smithie007 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Hello! My fiance and i have just purchased a new baby Timneh AFrican Grey. We are absolutely ecstatic! He(she) is only 26 days old today, so it wont be home for a while. We are wanting to know everything we can before the little darling comes home.:woohoo: ANY advice is definitely more then welcome. Advice on preparing our home, training, what to expect, and any experiences anyone may wanna share. thankx so very much! -Smithie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletcher Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Congratulations!! theres a lot of good articles on Greys on this site.Its not to early to start preparing.I only had Fletcher for 11 days an hes only 16 weeks old but ive gained enought info here to have had him for years!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Fletcher wrote: I only had Fletcher for 11 days an hes only 16 weeks old but ive gained enough info here to have had him for years!! Thats quite a statement but it is so true, we do have a wealth of knowledge and lots of members who are more than willing to share what they know and help each other with any problems they may have. Smithie you do have a while before your baby is ready to come home so read thru as many of the threads here as possible and you will find lots of information that will answer many of the questions you may have. You will find advice on what to do before you bring it home, what to feed it, bathing and of course many stories of haps and mishaps in the lives of greys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Hi, Smithie! Your best bet will be to spend a good long time reading posts here...tons of great info! Also consider purchasing a book on greys - there are lots out there & come in handy. The biggest piece of advice I would give would be to practice a lot of patience with your new bird. They live a long time, so for them to take a month getting used to something is really not a long time at all. Be quiet and gentle with your bird. When looking at him, look at him sideways, narrow your eyes and lower your head a little. This makes you appear friendly. When approaching with your hands, come in from the side/back (a front/top approach can seem threatening). Those are the best tips I've picked up and they all work for me. Best of luck to you ... we look forward to hearing all about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterDavE Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Welcome to the world of greys. what to expect hmm well i have encountered poops and naps, that is what i get. My girlfriend on the other hand gets the play time and dinner times. i want play times poop time is horrible she does it every 10minutes. you will enjoy your grey they are amazing animals DavE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Like everyone has said, read through the posts and if you think of any questions then you can ask away! My motto is I'd rather answer a million stupid questions than hear one sad story. Not to say there are any stupid questions...it's just some people think their questions are. B) :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUKEdevils36 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Congratulations and welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 smithie as the other members have said you will find a wealth of information here,please take the time to read through each of our rooms & Welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Welcome and Congratulations on the new Grey soon to be home in a few months Smithie!! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Hi Smithie, congrats on your new baby!!! It is SO exciting, isn't it? My baby CAG comes home in ONE MORE MONTH . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithie007 Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 Im so excited for you!i cant wait until my little TAG can come home... only 11 more weeks or so. Little precious is attempting to walk but cant quite get its feet under itself. very very cute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithie007 Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 Thank you so much! I've been looking around. Still trying to get the hang of the site. There's SO much information here!:blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Believe me you will get the hang of this site quickly, if I can do it anyone can, there is a LOT of info here but you have plenty of time so get reading:P :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 ~grins~ I have been driving out to the breeder's once a week, although since it is an hour drive each way and gas is so expensive I may not be able to keep doing that. But I just love seeing the baby fuzzy parrots who can barely perch one week practicing flapping their wings the next, and flying all around the room the following week! My Jenna is quite the flyer. She is VERY bonded to the breeder right now, but she puts up with me ~grins~ My goal is really just to get her familiar enough with me that I won't be a total stranger when she comes home. Meanwhile, I've totally rearranged my living room to accomodate her cage; scrubbed and refurbished and painted over rust spots and disinfected the cage; started building her a play perch; read EVERYTHING I can find on greys, clicker training, and anything else that seems pertinent . . . A WHOLE MONTH MORE ~sigh~ Here she is . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 She's a beauty just like all the other grey babies, they are so adorable at that age, thanks for sharing a pic with us. Now about that cage, you painted over the rust spots, what kind of paint did you use? Bird cages are usually powder coated type of paint, I would check and see if what you used is safe for your baby as you cannot use just any type of paint.:huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Thanks Judy, yes, I checked VERY carefully about the kind of paint and if it was safe for birds. The cage was powder coated, and had a couple of spots in the bottom tray (which the bird never gets near, by the way) that had developed some rust. I sanded those down and used paint that had been specially recommended as safe, and since she won't actually touch the part of the cage that was painted over, I think it will be ok. I appreciate your concern on that! This cage belonged to my eclectus who died right after Christmas; it is a good cage but I wanted it to be even better for the baby ~smiles~ So I tossed out all the old perches and food cups and replaced them, and put new casters on the cage, and . . . gee, you don't think I am obsessing here or anything, do you? ~chuckles~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Nah you are not obsessing, how in the world could we think that, I am glad to hear that you did check the paint out before using, I just wanted to make sure for no one wants anything to happen to your baby, you would be surprised at how many might not have even thought of that possibility.:ohmy: Now if that month would just go by quickly you would have it made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithie007 Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 true! why would you be obbsessing? i drive an hour and a half to go see my little love. I would be going crazy if i didnt have things to do to prepare. I still have like 3months to wait!*sighs* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 You have me beat, it is only an hour each way to go see Jenna ~laughs~ I can't go the next few Saturdays so I am finagling with the breeder to let me go over there at "off" times, when she is usually not open to visitors. I can't manage three weekends without seeing her! Did I say obsessed? Who, ME? ~chuckles~ I sure hope she learns to love me as much as I already love her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithie007 Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 OMG! i couldnt go 3 weeks without seeing little love! I would die. Imagine how much they would have changed! ours changed in just 3 days. That may be because ours is so young. Hope the breeder will let you in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 ~grins at Smithie~ Well, her son is taking care of all her birds this week while she is on her first vacation in 20 years - can you imagine how hard it would be to go on vacation when you have an aviary full of baby birds? Anyway, he said it is fine for me to come by Thursday night, so I will definitely see her THIS week! We'll work on the next 2 weeks when Wendy gets back. If I look pathetic enough, I'm sure she'll let me come! My baby is very bonded to the breeder right now; my main goal(besides just basking in her presence, of course) is to make her familiar and semi-comfortable with me so she'll have someone she knows when she leaves her first home. But know what? Even when Jenna comes home, I may have to occasionally go over to Wendy's for a baby bird fix. Her babies are ALL so adorable and sweet! She has Timnehs and Congos and Red Fronted Macaws and Alexandrines, and she expects a few Amazons this summer as well ~grins~ And she loves people to handle them and play with them because it helps socialize them. Can you imagine anything better than sitting on a sofa with 3 or 4 baby greys (one being the MOST beautiful of all, of course! hehehe) and a baby macaw climbing all over you? ~sighs blissfully~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 When I read your post I thought of that song "I'm in Heaven", thats what it would be like with all those babies, but I'm sure it has its drawbacks too, look she didn't take a vacation for 20 years, now thats dedication.:cheer: But even though your Jenna is attached to the breeder right now, and that is to be expected, after all she is the source of her food, that will change after you bring her home. Boy you are in for a real treat when homecoming time comes but it won't be soon enough will it:S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Hi Judy! Guess where she went for vacation? Bolivia, to see parrots in their natural habitats. And I call MYSELF obsessed! lol But it is indeed heaven to be there with all those babies ~grins~ They are SO sweet, and beautiful, and funny. And she does such a great job of socializing them. I'm just glad that Jenna IS attached to her; clearly Jenna can be a very affectionate and sweet little girl, and hopefully she'll transfer that to me once she gets home. I am SO eager for her to get home; and at the same time, I am very aware of the passing of time at this point in my life, and I don't want to wish even a few minutes of my life away . . . Quite the conflict! I'm going to see Jenna tomorrow night since I can't go Saturday; the breeder's son kindly agreed to let me come during "off" hours so I don't have to go a week without seeing her ~chuckles~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Raposa, she is beautiful!! thank you for sharing them with us. I am so excited for you. Just keep reading and researching as much as you can, it will help make the time pass quickly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Thanks, Talon, that is exactly what I am doing! ~grins~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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