Tell me about your CAGs and TAGs!

[Pookamama]

I would like to know:
Do you have a TAG or CAG? (or both, or two of one, or so on...)
Where you got him/her?
Do you have children? How does the bird do with them?
How old was she/he when you got them?
What is his/her personality like?
How playful are they?
What was the biggest challenge?
What is the biggest reward of owning a TAG/CAG?

Thanks!

 

[Parrotmamma]

I have a TAG , I got him from Radars Roost , he was about 4 1/2 mos when I got him.
We have 5 kids and he does really well with all of them . He does prefer me and my 2 daughters over my hubby and 3 boys , he will step up for them but does not like for them to pet him . Me and my girls can pet him /give head scratches all we like .
He is such a funny guy too, talks quite a bit and loves to be with us and loves playing with his foot toys . He entertains himself really well and is pretty low maintenance compared to my GCC who is always getting into trouble...lol
I can't think of any big challenge except for trying to watch a movie and being able to hear it over his chatter...lol He is almost 8 mos old now and I can't imagine not having him in our family.

 

[Pookamama]

I love the name Cosmo! He's adorable!

 

[jonahsmom]

We just adopted our TAG oh...a week and two days ago. LOL He's 20 yrs old and we adopted him from a gal who had him for the last 5-6 yrs, but he just wasn't happy. She has 10 other parrots and he was constantly trying to attack them (macaws, CAGs, etc) and very unhappy.


We have a 9 yr old son and Bu is really great with him. Our son is a little fearful because our GCC is kind of a turd to him, but Bu is much more gentle. He'll step up to our son, but because our son is a little shaky, he can be a bit unsure and will use his beak to steady himself and that kind of freaks our son out a bit. But we're working on that.

He is so quiet! He whistles a lot and we're told he says some things although we haven't heard anything yet. He gives kisses, loves scratches and can shred paper like he's cutting butter! He's mischievous and always looking for trouble. The biggest challenge is making sure that there's always something a little bit different for him to do so that he doesn't get bored and really get into something he shouldn't.

He is amazing and very entertaining with his laser gun, microwave, and water cooler impressions. And his different whistles and his laugh. We fell so hard so fast for him. He's really not loud at ALL and most of the time you don't really even know he's there. He'll fall asleep sitting on the back of the couch and looks so peaceful and wise.

 

[Casey]

Our CAG; Mj has been with us for 56 days, she is 164 days old. She is my bird though, I can do just about anything with her without fear if being bitten. My wife can occasionally scratch her head if Mj is in the mood. But my wife and kids are terrified of being bitten. I believe Mj would be OK if they would put their fear aside and try to handle her. The "family" says she is a mean bird. I will admit she has bitten my wife, but my wife pulls away and makes it worse. I told her to push into the bite, which will lesson the bite and also throw Mj a little off balance and I believe all would be OK. That is what I did in the beginning.

I made a perch from PVC that I set over a towel on my lap and watch TV in the evening with her on it. She loves head scratches and will walk up my chest and chew the towel. I've even been able to put an aviator harness on her.

She is not talking yet but she sounds like she is trying, but she is still young at about 5 and a half months.

 

[justinlm24]

Good question. I'll be paying attention to this thread.

 

[antoinette]

I became Mishka's guardian when he was 6 weeks old.
He is almost 5 years old.
He plays continuously all day, loves his cage, climbing through loops, sitting on his swing, chatting away.
We have daily conversation throughout the day, he is a 24/7 chatterbox.
The biggest challenge LoL is to get him to keep quiet.
He sings, talks and whistles, he loves entertaining anyone and everyone.
The most rewarding is waking up each day, to a loving bird.
I can not imagine my life without him.

 

[wolf0994]

I would like to know:
Do you have a TAG or CAG? (or both, or two of one, or so on...)
Where you got him/her?
Do you have children? How does the bird do with them?
How old was she/he when you got them?
What is his/her personality like?
How playful are they?
What was the biggest challenge?
What is the biggest reward of owning a TAG/CAG?

Thanks!

We adopted Kawie, our CAG from an elderly couple who just felt they wanted to find him a good home before they were completely unable to care for him. Their kids did not want to adopt him. Kawie is 16 years old and we have had him since April of this year. He came from a home with two older adults and occasional grandchildren to our house with 5 children, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 parakeet. Kawie had to adjust of course to being around kids but it didnt take but a couple weeks which surprised me. He will happily and willingly give all of my kids kisses and touch their finger with is beak. He does not like being held by anyone at this point because the family we got him from had him co-living with a DYH amazon as his cagemate and they bonded to each other. But he has adjusted rather well I think to being the only parrot in the house. We are slowly working with him and just making sure not to break his trust. He is very quiet if people are in the room AND paying attention to him. If I leave the room and my kids/wife ignore him he whistles and talks up a storm trying to get SOMEONE to pay attention to him. He does not care for toys even tho his cage is full of them. He prefers to chew up cardboard and wood branches for entertainment. The biggest challenge has been not trying to push him too fast for handling. I would love nothing more than to come home, have him step up, give him a kiss and walk around with him. I'd love to have him on a harness and take him outside. But its a slow process for an older bird that hasnt been handled since he was a baby. Hoepfully someday he will get there. The biggest reward for me is that he is so fun to watch and talk to, when you can hear him talk back its funny cuz he imitates me. My best friend couldnt tell the difference. I was upstairs and Kawie said something to him and he thought he was going crazy cuz he heard me but I wasnt in the room. He is a treasure! I can't wait to be able to hold him more. Sorry for the long post!

 

[dawnkyung]

Do you have a TAG or CAG? (or both, or two of one, or so on...)

I currently have neither! But I did have a TAG for two years.

Where you got him/her?

I got Sachi from the Golden Cockatoo in Deerfield Beach, FL - they are a speciality bird store.

Do you have children? How does the bird do with them?

No kids, but a dog.

How old was she/he when you got them?

I put the deposit down on Sachi when she was 10 weeks old. Brought her home a little more than a month later.

What is his/her personality like?

Sachi was a clinger. She wanted to be on me at all times - wasn't enough to be near the action, she wanted to BE the action. She was tiny for a TAG and she knew me quite well before she came home as I'd been visiting her at the store everyday for a month while she was being weaned. She wasn't super cuddly but did love it when I (no one else) would give her scritches and she'd let me do almost anything to her (harness training was no problem). She also never really bit me or tested me. She did nail my boyfriend a few times, but never hard enough to break skin.

How playful are they?

She couldn't sit still! Always looked like she was going to leap off of her playstand into your lap. She enjoyed her toys but definitely preferred to be with her person.

What was the biggest challenge?

Meeting my boyfriend. Improper socialization on my part made the transition very difficult for us. She didn't want to share me. I also had two cockatiels and she picked up their flock call...it was LOUD. She developed a screaming problem and it was quite difficult to manage.

What is the biggest reward of owning a TAG/CAG?

Sachi was my first "big" bird. I was totally unprepared for how much work and attention she'd require - but it was worth it. She now lives with my good friend about 15 miles away and we visit with her occasionally. She didn't speak much when I had her, but after my friend fell in love with her and brought her home, she's been chatting it up - she speaks italian now.