First Grey

[bobbyvcp]

Just pulled the trigger on getting a new addition to our family. Buying from a breeder on the Big Island so getting him to me on Kauai is not so bad. I currently have a Major Mitchell that loves my girls and wants nothing to do with me. I have only had 2's in my life so this is going to be different experience for me. Here is a picture that was just sent to me today and think he is right around 2 weeks old here maybe less. How old do you think he should be before I take him to our home?

He is a Congo which is the larger of the 2 species?

 

[LeaKP]

Fully weaned! Thats been my experience w my greys. Love those birds! What fun you will have!

 

[bobbyvcp]

Decisions, Decisions? There are 2 to choose from so need to decide which one to bring into our home.

 

[EAI]

Adorable! And yes, Congo's are the largest out of the 2. I think I know which breeder your'e talking about too!
Do you have a preferred sex?

Adding: I'm so jealous of your Major Mitchel Too, beyond stunning birds. I was only able to meet one that was extremely skittish

 

[robopetz]

Nice to see people from Hawaii here. I am on Oahu =)
Just got me a 3 week old CAG. I have lots of experience with smaller birds up to Sun Conures but this will be my first experience with Greys.

How is you Grey doing? And yes like others said I am so jealous as well with your MM. lol

 

[bobbyvcp]

Nice to see another Hawaii person on here as well. I live on Kauai and there are quite a few bird people over here. They are trying to make a club or something so we can all meet but still has not happened.

Our CAG is about 3 weeks old now and won't be ready to come home til late December early January. The breeder is great and sends me updated pictures every week or so.

Our MM only likes my girls and after 5 months still wants nothing to do with me what so ever. I think that is the reason for me wanting to get another bird. But he is especially great with my eldest. Drives me nuts because I want to hold him and love him...oh well better off this way I guess.

 

[robopetz]

Thats great! We have to clubs here and I have yet to go and check one out. There is also the Ewa Bird show that has all sorts of birds and other animals. Maybe you should take action and make it happen lol.

Hey, my CAG is 3 weeks too. Hatch date was Sept 25 maybe ours are twins hahaha. I have been hand feeding the lil fellow my own though. The breeder I found is awesome too. Always texting me to see how the lil baby is and ask me to keep in touch with pics and all.

With a lot of time and love I am sure you MM will come around. Such beautiful birds they are. How long have you had the MM?

 

[Angel3]

Just pulled the trigger on getting a new addition to our family. Buying from a breeder on the Big Island so getting him to me on Kauai is not so bad. I currently have a Major Mitchell that loves my girls and wants nothing to do with me. I have only had 2's in my life so this is going to be different experience for me. Here is a picture that was just sent to me today and think he is right around 2 weeks old here maybe less. How old do you think he should be before I take him to our home?

He is a Congo which is the larger of the 2 species?

Congos weaning time is 12-14 weeks. If you are dealing with experienced breeders, they won't let you take the baby home unless it's completely weaned. Congos are larger and better talkers than Timnehs.

 

[bobbyvcp]

Thats great! We have to clubs here and I have yet to go and check one out. There is also the Ewa Bird show that has all sorts of birds and other animals. Maybe you should take action and make it happen lol.

Hey, my CAG is 3 weeks too. Hatch date was Sept 25 maybe ours are twins hahaha. I have been hand feeding the lil fellow my own though. The breeder I found is awesome too. Always texting me to see how the lil baby is and ask me to keep in touch with pics and all.

With a lot of time and love I am sure you MM will come around. Such beautiful birds they are. How long have you had the MM?

We have had Bubba for 6 months now.

 

[LeaKP]

This thread has made me miss my grays terribly. Had them for years but moved across continents (Africa to USA) and couldn't bring them along. Today, while I was getting pellets for Peep (our awesome gcc) the breeder had a 12 week old gray, just gorgeous.

Thankfully I dont have the money for one or else we would have had him at home tonight.

They, along with the little gccs, are my favorite birds.

 

[Angel3]

Decisions, Decisions? There are 2 to choose from so need to decide which one to bring into our home.

Take the one that respond to you or just take one. I lost out on oportunity to take home a sweet Congo. I had three to choose from and two of them were supper sweet and I had difficulty deciding which one to bring home, so I noted the band numbers and went home to sleep on it. When I finally made the decision, I called the breeder to let him know that I will pick one of the two that I was choosing from but I was one day too late. Someone took both them home. Now, I am waiting for the next laying season.

 

[robopetz]

How is the baby doing? Did you decide on which one? He/She has a name yet? Bringing him/her home soon? Sorry for all the questions. lol

 

[bobbyvcp]

Funny thing I was looking through CL and there was a pair of AG's here ready to be taken home. Saw the ad and called up the breeder and did some checking on that person with the local vet and some bird people. Everything checked out so me and my daughters went to check out the birds that are about 80 days old. When we got there he was trying to get me to buy both but that was not going to happen. We held and played with them for about an hour and even did a hand feeding since they are not fully weaned yet. One was quite a bit bigger then the other, he said because he hatched 5 days earlier. We liked the personality of the little one so we took him home. Being that I was born in Columbus Ohio and a huge Ohio State Uni fan we named him/her Buckeye. Bought all the things needed to do the hand feeding which was 2-3 times a day. Always had lots of food in his box so he could constantly eat. After about a week he really was not into the hand feeding anymore so basically stopped that and still do in once in awhile. He has connected with me mostly and tolerates my girls. Whenever I go near him he wants to be with me and is very affectionate. When my girls are near him he does his growl for a minute then goes with them. Trying to make him be with all of us and finding it a bit challenging. Had him for 2 weeks now and so far no talking once or twice he said a rough hello. Mostly he whistles like the wild birds in our area. He has not been clipped yet because I read that it is good for them to learn how to fly first to develop coordination. He took flight a few times and crashed. Now he is getting better and seems to be able to land on things much safer. Trying to get him used to being touched everywhere on his body. He loves eating with us and really pigs out. Unlike our MM which basically eats nothing. I will post some pixs once I get time. Told the other breeder that I wanted to cancel with her and she was not very happy. This after just one week after sending her a check. She directed me to a website with a Bill of Sale and in the term says no refunds of deposits. Which is fine except for one thing I never received or signed a BOS. So she gives me the BS of I will refund your $$$ once I sell the bird to another person. Been 2 weeks now and have not heard a thing for her.

 

[robopetz]

Funny thing I was looking through CL and there was a pair of AG's here ready to be taken home. Saw the ad and called up the breeder and did some checking on that person with the local vet and some bird people. Everything checked out so me and my daughters went to check out the birds that are about 80 days old. When we got there he was trying to get me to buy both but that was not going to happen. We held and played with them for about an hour and even did a hand feeding since they are not fully weaned yet. One was quite a bit bigger then the other, he said because he hatched 5 days earlier. We liked the personality of the little one so we took him home. Being that I was born in Columbus Ohio and a huge Ohio State Uni fan we named him/her Buckeye. Bought all the things needed to do the hand feeding which was 2-3 times a day. Always had lots of food in his box so he could constantly eat. After about a week he really was not into the hand feeding anymore so basically stopped that and still do in once in awhile. He has connected with me mostly and tolerates my girls. Whenever I go near him he wants to be with me and is very affectionate. When my girls are near him he does his growl for a minute then goes with them. Trying to make him be with all of us and finding it a bit challenging. Had him for 2 weeks now and so far no talking once or twice he said a rough hello. Mostly he whistles like the wild birds in our area. He has not been clipped yet because I read that it is good for them to learn how to fly first to develop coordination. He took flight a few times and crashed. Now he is getting better and seems to be able to land on things much safer. Trying to get him used to being touched everywhere on his body. He loves eating with us and really pigs out. Unlike our MM which basically eats nothing. I will post some pixs once I get time. Told the other breeder that I wanted to cancel with her and she was not very happy. This after just one week after sending her a check. She directed me to a website with a Bill of Sale and in the term says no refunds of deposits. Which is fine except for one thing I never received or signed a BOS. So she gives me the BS of I will refund your $$$ once I sell the bird to another person. Been 2 weeks now and have not heard a thing for her.

Thats great that you got one. Its good that you are getting him/her used to being socialized with different people. What did you name the lil one? Were they sexed? I think I saw that same ad, it showed up on Oahu's craigs too because they said they were willing to ship to outter islands. It may be a different ad not sure. But again, so happy you have one and I am sure you are having a blast. As for the deposit on the other one you are right... You did not sign anything. Are you able to just do a stop payment on that check?

My lil one is growing way too fast. Feathers everywhere now and personality coming out more and more everyday. Such a big baby, making those baby noises which are way too adorable. I have decided to name him/her Beemo. You ever watch the show Adventure Time? hhahHhh That is one of the characters name in it. It literally took me 3 weeks to name him.

Take care and have fun with your new baby. Keep in touch!!

 

[bobbyvcp]

So we have had Buckeye for a few months now and love him to death. He has bonded with me and is a pain in the butt in a good way. He loves being where ever I am at and is so loving. One thing that is dissapointing is he still does not utter a single word. He barks and makes a lot of whistling sounds. He also imitates our MM with his scream unfortunatley. Of course he is very good with my girls and we have tried taking him out to socialize him. Funny because when it is a new person trying to hold him he looks at me like he needs permission or something. He eats with us and is a little piggy that is for sure.

 

[thekarens]

Congrats! He's gorgeous!

I wouldn't worry about the non speaking. In my experience a lot off greys don't really start talking until they are a bit older. Either way it sounds like he'll be a great companion.

 

[Birdman666]

Of course he is very good with my girls and we have tried taking him out to socialize him. Funny because when it is a new person trying to hold him he looks at me like he needs permission or something. He eats with us and is a little piggy that is for sure.

He wants reassurance from you that this is safe and okay to do.

They are very cautious by nature... This one is taking his cues from you.

It's a good time to teach him the phrases "It's Okay." And "No, Not okay." They will learn this one in context if you teach it to them...

Grays study everything, and until they are sure about it they are often reluctant to do it, and will stubbornly push you away, or fly off on you...

 

[Birdman666]

One thing that is dissapointing is he still does not utter a single word.

Give it at least six months.

And, oh by the way, they practice when no one is around. They don't blurt it out until they are sure they got it right...

This bird needs to boost his confidence level and get him out of his shell. THEN the real CAG stuff comes out...

 

[bobbyvcp]

Still no words as of yet, the first week I could hear him try to say "Hello" then he has not tried since. He is my buddy and very affectionate. Love getting out of his cage in the morning and taking him under the covers in my bed. He just sleeps in my arms and is very loving. Whenever I am in the room with him I can see he is studying everything I do. I am just glad he is still fine with my 2 daughters. He loves sitting on the window sill staring outside. But if a stranger comes to the door he freaks out and runs. Trying to get him outside and he seems fine. I guess it is just at home he gets startled.

 

[robopetz]

Glad he is settled in great and such a cuddle bug lol. My CAG Beemo is around the same age as yours I believe. Just a handful start talking at this age, normally around a year old till they talk. Beemo learned my whistle only after 2 times of hearing it from me, which amazed me. So I tried a different whistle tune and now hes trying to copy that too. He doesnt talk yet either but I definitely can hear him trying. What did you name your CAG? And does he get along with your Cockatoo?