kitt4kaz

I video Felix when we are at work sometimes just to see what he is doing alone. He has started talking too. It's in a male voice it seems but I can't understand any words yet. He still won't do this when we are home but I hope he starts to soon.

This is him at 15 weeks talking when he thought I wasn't home:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRtGnMGpd6Q

Timneh's are VERY smart!

Very interesting thread.....After our cockatiel flew away from us and was never seen again in August, we were devastated. I wasn't really looking for another bird so soon but my husband and I have always wanted an african grey. I didn't even know there were two types until I started doing some research. I located a breeder/veterinarian who lived about 90 miles from us who had some babies but she had just sold them all. She gave me the name of another breeder to call. It took me a week to even call her because I wasn't sure I was ready for another bird so soon after losing our tiel. I knew that I wanted a hand-fed baby and after talking with her and seeing pictures of the babies, I knew I had to have one.

So Felix arrived in our home at 10 weeks old and our journey began. He is a Timneh and is now 6 months old and fits into our family perfectly. He isn't afraid of anything! He readily comes to inspect new toys, anything laying on the counter in his path, the dogs, and he loves for my 3-year-old daughter to scratch him. He can be picky about who he will step up to if they are a stranger but he will generally go to anyone as long as they aren't too loud or too fast for him. He does seem to prefer me most since I spend the most time with him, but he loves my husband as well.

I don't have experience with any other greys but I am so glad our Timneh is ours!

Good luck with your search! You will know when you find the right one.

She is great! How old is she and how long have you had her?

Do you have a way to video him for some time when no one is home? I do this with Felix sometimes and he just chatters away when we aren't here. He is only 6 months old so I hope he will verbalize with us nearby in the future.

Brutus sounds a lot like my Felix, chezron. He is fairly quiet most all of the time. He will cluck at his toys when he is playing with them but most of the time he sits and preens or sleeps. I videoed him yesterday for about 2 hours while no one was at home. He sat in his cage and chattered to himself for a good 45 minutes. It was hilarious. He was definitely talking but I couldn't make any of it out. He doesn't do this when we are home though.

If so, do they like it? I was wondering because I think Felix may enjoy one. Which is best?

Thanks

I think my time is now! We've had Felix since he was 10 weeks old. He will be 6 months old tomorrow. I've always really enjoyed him and love seeing what he learns on a day to day basis. But this week I've realized that I am 110% attached to him and couldn't imagine my day to day without him.

I'm constantly looking online for toys and new foraging tips for him. I got SO excited when I found out someone in our little town opened a specialty bird store recently. I can't wait to get home from work and see him. Anytime I am home, he is with me. I am showing people pictures of him on my phone almost as much as I do my own kids:rolleyes: When he makes a new noise, I can't wait to tell my husband about it.

I can't wait to see where our days together take us! He is such a joy to have with us!

I was going to post on this a few days ago but forgot. I was using one of those bird water bottles/tubes with the L-shaped plastic on it (the part they drink from). I also used a hamster style water bottle. They both leaked and I got so fed up with them. So now I just use a bowl and I remember to change it every night.

Felix doesn't make the pterodactyl noise much. However, the first time he did, I shouted, "Oh my God" and ran to him. He was on top of his cage and I just knew he had gotten his leg stuck or something. He just looked at me like I was crazy and went back to playing. Scared me to death!

Such a cutie!!

OMG! Felix does this exact same thing too. He is also 5 months old and I've had him for almost 3 months. He holds his wings out from his body (looks as if he is hot and is trying to cool off) and makes a cooing sound (sounds like a dove sort of). I definitely think they are telling us that they love us and are so happy we are in front of them. At first I wondered if it was a dominance or sexual thing going on but I think he is too young for sexual maturation yet. And he isn't aggressive at all and immediately hops onto my hand so I realized it wasn't a dominance thing either. He doesn't do it everyday but I am definitely going to appreciate it more in the future when he does.

Felix is 5 months old and I was wondering what you thought this meant. Sometimes when I let him onto my hand, he will lift his wings some and make this little cooing sound (it sounds like the sound a dove makes sort of). It is so cute but I just wonder what his body language is trying to convey.

Thanks

Thanks! Actually, a bath is a rare thing with Felix. About once a month I can tell he is in one of his "frisky moods" and I will put the big bowl of water out for him and he will go to town. But a bath is definitely on his terms only. He is only 5 months old so hopefully he will start to want a bath more often in the future. He generally just preens and picks his feathers after a bath and gets lovey and wants to go to bed.

http://youtu.be/BQVXnc7Pqfs

My daughter and mother walked in about the time he basically hung off the side of the pot and submerged his whole body. I hate I had to end the filming early.

Thanks everyone for making me realize that I am very lucky for Felix to allow me this. I do get tired of him begging for head scratches but will no longer take it for granted! He is a special bird!

He will sit like this for hours as long as I keep scratchin his head.

He is so funny!

Felix won't eat them out of his fruit bowl. However, I stuff them into a pine cone every day and he will at least pick at them. I don't think he actually eats a lot of them though because a lot of them end up on the floor of the cage. Any ideas? He does get about 2 tablespoonsful of birdie mash in the morning and evening. Sometimes he eats it all, sometimes he barely touches it. So he is getting some veggies/grains/fruits mixed in then.

Also, how much seed can I give him per day? He gets pellets all day, fruits and veggie bowl, and birdie mash in the morning and evening. I've noticed it I give too much seed, he starts to only eat the seed.

Thanks!

I can't figure out why some are so small. I am horrible at posting pictures.

That's exactly the sound my 5-month-old Timneh makes when he is hungry for his evening handfeed. He still gets spoon fed his birdie mash in the evenings and he starts this sound when he wants it. It's like he is only focused on making this sound and bobbing his head up and down until he gets it. After he is done eating, he goes on his merry way and does his own thing. It's so funny!

Good luck!

Thanks! How do I make the photos smaller? I'm using Photobucket and I resize and save them on there but when I paste them here, they are still huge.

I got my Timneh from a breeder in Cairo, GA. She also has Congos. I can get you her number or email if you are still interested.

Felix is 5 months old and was weaned onto Zupreem Fruitblend pellets. I have been trying to convert him to either Roudybush or Harrisons for a few weeks now. He won't touch the Harrisons at all.

I have been mixing the Zupreem with Roudybush at about a 50/50 ratio and he just picks out the fruity pieces. Should I just try giving him Roudybush by itself and closely monitor his weight? How much weight loss is safe?

I have tried soaking the pellets in apple juice and water. Still won't eat them.

And is Roudybush or Harrison's really that much healthier than Zupreem fruit blend? I've read that the dyes are bad.

He also gets birdy mash every morning and evening which he eats some of but doesn't just tear into it. He also gets fresh fruits and veggies everyday.

I was giving him a seed mix everyday in a separate bowl but I noticed that he was only eating the seed and not his pellets (not even the Zupreem) so I haven't given him any seed in a few days.

I think the brown color of the pellets is what turns him off. I've noticed that he won't even touch cheerios or even nuts that are near that color.

I don't want to starve him so please give me some advice!

My TAG is 5 months old and weighed in at 287g this morning. We got him at 10 weeks and he weighed around 305g but once he started flying a few weeks after that his weight has ranged from 285g to 295g depending on the day. He is a very picky eater though. I am currently trying to covert him from Zupreem Fruitblend to Roudybush or Harrisons and it isn't going so well so I am watching his weight closely.

Your baby sounds very healthy!