My New Baby Is Home!!!

[ButterflyMommy]

I tried to post this last night and it did not show up for some reason...but here is what I tried to post....

Hello all! I have some fantastic news. I was to meet a highly recommended reputable breeder and member of Avicultural Society of Tucson Sunday Morning at the Bird Expo with a 6 1/2 month old male. Well I went, met Jimmy (the baby boy) and fell in love. He was so incredibly sweet, he had no problem with me handling him and seemed to take all the noise and commotion very well considering everything. I spent the entire day with the breeder and Jimmy, and at the end of the day, brought him home. He is DNA cert, health guarantee and health checked, he goes to the vet with me tomorrow for his check up.

This is the cage I ended up getting for Jimmy to start with, I made sure the Breeder approved as well. BIRDCAGES4LESS.com: Kilauea Kastle™ Dometop I got it in black. I got a ton of toys, not all are in his cage of course so I can rotate them. He has a wooden perch, a soft perch and a sandy perch. He is on Zupreem FruitBlend, not the entire menu of course. After we got home and he was introduced to his cage and new toys, he had dinner. Diced apples (no seeds) cucumbers and a few almonds. He ate right out of my hand while perched on my arm. I put him to bed at around 8. No problems at all. He got up at 7 this morning and was really nervous and scared (to be expected), growling at me if I came near the cage. I left him in the cage so not to stress him, but spent all morning talking to him and singing, playing music when I left the room. I made him breakfast, strawberries, hard boiled egg with shell and carrots, he didn't eat. By early afternoon he was calmed down, eating the zupreem, preening himself, playing and drinking water. By dinner he was acting like he wanted out, I opened the door and he practically came flying out at me! It was so funny. He spent the next two hours on my shoulder, nuzzling my neck, playing with my hair and eating his dinner out of my hand. He has also taken to my husband really well as well. I put him back in his cage at 8 with no fight, covered him and said goodnight.

We will see what tomorrow brings but I can already admit I am so incredibly smitten with my lil man. I want to gt him a play stand as well, but am having a hard time deciding on what to get. Anywho, I will post pics soon, I didn't want to stress him too much today so I did not take any yet, but I will soon!

UPDATE: TUESDAY

Ok, so this morning Jimmy woke up on the wrong side of the cage again and was crabby, but I just kept doing what I did yesterday, talking and such while I got his breakfast ready. Today was asparagus with shredded carrots and tomatoes. It only took a little over an hour for him to calm down and start eating. He started sitting in front of the door and head bobbing, which I am taking as let me out, so I opened the door and out he came. He is sitting on my computer chair now while I write, I can't decide if he is trying to eat my shirt or preen it. He is being such a doll. My youngest daughter was able to get him to step up on her arm with no hesitation. So that's what I have for now!

 

[antoinette]

Congrat's on Jimmy, sure you going to have hours of fun and entertainment.
Loved the cage
Glad he is fitting in well, takes them quite a while to settle down. New environment, new family and all those toys LoL
Keep talking and interacting all the time, you will notice changes everyday.
Enjoy your birdie time, they are so precious

 

[ButterflyMommy]

I grabbed this pic while he was exploring the top of his cage...

 

[Spiritbird]

Greys are such beautiful, wonderful, brainy and loving parrots. If I were a grey I would want to live in your home. Sounds like you are off to a good start. I hope you read up on the greys from a young age and what to expect. You said bird was crabby in the moring. They need a good 12 hrs. of quality sleep. That means no music or tv on in the same room. Thanks for the pic. Anything that comes up we are all her for you and Jimmy.

 

[parrotqueen]

He's precious, simply precious. Gotta love those Greys! I love the big black eyes the younger birds have, so innocent.

I love the cage, very spacious. It even makes that B&G macaw in the picture look tiny! Sounds like you're giving him a good diet, fruits and veggies are important.

So glad all is well, don't worry about grumpiness. It just happens at this time, let him get used to his surroundings and remain calm when you're in the room.

 

[ButterflyMommy]

Thank you everyone, yes he is truly adorable. He warmed right up to us over the day, got this pic this evening, he came over to the couch and watched television, then explored my husband and played a computer game...

He hung out with him for a while, then came back to me and watched Dancing With The Stars...

He didn't eat his dinner, but I left pellets for him in case he gets hungry until breakfast. We have gotten him down to a schedule of bed at 8pm and he wakes at 8am, takes a nap from about 3-5. Do you think this is ok or do I need to try to extend these sleep times? I have bought and read Parrots for Dummies, African Grey Parrots (Complete Pet Owners Guide) and the African Grey Parrot Handbook. I have ordered a few more from Amazon, still waiting for them to get delivered.

 

[Spiritbird]

The books you are reading are very good. There is another one I love called For The Love of Greys that is very good. You have much to look forward to in being his guardian. Parrots for Dummies is an especially good reference. My Rosie just had her first molt and boy was she grumpy. If you go on the web site of African Queen and look for articles by Jean Patterson on greys you will find them useful too. She is the breeder of my Timneh.