Birdless Daddy Here!

[scoopsdad]

Hey Gang!

 

Woo! So excited to find a forum all about Greys!

 

I thought I'd post a message here in the "newbie" forum to introduce myself a bit...

 

My name's Lace (yes, Lace, and yes, I'm a guy, hehe). My fianceé and I are proud, happy parents of 6 kids - all the furry type, no human kids: 3 dogs, 2 cats, 1 mouse. We sadly lost two of our babies recently; our Ferret girl, Baby Weez, and, Mighty Mouse, the brother of our current mouse. But, alas, we have a rather big family!

 

We've been talking about adding a bird to our family for a few years now. My fianceé, Mylyssa, was raised around birds (although not a Grey, specifically) - but, I've never had a bird myself - so I've always been a bit on the fence about it. Over the last year or so though, it's been on my mind more and more...and, I finally think I'm ready to be a bird daddy!

 

I've been researching as much as I can about the different species out there; like a lot of folks, I seem to have a real pull towards the beautiful, intelligent African Greys.

 

However, I haven't had the chance to actually be around any as we live in the middle of nowhere and there are no breeders out this way (at least not within several hours driving distance). Our local pet stores (PetSmart, Petco, etc.) don't ever have any Greys either, so haven't even been able to get to know them a bit that way! With us not being the "add a new kid to the family on a whim" type, it's starting to get frustrating for me that I'm unable to take my research off of the net and into real life - for I know this is a decision that involves much more than just reading up on things.

 

Then too, I've read so often that people who have never had a bird before shouldn't start with a parrot, but instead a smaller, less dominant, lower maintenance bird.

 

Soooo folks, here I am at the Grey Forums! Hopefully I can learn a lot from you guys, get to know you and your birds, absorb all of your experience and wisdom, and have a place to ask my tons of never-ending questions, haha.

 

I look forward to meeting you all!

[Toni]

Welcome to the forum...Lot of knowledge is all the smart bird brain folks... Any questions just ask away. People on here will be glad to help ya if they can.

[judygram]

Hello Lace and welcome to the family, so glad you could join us and we look forward to helping you get that bird you want and if it can be a grey then we are tickled pink.

 

Most bird people would say to not get a grey if you have never had birds before but since your fiance has bird experience then that makes a difference. If you are willing to put forth the effort to give one what it needs and wants then you have come a long way towards that goal.

 

If you haven't already take some time and read thru the many threads for lots of useful information and ask questions if you have any. We will do our best to get you some answers and help you in any way we can.

 

BTW, that is an unusual name for a man, I would like to hear the story of how you came to be named that if you would like to share that with us sometime.

[scoopsdad]

Thanks, Toni and Judy, for the warm welcome!

 

Judy, I'm afraid that the story behind my name is a bit dull, haha. My Mom just loves lace (as in the material). That's it! I guess she figured since Casey, Tracey, and Stacey can all go either way - why not Lacey too! I hated my name up until I got into jr high - then it seemed like the girls really dug it

 

I plan to spend a lot of time poking around in here, so I'm sure we'll be getting to know each other quite well! Thanks again for the nice welcome, ladies!

[Laurie]

Hi, Lace & welcome.

You are in the right place for friendly people and a ton of great info about greys.

I was never a "bird person" but my son & husband wanted a grey. I agreed that THEY could have a bird, but I would not feed it, clean up after it, etc. Within the first few days of having Klaus home, he had "chosen" me and I'm now a fully converted bird person. I did nothing to encourage this, by the way. While I was pleasant to Klaus, I pretty much ignored him. That's probably why he had to have me - LOL.

So, I'm proof that you can start with a grey, but I think my story is unusual. I wouldn't advise it for just anybody, but it can work.

Feel free to throw out any questions you may have - don't be shy!

[danmcq]

Welcome Lace!!

 

It's great to see a person as yourself actually doing all the research and giving careful thought to the idea of bringing a new living creature, such as a Grey into your home.

 

Not many people do that and I commend you for it. Just ask away with your questions and read through the tons of articles and topics we have here. It contains a wealth of information.

 

Looking forward to hearing more from you. :-)

[Guest]

Lace - welcome here. I'm sure you're gonna like it

[sandra902]

hey lace welcome aboard!

 

i am a cat and dog person but a near and dear friend is a bird lady. she is active in parrot rescue where she lives so it was not long before she came across my merlin.

 

can't really comment on the theory of not having a grey as a first bird as i went straight to the top in that regard. but i have wonderful resources both here on the forum and in my area so i have lots and lots of support. granted i admit i've made a few mistakes (patience being one of them) but i am learning and merlin is forgiving. we have a long way to go with him as a rescue bird and me as a greenhorn but the journey is wonderful.

 

may i inquire as to where you live? perhaps there is a local rescue group that you could get to know. might surprise you what is nearby.

[MommaFawkes]

Welcome Lace (and I like that name by the way,lol)!! I wish you luck in picking the right bird for you, I think that if you do your research and learn what a commitment they are and thats what you TRULY desire is a grey, then after the work is done and your comfortable, go for it!! Nice to meet you!

[scoopsdad]

Hey guys! Thanks for the continued warm welcomes, it's greatly appreciated! Everyone is so friendly here...if only all forums were this way, eh?

 

Laurie and Sandra, thanks for your comments about being first-time Grey owners and bird owners all at once. It's sure good to know that there are survivors, haha!

 

Sandra, we're in southwest Pennsylvania, about an hour outside of Pittsburgh. There is a Parrot Rescue in Pittsburgh actually! They have required seminars you must attend before adopting a rescue, but they're at odd hours (something like 10am-12pm) during the weekday - and, only held once every 2-3 months, it seems. Makes attending rather rough for people who work...and have to make a bit of a long drive, to boot!

 

I'm not going to give up though - sooner or later, an opportunity will come along somewhere down the line. My fianceé has a successful pet sitting business...one of her new clients, who she'll be working with in May, has 8 birds (and a new Grey arriving about that time!) so I plan on hanging out with her as much as possible when it's time to make visits, that's for sure!

 

Ok, so here are two MAJOR questions I have for those of you able to answer:

 

1) Like I said above, we have 6 kids - including 3 dogs and 2 cats. Now the cats I'm not worried about; but, two of the dogs - one, a bonafide small animal/bird hater when out in the yard - and the other, a spoiled Chihuahua who doesn't like to share his Daddy's attention - well, they worry me. With these birds requiring so much attention and interaction, I would have to lock the dogs out of the room for so many hours a day just to let the bird hang out with me sans cage!

 

How do you guys with cats/dogs make it work? Were you able to introduce them slowly? Do you keep them completely seperate from each other?

 

2) For those of you who have/had both a Conure and Grey, what were your experiences? Pros/cons, good/bad. I must admit, I have a weak spot for the Conures (I've just seen Suns and Jendays in "real life" though). There's a little Sun baby I keep going to visit at the pet store on a regular basis - she melts me, I swear!

 

Is it just me, or are kids THE biggest manipulators EVER?! Honestly, every single kid we have manipulated the pants off of us. I tell ours all the time, "You really should hold your own seminars in manipulation. We'd be millionaires by now."

 

Gotta love 'em though! :lol:

[judygram]

Well Lace thats what makes this forum so special, you are treated as family here and that is the difference.

 

You have to realize those resuces operate off a very limited budget so they rely on people who also work at other jobs to do these seminars and they can only do them but so often, I know that doesn't help you but you at least understand where they are coming from.

 

And you are right, where there is a will there is a way and it will come for you too, just keep looking.

 

You will have to be very careful of having the grey out while the dogs have full run of the house, you may have to keep them in another part of the house while you have the bird out in the beginning until you set up some kind of relationship with them. But you must never leave them in the same room when the bird is out at any time for it only takes a second for a disaster to occur.

 

I have both a sun conure and a Cag, I got the sun first and she is a delight to have, so comical and a snuggler to boot, she is my constant companion when I am home. Now the two of them do not get along but I do have them both out at the same time but not in the same area, if they get too close the sun tries to nip the grey, go figure, the smaller bird goes after the bigger.