TIME - When you bring home a baby CAG

[danmcq]

I know I still have 5 - 6 Weeks to go before we can bring Dayo Home. He will be 12 weeks old this Friday (We will get the actual birth date cert this Saturday)

 

However, I am planning on taking a week or maybe two of vacation when that happens.

 

My question is - I have read that you should only spend the amount of time with your CAG that you would normally be spending with them.

 

Does this hold true, even when you first bring them home and wish to make them feel welcome, comfortable and familiar with the people and surroundings the first few weeks?

 

My normal schedule is I am out of town in the corporate office 3 days a week, and rarely 5 when needed on-site rather than working from home.

 

This means my wife will be the sole "Keeper" 3 days a week and then I will be here the remaining 4. This will then allow me to do the "Keeping".

 

Hopefully, this model will encourage Dayo to understand that he relies on BOTH of us to provide food and companionship....His Mom AND Dad as in Nature.

 

I would appreciate all points of view :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/07/06 00:16

[judygram]

You should only spend what time you can continue to spend for the rest of his life, if you lavish too much at first he will come to expect it and you will have problems.

I was told when I got my grey that you should not leave it for at least a year or so to set up the bond between you. So there was never a whole day go by that I did not see her and be with her. Maybe others will have a different take on that.

[danmcq]

That was not one of the possible answers I THOUGHT I would get :blink:

 

Sometimes Truth is shocking

 

Can I PLEASE get an opposite answer so I have a 50% chance of Dayo liking me and not just my Wife:woohoo:

 

Thank You Judygram, I am of course just teasing!

[Guest briansmum]

it is most deffinately true that you should not spend more time with them now than you endeavour to for the rest of their lives. i descovered this myself but managed to knock it on the head quickly (the behaviour not the parrot ) and now brian is fine with being in his cage during the day even if we are in.

 

as for leaving them, i went away for 5 days a few weeks ago when i'd had brian about a month. he stayed with my mum who loves him to bits and i left her with a "brian instruction manual", he was apparently a bit of the pain in the butt as he was craving extra attention from her. i was worried when he came back home he wouldn't love me anymore, but he was fine lots of happy cherps, feather fluffing and tail wagging. i have another long weekend planned in december, but i wouldn't leave him for anything much longer than that so young.

[danmcq]

Hi Beccy,

 

Ok, so I could be here in the house for a vacation, but only spend the amount of time each day at the appropriate time(s) with him that he would get during Normal work schedules....

 

While I am thinking about it, we presently spend a lot more time with our Conure on weekends, than we do during the week too. Such as letting him out longer and staying with us on his PlayStand in the living room etc.

 

This weekend extra time would not be good for a Grey?<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/07/06 00:41

[judygram]

I'm glad I am not the only one who didn't want to leave them when they are so young.

Dan, you crack me up, you can tease me anytime and who knows I may return the favor.:woohoo:

[danmcq]

LOL! JudyGram - I love being teased too :woohoo:

[Guest briansmum]

hmm.. let me think. i guess if it is sort of made into a routine that he gets extra people time on a weekend he will grow to look forward to this.. maybe do something special with him on a weekend, take him out for a car ride, or put his harness on and play in the garden. time passes quicker for greys than it does for us, so to him the weekends will come around quicker and he will look forward to his extra quality time.

[judygram]

Well of course it never hurts to have him around extra people anyway as that gets them accustomed to new people. Sounds like very good advice, Beccy.

[danmcq]

Thanks Beccy and Judygram!

 

That makes perfect sense. A regular, every 5 days they take "Me" (Dayo thinking) they take me for rides, walks and lots of other fun stuff. :woohoo:

 

I would not doubt for a minute, that Grey's have a time concept as sophisticated as ours. After hearing your responses to my time schedule question!

[judygram]

I sometimes take Josey to work with me, she enjoys it and that gets her out of the house occasionally. She sees a few other people there but sometimes I am by myself at work but it is still fun for us. Keeps her used to the travel cage so I don't have a problem with getting her into it.

[danmcq]

Judygram,

 

Now thats another possibility too!

 

Keep those ideas and comments flowing!:laugh:<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/07/06 01:02

[Guest briansmum]

that sounds lovely judy, it's nice your work don't mind you taking her. so far i haven't found any Brian friendly places other than my mums. but he comes with me when i go, usually once a week. he loves the car and even though he has to spend most of his time in his travel cage as my family have a dog, he's a happy chappy and enjoys all the attention.

so it is deffinately good to take them places.

[judygram]

I've also taken her with me when I visited my son out of state, he is about 4 hours away from me. Even though she spent most of the time in the cage, she was happy and I will do that again soon.

I work for a small company and we don't have a lot of the public come in to the office, sometimes no one and they kind of like her too, so is a win win thing.

[hveusnthbrige]

Dan, the first day home he should be left alone mostly so he can find his food and water and feel that his cage is a safe place as that night he will have to sleep there. The 2nd day you can go see him and pay attention to him as normal and also from then on. If the cage is someplace somewhat busy thats fine, just ignore him as you would normally once the novelty wears off in a few months. Pretend as if nothing has changed! For all intense purposes, he's been there all along:whistle: I did this with my tiels and they got used to my erratic schedule quickly.

[judygram]

Sounds like good advice, Geoff, and the cage should be where the family is and one side should be against the wall, it makes them feel a little more secure.B)

[Guest briansmum]

awww.. just on a slightly random note, i shouldn't come on here so late at night, all this grey stuff makes me want to play with mine but he is sleeping LOL.. i get withdrawl symptoms after a while. he is sooo cute when he's sleeping though.

[danmcq]

Hi Geoff,

 

Thanks for the great information on day one!

 

Dayo's Cage is already setup in our Family Room with the back against the wall.

 

So, hopefully he will feel the safety of that wall and also as part of the family as we spend most of the day there.

 

I am always on my PC remoted into work on weekday's that I'm home and my wife and our grand-children also always congregate there also.

 

In the evenings is when we retire to the Living room for some TV action or a DVD Movie on our 55" High Def with a Matching Home Theater surround sound system.

 

This is where I plan on placing a Tree Stand for Dayo to be with us during that time. There is also a Playstand in the Family room I already have for him.

 

The first Day is going to be torture for us and I am sure, frightful for Dayo as he gets used to it.

 

But, it will feel good just knowing he's here! :laugh:

[Guest briansmum]

that is one HUUUUGE tv.. don't put dayo too close, he will get square eyes :laugh:

[judygram]

I doubt it will be frightful for Dayo, I don't remember Josey being that afraid, a little cautious maybe due to the new surroundings, but put him in his cage and let him adjust to it and then offer to let him come out on his terms, soon he will and the fun begins. Enjoy.

[danmcq]

Beccy - Square Eye's> LOL!!!:laugh:

 

Judygram - Thanks I hope not frightful. After visiting him and interacting for all the weeks before He comes home. This should at least give him a little security blanket in the sense of being with "Part" of the Flock He came to know.

 

We'll just quitely watch and enjoy having him here that first Day.

[judygram]

And enjoy you shall, you will love every minute of it.

[DayosMom]

LOL.....square eyes!! That's a good one. Thanks for the laugh out loud!! {Feel-good-0002006E}

[CeasarsDad]

Well Dan.. I may be the opinion you are looking to hear.. Certainly it's not to dispute what our other family members have said already.. It's only to point out how I did it raising Ceasar...

 

When we got Ceasar home I also took time off from work.. I spent every minute he was awake with him.. Handling him, talking to him, taking him around the house to show him is new home.. I had LOTS of people come over to see him.. See if Ceasar would step up to all these strangers. I didn't shelter him in any way.. I didn't allow him time to figure out his cage or anything like that..

 

Today Ceasar is so well adjusted that it's hard to believe that he is the "picky" African Grey you hear so much about.. He stay in his cage and play by himself all day sometimes.. Doesn't bite or scream..

 

So, what can I say.. I am not disputing the facts our other members pointed out.. But I didn't do it that way and I still have a loving Grey..

 

There ya have it.. More confusion to wade through..

[Talon]

Dan, We too,lavished Talon with attention when she came to us. It was right before x-mas, and I was home most of the time, soon, my kids were out of school, so someone was always home. Talon was very young, in a new place with strangers to her, and she needed the extra comfort to feel safe, and comfortable in her new home with her new cage, toys, and family. As time went on, very quickly she was happy to be left alone in her cage, while I had to go out, or go to work.

 

So I am on the other side of the coin, and would spend as much time as I could with your new baby, and gradually allow a schedule to fall into place. We had no problems with Talon, and like CD said about Ceaser, Talon is very adaptable with change.

 

Just my opinion, you do what is right for you, and what you feel comfortable with.