Rhonda's Questions

[TAGyourit]

:blush: I posted my hello in the welcome room and I decided to ask these questions here in hopes of a few more responses.

I had originally wanted a male because I want to name him Jack.

Do you think that Jack would be appropriate for a female if I end up with a female?

I do feel that birds choose you, my Sun certainly did.

I went to visit my future baby and of the 2 she has available the smaller one was the cuddliest. It would let me rub her back under the wings and neck. The larger one would a little. One was a tiny bit larger with larger nares the other was smaller with much smaller nares. They were both so sweet the larger one chewed on me much harder then the smaller one. Could this be a sign of a biter? I have read that males tend to be more open to new things and people. I have also heard that there is really no difference in personality of the two. I will be going to visit again when it gets closer to the weaning date.

 

The breeder is very nice and has a very clean nursery really seems to know her stuff, but she is hand feeding a lot of babies and breeds. I am afraid that she would not have time to spend with all the different babies. She had a set of 3 baby TAGs that were a little older who seemed to be a little hand shy of body touches. They would immediately start nibbling away on fingers when you reached for them.

When I go back closer to the come home date and my baby is hand shy of body touching. Is this a sign that they did not get handled enough while weaning?

Or is it just because I am a stranger and I am just worrying to much?

 

So sorry for such a long post but I want sooo bad to do this right.

 

Post edited by: TAGyourit, at: 2008/05/28 17:25<br><br>Post edited by: TAGyourit, at: 2008/05/28 17:28

[mas]

I really feel (and I am no expert), that it does not really matter which baby you choose - Jack could be short for Jacky if you end up with a female! I feel you make your bird - its up to how you raise it, nurture it and train it, it's all about hard work, dedication and lots of love

You can make your bird used to touching with lots of patience - if you read about older rescued birds on here you will see that almost all obstacles can be overcome with lots of patience.

Before you get your Grey the main thing is to do heaps of reading and this forum is a brilliant place to start - we have lots of people with high levels of expertice to guide us.

Good luck, and enjoy!

-sameera

[lovemyGreys]

The larger one chewed on me much harder then the smaller one. Could this be a sign of a biter?

 

No not at all, all babies test things out with their beaks & the majority of greys at some point in their life will go through a biting phase.

 

I have read that males tend to be more open to new things and people. I have also heard that there is really no difference in personality of the two.

 

There really is no difference between owning a male or female, as for males excepting new things more readily i would disagree, i have 2 males & 2 females neither sex shows any signs more than the other in excepting new situations or people, this would depend on the birds individual personality more than the sex.

 

If you take a visit to the nursery room you will see various threads on socializing your new baby etc...

[Dave007]

Most of the things you mention are myths that have been spread from people who have heard it from other people who have heard it from other people. Sometimes, a new thing is thrown into the mix which is also usually a myth.

 

Most people buy a grey without ever knowing the sex until they decide to find out in the future.

"""I went to visit my future baby and of the 2 she has available the smaller one was the cuddliest."""

 

If 2 people were to buy 2 greys there's the situation where 1 bird will have a different personality from the other but that only happens because those personalities were meant to be from the day the bird was born.

 

If these 2 people were to raise those birds in different ways, the sex wouldn't matter. It's a matter of how those birds were raised from the beginning. A person might be warmer to the bird than the other person.

 

""'I went to visit my future baby and of the 2 she has available the smaller one was the cuddliest. """

 

What about the next day? Can you be sure that the cuddly bird was still cuddly the next day? That also applies to the other bird.

 

Size means nothing. A clutch of birds might be smaller boned than another clutch.

 

"""They were both so sweet the larger one chewed on me much harder then the smaller one. Could this be a sign of a biter?"""

 

Many baby parrots do a lot more exploring with their beaks than others. The bird's beak is it's hand. It's not a sign of a biter.

 

"""""I have also heard that there is really no difference in personality of the two.""""

 

 

Every single grey male or female has it's own individual personality. That's what allows people to tell others about the different antics of their bird.

 

As far as aggression, there may be a slight difference from male and female but that occurs when a female is an adult bird and that has to do with hormones that come to the surface. That temporary hormonal change lasts longer than a male and that female stays crankier for a longer period of time. The other type of aggression that surfaces applies to both males and females and that time is when they're molting. In general, they're agitated and will bite if imprtoper petting occurs.

 

"""""When I go back closer to the come home date and my baby is hand shy of body touching. Is this a sign that they did not get handled enough while weaning? ""

 

Maybe, maybe not but it's the future owner's job to develop a close bond with the bird. The breeder has the bird for about 3 mts. The future owner has the bird for the rest of it's life.

 

""""She had a set of 3 baby TAGs that were a little older who seemed to be a little hand shy of body touches. They would immediately start nibbling away on fingers when you reached for them.""""""

 

Again, personality. A person can't go by what's temporarily going on.

 

Another overplayed subject that's been handed down for years is that people who are buying a bird should wait until a bird comes running over and shows attention to that buyer.

Well, what happens when none of the birds come running over?

Should a person just pack it up and go to another breeder just to find a bird that will.

 

If you have a family, your biggest, most important job is to make sure that your new bird gets to know everyone. It's called socialization. If you don't do that the bird will start favoring only one person which isn't very good for the whole family.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/05/28 18:27

[Tycos_mom]

I beleive and always will that the bird for you is the one that picks you if the bird pick you then that bird will love you and trust you allot faster than the one you pick

[BMustee]

I got Elmo, a CAG, at 6 weeks old. Elmo was the best eater of the two and was a little larger, but Elmo is the oldest of the clutch. I gave Elmo his name because when he really gets into playing I roll him on his back and he looks like a tickle-me-Elmo doll. I had Elmo sexed a few months later and Elmo is a female. I still call her a he because we're both used to her being called a boy...plus she says "who's a good boy? Elmo's a good boy." So if you called your grey Jack, it wouldn't matter if it was a girl or boy.

 

As for being cuddly, greys are not known for being cuddly. Most baby greys don't seem to mind being cuddled, but as they get older they might not like it too much anymore. Elmo was cuddled all the time as a baby, but now he doesn't like extended touching on his back, wings and tail. I can still touch him in all those places to check for injury, feather growth, and stuff like that, but he really only enjoys head, neck and feet scratches...yes feet, Elmo's a freak.

 

I'm not sure what your expectations of a parrot are, but if you are looking for a cuddler you may want to look into a type of cockatoo, caique, or some of the conures because they are more affectionate in physical ways than greys stereotypically are. I'd hate to see you and your future grey be disapointed in eachother because of something like this.

 

As I type this, Elmo is on my back attacking my hair and yelling "Don't you do it! Stop it!" What my hair ever did to him is beyond me, but he's having a ball back there!:lol: :woohoo:

[TAGyourit]

Thank you so much for your replies.

 

In reading, it seems that there are so many differences in companionship with a Grey as there are with other birds. Maybe this is because of their intelligence. I have thought long and hard on getting one and finally after lots of reading I decided to go for it.

 

Dave You really do know how to put things into perspective. I guess I just didn’t put 2+2 together.

Napalm (15 month old Sun) will be an angle one day and want to do nothing but get into trouble the next. :lol:

I have managed to end up with a wonderful companion. He loves me and my S.O. very much. He does not take kindly to strangers or kids. As far as family it will be me and the S.O. we have friends with children but we do not always see them. So I will have to make the effort to get out more in the summer when Jack is young to get him / her Socialized.

Also to be comfortable with new things.

 

I am not looking for the cuddliest bird; I just noticed this when playing with them. I just want a happy and fun companion.

I have no doubt I can help Jack become this.

I also like to teach tricks. I understand Greys, like Conures seem too enjoy this attention.

Napalm is a happy fun birdie and likes to learn tricks.

If Jack does not talk I will not be trying to find him a new home. I think that is cruel.

Napalm doesn’t cuddle or talk much either. But he is still my baby.

[BMustee]

Trick training is GREAT for greys and suns. I had a Sun and he really liked learning and doing tricks. On days he seemed to get unruley I would sit him down and trick train him for 15-20 minutes and it would straiten out his tude every time. Elmo is unreal with how fast he learns tricks, and it's great one on one time for him.