DaFunkyChicken Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Hey guys! I'm new around here, so I guess I'd better introduce myself. My name's Charis, and I am the mommy/sister/friend/companion/boss/owner of Wheeler, my 14 week old CAG. I’d been toying with getting a grey on and off for the past year, because I know that they require LOADS of attention and care. Finally, I decided that now was as good a time as any, so I went ahead and got one. Backed by one of my friends who owns a grey, and another who is a professional bird trainer, I thought that the path would be relatively easy. Boy was I wrong. In fact, it was nothing short of melodramatic. This post is gonna be a long one, so go ahead and grab some popcorn and put a pot of coffee on. I fell in love with Wheeler the moment I saw him. He was about 10 weeks old. He was fast asleep in his food dish, chest deep in half-eaten pellets. When he crawled onto my lap and fell asleep, I knew I just HAD to take him home with me. The day I brought him home, my parents, who are passionately anti-pet people, claiming that they’re more trouble than they’re worth, had a fit. My mom, who had specifically warned me NOT to bring one home, threatened to throw him out the window. She said that the first sign of screeching, biting, inhuman amounts of poopage or any form of unruly behaviour and he’d be out the door. For the first few days, no one went anywhere near him except for myself. They complained about how much trouble he was when they saw me half asleep while hand-feeding him at 7am in the morning, or when changing his soiled newspapers. But slowly, his charm and insane cuteness was beginning to win them over. Our domestic help started taking him out of the cage to walk around. My mother would try to pet him. My dad, well, he’d just stand far, far away and whistle at him, hoping to get a response. Instead of the usual “that bird†or “itâ€, they gave him a nickname, “Petohâ€, which is Sinhalese for Parrot. Creativity isn’t exactly one of their strong points! As a pet, I couldn’t ask for more, really. He’s so unbelievably accommodating, it surprises me sometimes. He doesn’t bite, save when he grabs my fingers and jerks them thinking they’re gonna dispense food. Even when my 3 year old nephew and 1 year old niece come over and yell and scream and try and prod him with their grubby fingers despite my fruitless attempts at trying to get them to be gentle (you know how kids can be), he takes it without batting an eye. Then he’ll suddenly lunge for me, wings a-flapping, to try and nibble my toes in our version of “tagâ€. And then he’ll try and claw his way up my lap to and settle down on my thigh to take a nap. He’s been here for less than a month and I’m already beginning to wonder how I survived without him. This is DEFINITELY the beginning of a pretty big adventure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Hi, Funky! Thanks for the wonderful intro. We're glad you're here and look forward to hearing more from you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Hi Charis and Wheeler Welcome here. thank you for the lovely intro and that sweet photo - wheeler is absolutely adorable {Love-0002011D} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abdullah Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 cute ! welcome to the fourm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Hello and welcome to the family, Charis, glad you could join us and we look forward to hearing more about Wheeler. He is a real cutie from the picture included with your first post. You must be pretty young if you still live at home with your parents and they forbade you to get him but you did anyway, that takes guts but I am so happy it has worked out for you. You seem to know what you are doing and did the research before purchasing him but it has been an adventure for you as you say. How sad that your parents are anti pet people, they just don't realize that the benefits of pet ownership far outweigh the minor troubles of feeding, cleaning and looking out for them takes. The rewards are immense and the love you two share will last a lifetime. Please read thru the many theads on various topics for lots of useful information and do not hesitate to ask specific questions that you may have. We do our best to get an answer for you and help you in any way we can. You have already posted a picture of Wheeler in your first post but if you have more especially as he gets all his feathers if you would like to share them with us we would love to see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Hi & , a gorgeous baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUKEdevils36 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Welcome to the forums. I love the picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaFunkyChicken Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 Thank you everyone for the lovely welcome! Now be prepared for me to bombard the forums with lots of questions! Also, thank you for replying, judygram. I'm nineteen.. young, but not THAT young! Just that here in Singapore, culture (and to a lesser extent the skyrocketing property prices) require us to stay with our parents until we get married. So i have a looooooonnnngggg way to go. My parents had pets when they were younger, and they discourage pets not only because of all the trouble, but also they say that the pain from dealing with the death of a pet is almost unbearable. Lucky my bubba is gonna be my companion for life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevjoe Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 DaFunkyChicken You're so welcome here with that sweet looking baby. You have just entered the Great world of Grey's, and your life will be richer for it. Your Grey has a wonderful life coming as the days, months, and years go by, but your life will be better for having him. Best of luck to you guys. Joe :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giggles Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 welcome to the crew, that was a wonderful intro ...I look forward to hearing more little tales of wheeler as he grows ... best of luck and I know your parents will be hooked in no time ... he will be the best thing that has happened to them in a while I reakon ...cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Welcome FunkyChicken!! Looking forward to hearing more about your Grey and perhaps seeing some photos. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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