never owned a bird before and I wasnt sure of his reactions until i stuck a peanut close to him and even though he screamed, he came and got it! I honestly thought I would get a bird and hold him that day and everything would go smooth but with Pee Wee not being hand tamed, I have learned alot off him . Everyone always says Patience patience patience. I do agree unless you are in my case where its been 2 months and he is still doing the same thing so you have to take him away from his cage. Good Luck though! Ryan

Falconeer- I bought a Timneh 2 months ago and I had the same problem, He screamed on the way home from the airport, he screamed whenever you got close to his cage. I think you are suppose to not mess with your bird for the first few days. I found out he wasnt hand tamed also. Keep the back of his cage covered during the day so he feels he has security behind him. I have had mine for 7 weeks now and I was in the same situation as you are in. I got him to eat out of my hand after the first week. I am taming mine right now by putting him in another room and petting him and trying to make him step up with a stick and my hand. I do agree with patience on this for a little while. Its only been 2 days? Well now its been 5 days or so? Do you keep his cage covered at night? When I first got Pee Wee I sat infront of his cage and did homework for hours infront of him. I watched TV infront of his cage. I ate infront of him, eveyrthing I could, I did infront of his cage. He has grown to be comfortable around me and is doing well in his taming sessions. Dont force yourself on him now, let him get used to his surroundings for a while. Talk to him nicely. Good Luck and keep us posted! Ryan

I want to thank everyone for all of the advice that has been given to me. I had someone respond to one of the forums and gave me a great link. I also had someone email me with a totally different approach. I just want to know which one works better. One is to take your bird to another room either by a towel or in his cage and when he is is away from his cage to remove it and start workin with him with a stick in 1 hand and use the other hand. Try to make him step up so basically force yourself on him to make him not afraid of you. THat was the link advice The other is to keep his cage closed except for 2-3 hours a day and not feed him inside of the cage, treats that is, feed them through the bars and eventually try to scratch his head and he will associate my hands as good not bad. This seems like it would take a while but the other method seems like you are forcing yourself. Which one sounds better?? Thanks.

I have posted a couple of threads on my timneh now and I havent had much luck. I recently found out that my Timneh wasnt handled much before I got him. He screams when you put your hand near him. How would you go about taming an unhandled bird? Please Help!! I feel like I am so close with the Timneh and he trusts me, just not to touch him yet. Thanks......Please help, anyone!

I got a Timneh around 3 weeks ago. He has came around very well compared to some of the stories I have read. Just last week he started eating off my hand. The same time he started coming out of his cage on his own to find a peanut at the top. I bought him a ladder so when he ends up on the ground, he can get back in his cage safely and on his own. My problem is that he still growls, even when he is taking food from me. So I stuck my hand close to him and he thought it was food or something so he tried biting and I learned he will not bite me, only nip it. When I try to pet him he freaks out and goes to another perch. When he comes out of the cage and cant get back in, he wont step up on my hand, only a wooden perch to get him back in. Does anyone know how to get him past this? He must trust me a little bit because he does eat off of me and he will come out of his cage, its just getting him out myself. I want to be able to pick him up and pet him.....Please help....

When I was looking for a Grey about a month ago I came across several scams. Tons of people emailed me back saying they are from Cameroon and they are Christians and they are Missionaries and they only want the money for their trip. I even had a lady's husband call me from out of country and ask me to send the money but he spoke very bad English. They claimed they lived in Boston but I knew it was a scam. I ended up finding a Timneh from a Guy in Florida. I am very happy with him and I picked him up from the airport about 3 weeks ago. So be careful, Pickup is obviously better even though I got lucky. Sometimes its worth spending a little more money to buy near your hometown than it is to be scammed or not knowing what you are getting.

I have had my Timneh for 2 weeks now and I must say I am very happy with the progress. Slowly, but surely! He recently came out of his cage on his own and jumped off the top and stepped up on a stick for me. I was beyond excited! I want to know how to get him out of his cage without having him come out? He hisses alot when people get near but he did start to eat off my hand. I think the HIss is more of a routine now than anything. He has came out of his cage 3 times total on his own and I want to let him keep doing that but I also want him to know he is safe with me. Please help!

Hello- I recently got a TImneh. I have had him for 2-3 days. All he is doing is hissing at me. He started eating the first day and obviously loves peanuts. He hisses if anyone gets near the cage. Do you think he will stop?? How long until I take him out of his cage? Also, I noticed one of his toes crooked. The previous owner said it could have caught on carpet and sprained it before I got himinto his cage. Does a crooked toe mean I should get it checked out or wait it out and see if it goes back. It looks like its sore to him. Please help!! Ryan