Thinking of adopting a Timneh

[braveheartdogs]

Hi there,

 

I am considering adopting a 4 year old, male, Timneh African Grey. I have several other birds, although only a few of them are hands on birds. I recently lost my 35+ year old White Fronted Amazon who I adopted almost two years ago. He had a lot of health problems probably caused by years of neglect which included too small of a cage, no exercise, showers and an all seed diet. Anyway, the rescue that I adopted him from contacted me about this Timneh who I am planning to go meet this Sunday. I am just trying to figure out if I can meet the needs of an African Grey. To give some background, I am a professional dog trainer and behavior consultant and I own my own business. I teach a lot of dog training classes and do private consults so, I am usually home quite a bit during the days, teaching mostly evenings. I am a total behavior geek and avid clicker trainer and would enjoy working with him and training him. My birds live in my office/bird room where I spent a lot of time working, writing, etc. This would be the largest parrot I have had and I think the most demanding, so I giving this a lot of serious thought. I would love to hear about some of people's experiences living with a TAG. Thank you in advance!

[Luvparrots]

Hi braveheartdogs! First, I want to commend you for wanting to adopt/rehome a TAG. I totally love these little greys. My first ever parrot is a TAG which I have had since she was 4 months old. Ana Grey is now 3-years-old and is fearless. She gives me kisses and can shake claw to finger upon command. It was really quite easy as african greys are very smart and all I had to do was show her what I wanted. If she is in the mood, she will come upon my calling. As I am no trainer, I believe it is her wanting to please and her intelligence that made this "training" so easy. I am also owned by a CAG that is now 6 months old and in my opinion, my TAG is the easiest to get along with, at least for me. I look forward to hearing about your journey with the male TAG you are interested in. Welcome to the Grey family!

[braveheartdogs]

Hi braveheartdogs! First, I want to commend you for wanting to adopt/rehome a TAG. I totally love these little greys. My first ever parrot is a TAG which I have had since she was 4 months old. Ana Grey is now 3-years-old and is fearless. She gives me kisses and can shake claw to finger upon command. It was really quite easy as african greys are very smart and all I had to do was show her what I wanted. If she is in the mood, she will come upon my calling. As I am no trainer, I believe it is her wanting to please and her intelligence that made this "training" so easy. I am also owned by a CAG that is now 6 months old and in my opinion, my TAG is the easiest to get along with, at least for me. I look forward to hearing about your journey with the male TAG you are interested in. Welcome to the Grey family!

 

 

Thank you so much! Your birds are beautiful. Yes, I really prefer to rehome adult birds. I do have a few that I got as babies (one of my cockatiels, my bourke, my green cheek and a couple of the budgies) but generally I love getting adult birds that need a home. Honestly, part of what I am unsure of is that this TAG is so young! He is only 4 years old.

[Dave007]

Hi there,

 

I am considering adopting a 4 year old, male, Timneh African Grey. I have several other birds, although only a few of them are hands on birds. I recently lost my 35+ year old White Fronted Amazon who I adopted almost two years ago. He had a lot of health problems probably caused by years of neglect which included too small of a cage, no exercise, showers and an all seed diet. Anyway, the rescue that I adopted him from contacted me about this Timneh who I am planning to go meet this Sunday. I am just trying to figure out if I can meet the needs of an African Grey. To give some background, I am a professional dog trainer and behavior consultant and I own my own business. I teach a lot of dog training classes and do private consults so, I am usually home quite a bit during the days, teaching mostly evenings. I am a total behavior geek and avid clicker trainer and would enjoy working with him and training him. My birds live in my office/bird room where I spent a lot of time working, writing, etc. This would be the largest parrot I have had and I think the most demanding, so I giving this a lot of serious thought. I would love to hear about some of people's experiences living with a TAG. Thank you in advance!

 

Hi, you're a good person concerning your feelings towards older pre owned birds.

Normally, lots of replies would concern safety, housing, proper food, exercise etc but in your case, you've gone through the whole process by owning other parrots including the amazon which would give you a head start when getting a TAG. Parrots adjust to human lifestyles. All your other birds did and they're also with you at work so I'm sure you know about escape. When you're not around all of them have each other for company. So far, you're batting a thousand.There's lessons about bird clicker training but since you have experience with a clicker, that too won't be a problem.

Can you meet the needs of a grey?---absolutely. A TAG may be a little larger than your deceased ZON but actually, they're in the same size catagory. Many people have plenty of birds that live together and they're all different sizes. All you would need is some very basic knowledge of a TAG's general personality. That can also be gotten here.

 

****This would be the largest parrot I have had and I think the most demanding, *****

 

I gotta disagree there. If you've had other birds and consider yourself a bird person, you should habve no problems. TAGS aren't hard to take care of as long as you're main concern is or isn't talking. People get greys for talking abilities and many rimes, they walk away very disappointed.

So, my opinion is that you really don't have to do hard thinking. It should be easy for you and many people here will heelp out whenever you want be it asking questions or just chatting. The TAG is the one who's gonna be getting the better deal. Being experienced I'm sure you understand about accepting a pre owned bird's set personality from past experience.

 

PS--I didn't say anything about the dogs cause you already know about watching that everything is safe. I have a Britteny spaniel and he gets along with my greys and he a bird dog who's used in hunting.

Edited September 10, 2011 by Dave007

[braveheartdogs]

Hi, you're a good person concerning your feelings towards older pre owned birds.

Normally, lots of replies would concern safety, housing, proper food, exercise etc but in your case, you've gone through the whole process by owning other parrots including the amazon which would give you a head start when getting a TAG. Parrots adjust to human lifestyles. All your other birds did and they're also with you at work so I'm sure you know about escape. When you're not around all of them have each other for company. So far, you're batting a thousand.There's lessons about bird clicker training but since you have experience with a clicker, that too won't be a problem.

Can you meet the needs of a grey?---absolutely. A TAG may be a little larger than your deceased ZON but actually, they're in the same size catagory. Many people have plenty of birds that live together and they're all different sizes. All you would need is some very basic knowledge of a TAG's general personality. That can also be gotten here.

 

****This would be the largest parrot I have had and I think the most demanding, *****

 

I gotta disagree there. If you've had other birds and consider yourself a bird person, you should habve no problems. TAGS aren't hard to take care of as long as you're main concern is or isn't talking. People get greys for talking abilities and many rimes, they walk away very disappointed.

So, my opinion is that you really don't have to do hard thinking. It should be easy for you and many people here will heelp out whenever you want be it asking questions or just chatting. The TAG is the one who's gonna be getting the better deal. Being experienced I'm sure you understand about accepting a pre owned bird's set personality from past experience.

 

PS--I didn't say anything about the dogs cause you already know about watching that everything is safe. I have a Britteny spaniel and he gets along with my greys and he a bird dog who's used in hunting.

 

Dave,

 

Wow, thank you. Your post really put my mind at ease. I have 10 dogs, but I do not have them in the bird room/office, except when I occasionally bring my Pomeranian to sit on my lap while I am on the computer. My Amazon was not comfortable at all with dogs in here, so no dogs were in here ever while I had Merlin. Now that he is gone, like I said, Sonic, my Pom comes in to hang out but never when the birds are out.

 

I am glad that you think a grey wouldn't be too much for me. I love to offer my birds enrichment in and out of their cages and I think I could provide a grey with that. Sometimes I do go away for training seminars or dog shows, etc, but my husband takes care of my birds while I am away so as long as I got the bird used to routine changes that would be okay and he would cope just like my other guys do. I guess I feel like it's such a jump because Merlin my Amazon was handicapped and older. He did get very used to toys and started playing with them and would sit on top of his cage or on play stands, but he wasn't very busy. My Meyers is VERY busy and curious:)

 

I do feel better after reading your post. I guess I am a little concerned that this bird apparently has some issues when the previous owner would get him out of the cage and bite, but so did my Meyers and the behavior is gone. I feel comfortable with behavior mod and like I said I do a lot of training including clicker training. On another bird forum I did an online clicker class for people to learn at home. But, still, so much bigger than I have had!

 

Oh, what size cage do you recommend?

[Dave007]

Cage size---there's 2 sized cages. Both are close in price. My opinion is to get the larger one because it's also ideal for a TAG. The more room the better.

This is an old pic of one of my greys in his cage. I have 3 of these same sized cages for 2 CAGs and 1 TAG all in one room. PS--the TAG and one of the CAGs were given to me because of serious problems. All 3 are adults.

The cage is approx 35 inches wide x 28 inches deep x 55 inches high including the portable bottom. Sizes can vary a bit but this is a standard size. A TAG cage looks the same but it's smaller but the larger is the best.There's loads of brand new cages sold on EBAY--all sizes, all different designs, many colors. The most importantant thing is that whatever cage you pick should be powder coated because greys like to chew and pick at things. Powder coated cages won't break down.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/c.jpg

[Talon]

WOW! I love the thought, care and consideration you are putting into this decision. I wish ALL owners would do the same. Dave is right on, you have experience, and understand what to watch for regarding your dogs. I have 3 parrots, 2 parakeets, a cat and 2 dogs. We all live very nicely together. BUT I never trust my dogs or cat even tho they have never tried anything, it is their instinct to if a scare arises.

 

Having experience with an amazon already, you are set with a tag. My tag is much smaller than my amazon, much easier to get along with than my cag. I think you will love a tag. And hats off to you for adopting!!

[Ray P]

Hi braveheartdogs. The first thing I would like to say is welcome to the grey forums.

I do not have a TAG, but I do have a CAG a Blue Fronted Amazon and cockatiels.

I have had cockatiels for about 40 years. Baby and rehomes.

My grey we have from a baby and my zon is a rehome and it does not make any differance baby or rehome you love them the same.

One thing that every member here will tell you is that a grey will change your life. They are some times to smart for their own good.(thats a good thing)

[Cupid]

Welcome to Greyforums! Hope you get your grey soon.

[braveheartdogs]

Thank you everyone for the welcomes:) I am going to meet the TAG tomorrow. I am excited, but also a little scared! I just have to see how we hit it off. I am a little worried because I am not sure I have enough space for a cage that large. My Meyers is in my WFA old cage which is 32" wide and it seems really large. I think I could fit another one that big in here, but not much larger than that. I don't want him to be in a cage that is too small.

[katana600]

Good luck with your meeting. I too have a rehomed TAG. Gilbert is somewhere between 7 and ten years old. He had some "issues" and he just watched and listened on our first meeting. He has been with our family about six months and we are still getting to know him. He is very bright, talkative and entertaining. A rehomed bird might take longer, have more issues and concerns than getting a baby, but it has been a wonderful experience getting to know him and we have a surprise from him every week. I love our little guy and I am sure when you make the decision, you will be on an incredible journey.

[braveheartdogs]

Good luck with your meeting. I too have a rehomed TAG. Gilbert is somewhere between 7 and ten years old. He had some "issues" and he just watched and listened on our first meeting. He has been with our family about six months and we are still getting to know him. He is very bright, talkative and entertaining. A rehomed bird might take longer, have more issues and concerns than getting a baby, but it has been a wonderful experience getting to know him and we have a surprise from him every week. I love our little guy and I am sure when you make the decision, you will be on an incredible journey.

 

I agree:) I really like to get them as adults as I just feel like it gives me a better picture of who they are. Also, I wasn't looking for another bird, this particular bird needs a home, so....we'll see how it goes. I am scared but excited to meet him today! Is that Gilbert in your avatar? So cute!

[katana600]

Yes, that is Gilbert on his first day in our home. I wasn't looking for another bird either and even had decided it would be for the best not to be around another bird and then along came Gilbert and we needed each other and even though he is fickle and complicated, our entire family is smitten... and bitten.... LOL. We take longer than the average bird to get his subtle nuances and body language. I guess that is only fair, he has known a variety of humans way longer than we have known parrots. He is so wise and a bit jaded, but together we can overcome all the obstacles and just enjoy every miracle moment.

[judygram]

Hello Braveheartdogs and welcome to our family, so glad to hear you want to adopt a Tag and give it a new forever home, be sure to let us know how the visit goes.

[braveheartdogs]

Hello Braveheartdogs and welcome to our family, so glad to hear you want to adopt a Tag and give it a new forever home, be sure to let us know how the visit goes.

 

The visit went really well. I felt so much more comfortable with him than I thought I would. He is not much bigger than my WFA was. He was outgoing and sweet. I went to see if there was a connection, there was, so I brought him home:) I am "fostering to adopt" him which means that I can just keep him or let her know if it's not a match and foster him or bring him back to her. Here he is. Now I am just working on a name.

 

[chezron]

I think you were made for handling big birds! Good luck!

[braveheartdogs]

I think you were made for handling big birds! Good luck!

 

Aw, thank you:)

[Ray P]

I don`t have a TAG, but I hear they are great.