what is it like owning a CAG

[Babyrizzmuffin101_ohio]

ive really taken a likeing to african greys, and would love if owners could tell me more about there personality

 

[ScottinSoCal]

You've heard of the "terrible twos" in parenting? Sharing your house with a CAG is like having a small child, for decades.

The baseboard molding in the downstairs powder room is a lost cause, I've completely given up on it. Scooter has shredded it every time I've replaced it. When she's running around in the kitchen, she has to open every cabinet door. If I close one, she races over to open it again. She has a bowl of super bounce balls (small ones she can pick up in her beak) and she'll throw them at me, to let me know that whatever I'm doing isn't as important as playing ball with her. When she wants to go outside, she wants outside NOW. Not in 5 minutes, not when the show is over, RIGHT NOW.
Of course there's also all the good stuff, that makes the rest of it worthwhile to me. She's scary smart. She likes to wrestle with my hand. There's nothing more satisfying than a worn-out Scooter, dozing on a branch in her cage but still awake enough to give out a beak-grind that shows she's happy and content. When I go up to bring her down to the day cage, she runs to the front of her night cage to greet me, and gives me a quick beard groom to let me know she's happy to see me. Little stuff, but worth it.

 

[rheashard2]

CAG personality depends on a lot of factors. They're very smart. Love learning but...they learn what they want. I've had 2. One loved mimicking sounds, action and horror movies with anime chasers. The other loves talk shows, anima, cartoons and comedy sitcoms. Both love watching family play video & computer games. They tend to not like change in routines. I knew that I would be a travel nurse from state to state. So I worked keeping my grey comfortable with traveling. It could be as simple as taking dog outside and trip to corner store. This means trips to veterinarian are taken in stide. Greys have a lot of feather dust. If you or family have allergies this could be a problem. Nothing can emphasize how smart they can be. It took a few years of trial and error before I found parrot dishes that I could change easily but they couldn't remove without work. What ever you decide read books, articles by avian and vets. Check your area for avian and/or exotic vet. You never know if one will be needed. Assess the area you want to place your grey. Get the largest and best quality cage you can afford. There are numerous articles about them. Take your time; Read, think, read think and read, think again any parrot is a major commitment.

 

[rheashard2]

You've heard of the "terrible twos" in parenting? Sharing your house with a CAG is like having a small child, for decades.

The baseboard molding in the downstairs powder room is a lost cause, I've completely given up on it. Scooter has shredded it every time I've replaced it. When she's running around in the kitchen, she has to open every cabinet door. If I close one, she races over to open it again. She has a bowl of super bounce balls (small ones she can pick up in her beak) and she'll throw them at me, to let me know that whatever I'm doing isn't as important as playing ball with her. When she wants to go outside, she wants outside NOW. Not in 5 minutes, not when the show is over, RIGHT NOW.
Of course there's also all the good stuff, that makes the rest of it worthwhile to me. She's scary smart. She likes to wrestle with my hand. There's nothing more satisfying than a worn-out Scooter, dozing on a branch in her cage but still awake enough to give out a beak-grind that shows she's happy and content. When I go up to bring her down to the day cage, she runs to the front of her night cage to greet me, and gives me a quick beard groom to let me know she's happy to see me. Little stuff, but worth it.

You Scooter sounds like he can give my grey a good run. She's not into woodworking. Nope, her goal is to remove all the hooks & eyes from my bras, stitching from zippers and then sneakily getting into my wallet turning paper money into confetti!

 

[ScottinSoCal]

Greys have a lot of feather dust. If you or family have allergies this could be a problem.

The feather dust. First major purchase after Scooter came to live with us was a large HEPA filter that sits next to her cage. The filters are expensive - like $200 every other month - but they keep the feather dust down.

 

[rheashard2]

ive really taken a likeing to african greys, and would love if owners could tell me more about there personality

Found this relatively recent article about financial aspect of grey ownership. It was interesting because I discovered insurance company that covers greys.

How Much Does an African Grey Parrot Cost? 2024 Price Guide | Hepper

Few birds get quite the same reaction as the African Grey parrot. They’re big and beautiful birds that can learn many tricks, but large birds also come with a large cost. From the cost of the bird to all the supplies they need, these pets can be surprisingly expensive. Not only is the upfront...

www.hepper.com

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

I'm so glad I found this thread! THANK YOU for posting it and all the replies! I might end up with a TAG instead of the wanted Congo, but the information is essentially the same

 

[rheashard2]

I'm so glad I found this thread! THANK YOU for posting it and all the replies! I might end up with a TAG instead of the wanted Congo, but the information is essentially the same

Except for looks and size TAG & CAG are the nearly the same! I've read that TAG tend to be less neurotic than CAG. When I was trying to decide between the two I asked my vet. He said that both were so close in neurotic behavior that it only mattered to avian specialists! I ended up with a CAG because that's what breeder had soonest. The biggest thing I've seen with my grey is this: my dog is a pet. Who tries to please me 99%. My grey is my owner and expects my compliance 99%. I mean what are you to do when your grey renames himself 'Richard ' and you 'bird'?

 

[Babyrizzmuffin101_ohio]

You've heard of the "terrible twos" in parenting? Sharing your house with a CAG is like having a small child, for decades.

The baseboard molding in the downstairs powder room is a lost cause, I've completely given up on it. Scooter has shredded it every time I've replaced it. When she's running around in the kitchen, she has to open every cabinet door. If I close one, she races over to open it again. She has a bowl of super bounce balls (small ones she can pick up in her beak) and she'll throw them at me, to let me know that whatever I'm doing isn't as important as playing ball with her. When she wants to go outside, she wants outside NOW. Not in 5 minutes, not when the show is over, RIGHT NOW.
Of course there's also all the good stuff, that makes the rest of it worthwhile to me. She's scary smart. She likes to wrestle with my hand. There's nothing more satisfying than a worn-out Scooter, dozing on a branch in her cage but still awake enough to give out a beak-grind that shows she's happy and content. When I go up to bring her down to the day cage, she runs to the front of her night cage to greet me, and gives me a quick beard groom to let me know she's happy to see me. Little stuff, but worth it.

what is it like, day to day life?

 

[Babyrizzmuffin101_ohio]

CAG personality depends on a lot of factors. They're very smart. Love learning but...they learn what they want. I've had 2. One loved mimicking sounds, action and horror movies with anime chasers. The other loves talk shows, anima, cartoons and comedy sitcoms. Both love watching family play video & computer games. They tend to not like change in routines. I knew that I would be a travel nurse from state to state. So I worked keeping my grey comfortable with traveling. It could be as simple as taking dog outside and trip to corner store. This means trips to veterinarian are taken in stide. Greys have a lot of feather dust. If you or family have allergies this could be a problem. Nothing can emphasize how smart they can be. It took a few years of trial and error before I found parrot dishes that I could change easily but they couldn't remove without work. What ever you decide read books, articles by avian and vets. Check your area for avian and/or exotic vet. You never know if one will be needed. Assess the area you want to place your grey. Get the largest and best quality cage you can afford. There are numerous articles about them. Take your time; Read, think, read think and read, think again any parrot is a major commitment.

i have heard stuff like this before! it can be so surprising how different they can be, thank you for the response

 

[Babyrizzmuffin101_ohio]

Found this relatively recent article about financial aspect of grey ownership. It was interesting because I discovered insurance company that covers greys.

How Much Does an African Grey Parrot Cost? 2024 Price Guide | Hepper

Few birds get quite the same reaction as the African Grey parrot. They’re big and beautiful birds that can learn many tricks, but large birds also come with a large cost. From the cost of the bird to all the supplies they need, these pets can be surprisingly expensive. Not only is the upfront...

www.hepper.com

thank you so much!

 

[rheashard2]

what is it like, day to day life?

They have personality. One day she wants lots of cuddles, praise, and more. Then she's an explorer, wanting to play on top of cage, throw things on floor and demand I pick them up. She will help me crochet. She has her own set of hooks. My daughter works from home. Somehow she knows when informal vid conference is going on. She'll fuss until she can say hello to everyone. Sometimes she sits in cage 'mumbling ' and I can tell she's practicing phrases. The TV has to be on and different shows. Her favorite is/was Phineas and Ferb, any anime, sit coms and talk shows. I show her 'new' or recycled toys every few weeks. If she touches it then she'll play with it. I replace an older one. I trained her to accept an avian harness. That took patience and about a week. She knows that she can get on my shoulder to go outside for walks. Walks depend on weather and about every other month minimum. I take her to pet store to pick out a toy. She loves those outings. This makes her quarterly trips to vet for beak and nail trim less stressful. It's difficult to predict words or phrases she'll say. On one outing she was on my shoulder. A woman asked me if that was a bird. I was in a mood replied 'no it's a cat'! She then began meowing. Her worst habit is answering appropriately questions I ask my daughter. She has inflection, attitude perfect. This can be confusing. She changed my eating habits. I now eat with no salt, sugar, additives etc. I have to eat it and enjoy it or it's rejected. She'll taste hers, then come and taste mine. She can beg better than the dog for treats or whatever I am eating. I avoid 'free range' in house. I'll get distracted then discovered she's destroyed something. Removing all the covers from keyboard keys, eyes, noses from stuffed toys, stitches from clothing and more. Once I had to pull up a chair to the auto opening trash can. She'd lean over sensor, it opens, she waits and it closes then repeat. I have to give her major treats if I don't want to be bothered with that. Be aware introducing a new pet or person into household can cause problems. Greys and most parrots have a jealousy rating in negative digits!

 

[texsize]

We recently passed the 8 year anniversary of bringing home our Bella.
As a rescue and relatively young bird she settled in quickly and is friendly with all family members.

She is much less able to forgive any mistreatment on our part than our amazon parrots.
My amazons can get pissed off for various reasons but a week or two and everything is ok again.
Bella takes longer.

She does have some issues.
Boxes. Anything bigger than say a loaf of bread and she gets scared.
She’s chewed up the woodwork ont door molding.
She’s chewed up the kitchen cabinets.

But
I can’t imagine doing without her.

 

[rheashard2]

We recently passed the 8 year anniversary of bringing home our Bella.
As a rescue and relatively young bird she settled in quickly and is friendly with all family members.

She is much less able to forgive any mistreatment on our part than our amazon parrots.
My amazons can get pissed off for various reasons but a week or two and everything is ok again.
Bella takes longer.

She does have some issues.
Boxes. Anything bigger than say a loaf of bread and she gets scared.
She’s chewed up the woodwork ont door molding.
She’s chewed up the kitchen cabinets.

But
I can’t imagine doing without her.

This is so true! I forgot about the grudge holding! No towel is safe from her. She'll go out of her way to shred them. They're used by vet for beaks and nail trims.

 

[ScottinSoCal]

Once I had to pull up a chair to the auto opening trash can. She'd lean over sensor, it opens, she waits and it closes then repeat.

We have one of those refrigerators with the glass panel door, and you knock on the glass to turn the light on. Scooter likes to sit on the dog gate, where she can reach that glass panel and knock on it with her beak.
Fortunately the lights are LED, so going on and off for an hour doesn't burn anything out.