African Grey investigator

[sarahp]

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!

[Talon]

Welcome, I Love your thread title. You will finds lots of info here. Most greys and parrots don't like you putting your hand, especially a stranger in their home....not the best way to tell how they will react to you. Better to interact with them outside their cage. Also, it takes a long time for a grey to settle in and trust us humans.....hard to say from pet store visits.

[Luvparrots]

Hi SarahP, welcome to the Grey forum. It's always great to hear that a person does their research before purchasing a grey, as they are so different than other parrots. I look forward to hearing about your grey adventure into the realm of Greys.

[tibanks]

Hello and welcome to the forum...Good for you for considering an older bird and giving it a chance in your home. Do lot's of research and good luck in whatever decision you decide.

[judygram]

Hello Sarahp and welcome to our family, so glad to hear you are wanting to add a grey to your flock and you have come to the right place looking for information to help you in your decision.

Thats wonderful you are considering an older bird as most people want a just weaned baby but if you are willing to put up with whatever baggage comes with the grey you get and have the patience to work with this bird then you should not have too big a problem to tackle. There are lots of members here who have taken in older birds and even rescued ones in deplorable conditions and with lots of love and attention they have blossomed into great pets.

[Beakster]

Hello Sarah an welcome here.. you will be glad you found this place cause I am... I to am about to get a Grey.. Just sitting back an reading what ever info an different point of views I can find here..

 

Shawn

[sarahp]

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:

[judygram]

I started out with a sun conure too and she only whet my appetite for a larger bird but suns are great companions and mine is a shoulder ornament for she thinks she has a permanent place there whenever she is out of her cage.

You ask all the questions you want, thats what we are here for.

[danmcq]

Welcome Sarah, it's great having you here. Looking forward to hearing more from you as this journey continues.

[chezron]

Good luck in your search and welcome!

[FirstPenguin]

Welcome. I'm in a very long research phase as well. If you're going to pull the trigger on one of the older birds there I'd do it now, NOW, or after the new year. Here is why. In an ideal world you would have lots of uninterrupted time to get acquainted with your new flock member and the approaching holiday season is a bit of a monkey wrench in that. Depending on your situation it either frees up time or if you're like me makes your life anything but the usual routine. That routine is ideal for the first few (6 or more) months you have a new bird, barely weaned or rehomed. I would personally focus on your sun conure and wait till the new year. However, one of those poor rehomed, petshop birds would be better off in your home than a pet shop. So if that's your bird, don't let him sit. I almost pulled the trigger on a rehome that fell through and really got the itch after that slipped through my fingers. I finally talked myself out of doing it this year after a bit of searching for the mentioned reasons. GOODLUCK!

[sarahp]

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.

[sarahp]

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.

Edited November 8, 2010 by sarahp

[Barbara2]

That sounds like a very wise decision. I know how anxious I was to get my grey but I waited a very long time until I felt I was ready to devote the time to his care.