Hello

[slasher12]

Greetings! I am new here and am planning to bring my 3 month old CAG home in a few weeks once I feel absolutely safe (just got all new bird-safe appliances and cookware for the house, and rules are in order!). I have read so much on this and other forums about potential hazards that even a lot of "experts" are not aware of. It's so good to know that people are out there sharing experiences and spreading knowledge on these and all birds/animals so that we can keep them safe and happy. I personally have experience owning reptiles, mainly snakes, and have helped raise cockatiels and...well, ducks. I am so excited to bring my male CAG who I have named Santos home in a few weeks. I have been visiting him almost everyday for the past month, as I figured this would be a better transition from a room full of birds into my room. He has become very affectionate towards me, and has learnd to step-up and step-down and gets better every day. He also greets me everyday by approaching me and putting his head down for a pet. Only a few times has he stayed towards the back of his cage when I attempt to take him out, in which case I have left him alone and just talked to him. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has a specific strategy they have used to introduce Greys to their new homes. Is it smart to let them inspect their cages for a few days, taking them out seldomly? I was thinking this would give him more time to review their surroundings, and give a better idea of what they might be afraid of before trying to handle them too much. Also, does anyone have snakes (caged of course) around their birds? If so, are they interested in watching them or do they get scared? Any response would be appreciated and thank you all!

-Steve

[LisaM]

Hi Steve - sounds like Santos is surely bonding to you already (putting his head down for a scritch! Yeah!). When I brought mine into the house it was a little different situation as they were in other homes previously so I had their same cage, but it was just in a new house with new people (I have sinced moved them all to bigger, better cages but didn't want to have everything change at one if not necessary). I would reach into the cage with a treat periodically throughout the day, but didn't make them come out before they were ready. I spent a lot of time just sitting outside the cage reading, talking to them, singing, playing the "blinking game", etc. All of mine came out of their cage and came towards me within the first day home. I've had it really easy from the transition perspective with all three!

 

Good luck with yours and post pics as soon as you possibly can! :-)