Need imput from TAG/CAG owners

[the other anonymous]

Greetings! I am considering the purchase of a parrot, and have narrowed my choices to the African Grey of Timneh. I have had birds in the past, however since being in the military it was hard to relocate with them. Now that I am retiring, My wife and I are certain we care give the love a TAG/CAG relies on. With money really not being the issue I am looking for owner to provide some PROs/CONs on the respective species....Thanks in Advance.

[tho]

I would be more interested in the individual birds personality rather than the sub species.

[cutie-2000]

I`m not sure if it`s a pro or a con for you, but remember that parrots can have a very long life-span. You don`t mention your age, but a lot of military folks retire in their 40`s. If you`re much older than that, just be sure that you have someone willing to take your bird if something happens to you.

[Jepri]

You will hear all kinds of things, like tags are less neuotic than cags, male cag/tags tend to be better talkers, etc, etc. I believe statements such as these tend to be too general, factors such as solilization need to be considered as all these birds have individual personalities. As for your pros/cons, is a bright red tail a must have factor or not? You may have answered your own question. Let us know! later, tika

[TimC]

can certainly say that TAGs are as wonderful a parrot as I`ve ever had. Mine speaks volumes and has been speaking since 4 months old (he`s now 5 years old). He is an extrovert that does all kinds of acrobatics in and around his cage in order to get attention. The more you laugh, the more creative he gets. He always makes sure to pause for laughs and clapping. He holds his own with my two dogs (chihuahua/terrier mix and a pomeranian, both males) and with my lovebird, who is crazier than all get-out. He`s independent enough to speak hours at home, with me in the next room; he`ll stand on the window sill and talk to the birds (real and imaginary) outside. He even talks to us (me and the dogs) when we`re outside in the front yard playing and running around.

In short, there are no disadvantages to having a TAG as opposed to a CAG. There are differences in the birds physically, but these differences do not affect the pet-ability of the birds.

[younger]

pets with them when they relocate. How many pets have you had in the past and why did you get them knowing that you would not want to take them with you when you moved? I travelled all over Europe with my little menagerie with my ex hubby who was a soldier, and even when I was in Canada, and returned back to England, brought my african grey with me. Sure it required a little thought and planning, but heck moving with children does that too only it is not as easy to offload them.

[the other anonymous]

had an AFSC that was strictly attached to SOG units (hence PaveLOW...MH-53J PaveLOW III) Most units I was attached to moved regularly in and around Northern and central Africa. Believe it or not alot of African countries do not have veterinarian care professional, let alone avian health care. Heck, some countries in Africa have a hard time treating humans! Not a place where you would want to take fluffy the family pet.

At one point we were transferred to Florida, and thought (there I go thinking again) That we would be safe for a little while. My wife and I allowed our son to pick out a pet. He picked out a cockatiel...6 months later we were headed to Libreville, Gabon.

We never were able to nail down an exotic vacation assignment like Europe or Canada.

So please don`t judge me because I didn`t bring my pets all around the world like you. I think if there is not any adequate health care to the area or region you are headed to, then the most humane thing to do is not have a fluffy.

But, that`s my opinion based on my experiences. (Not yours)

[younger]

I was curious thats all. Sadly over here in UK too many forces people offload pets when they move. I live not far from Mildenhall USAF base, and am saddened by the amount of calls I get to take in pets because the people are moving. I find it sad because most of the time they are moving back to the states and I understand that it is cheap and easy to take a pet back there. I have friends with boarding kennels, and after several years of dogs being booked in for a few weeks boarding while the owners go home for a visit, only to be left there as the owners actually moved back for good, she makes American people pay in advance for 2 weeks. Not discrimination, but as she says, it goes some way to pay for the food, and cost of rehoming the dog. I expect it would be just the same with a lot of English forces families though too. greys and can honestly say that I don,t see much difference at all. Talking ability is about the same IMO. The things to look out for in either of the species is that if you are buying a hand reared bird, try to buy from an experienced small breeder who has time to play with and talk to the babies, and who lives in a busy household. That way the babe has had a lot of stimulation and socialisation. Some of the larger busier breeders have little time to do much more that feed and clean and thus the babies do not learn about playing, talking ect. I think it is `wabbit` here who seems to know what he is doing and plays with his babies etc. A baby which has been talked to from the start will learn to talk sooner than one reared in near laboratory conditons. My quakers for example were saying "hello" before they were fully weaned, and the cockatiels I am rearing now are trying to whistle. I`m surprised they don,t bark as I have 6 bouncy loud dogs who rush in and out yelling at nothing in particular, then there is me yelling at the dogs. So busy and noisy and I think the birds I have reared have nerves of steel and are well confident when they leave here.

[RobinTX]

hi, my husband recently retired from the air force - and guess what? we got a CAG. we`ve always been dog owners...still are. having a parrot is SO much different than taking care of dogs. that is what you have to think of first of all. we had to get rid of all our teflon, no more scented candles, etc., etc. we have been able to take him on most trips with us. we don`t have family close by and i didn`t trust anyone enough to bird sit (too many rules!). our lives changed when we joined a local bird club. we get to share stories with other parrot owners, plus we`ve found a few people we can trust if we ever have to leave him for a short period. he`s 19 months old, and we love him to death. please make sure that he/she will be cared of if anything should happen to you too. as long as you have the time and patience, it will be a great experience. if you travel a lot and don`t think you can take him/her with you, think twice. it`s not easy or wise to board a bird.

[Guest]

I think the first thing is to check out the breeders in your area who have these wonderful birds. A lot depends on how well they are socialized as babies. I have 2 CAG`s. One is 6 mths old, Echo, who i hand fed from 1 month old. He had really sweet parents, and is so well mannered. He`s a super sweetheart and loves everybody and everything. He does not freak out at new toys! I call him my doll boy! lol

Then there is Toby who`s a new bird in our household. He`s 4 1/2 and has been through two owners before me. I got him from a lady who had breast cancer and could no longer care for him. He was brought from Tennessee to Texas for me. He`s a little nippy but is molting. other than that, he talks, has a beautiful whistling abilities, and for the first time he bit me last night. Woke me up out of a dead sleep! lol. I had left his cage door open and I guess he decided sleeping on the couch with me was better than in his cage. I woke up to his bite (no blood or nothing) but he just wanted to let me know he was there maybe?

Toby will go into his cage, close the door behind him and will retire for the night, does not freak out and is adjusting quite nicely. I don`t allow him on my shoulder as I am partial to my ears and he`s not been here long enuff for me to even consider that at this point. Whatever you do, take your time in picking out a grey. Both the TAG and CAG are wonderful fids. (fids = feathered kids) and spend time with the bird that picks you.

I`ve not bought one bird yet that did not pick me as it`s owner, with the exception of some babies that weren`t yet weaned.