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[LovemyCVOgirl]

Thank you Pete7539 and Iski for your funny stories and useful info.  For all the reasons you mentioned above, I have elected to go with a baby Grey. The woman that breeds them is very selective who she sells them to.  I felt like I was going through a job interview after talking to her routine times on the telephone.  This is part of her screening process.  She has 5 breeding pairs and only two pairs are African Grey's.  She said that for every 5 eggs they lay only 1 is fertile.  In one years time she averages on a good year only 5 Grey babies.  She keeps her breeders in cages in a spare bedroom.  She said the breeders are not pets and very mean.  Apparently once they mate up they consider humans as predators and very threatening.  She removes the hatched chick at 3 weeks and takes over the hand feeding.  The chick has not developed a fear of humans at this young age so they are very receptive to receiving the food and attention they are getting.  She said the first 7 or 8 weeks they mostly eat and sleep.  But between 9 to 10 weeks they start showing their personality more and this is when she starts handling them.  My chick is this age now and she is starting to show her curiosity.  She is working with her on her "step up" when she places her hand in front of her feet to get her to get on your finger.  After only one week of interaction with mine the breeder said she is already understanding the command and has attempted to step on finger!  Breeder said that from now until I come get her she will teach/spend hours a day socializing her and touch and hold her.  Of all the chicks she has hatched and sold over her 8 years she states that when they go to their owner at 17 to 18 weeks they all are starting to talk some.  I feel very fortunate to have found this woman and lucky to get one of her babies. 

I will be sure and post every picture she sends me as she is growing!     Today she got her bath and she sent me a picture of her wet!  Notice her little red tail.  I have also named her Jade.

[1sharprdkg]

Lol.  .  Arland the Kimber sell only bought the cage.  .  I'm learning that this is an expensive venture!   

Wow! I knew the birds were expensive, never thought about the cage and stuff.

[OBB]

Sounds like this woman has a lot of knowledge to pass along. Another thing yet to learn is as new feathers form on the backs of their heads and necks where they can't reach, you will have to "preen" them for your pet. The new feathers grow in like a wax coated quill and you'll use your fingers to gently crush that wax to allow the feathers to expand. It's painful for the bird if it doesn't get done. Ask the breeder about this.
I can also see one of our first spring rides (damn I said that didn't I, winter is almost here) will be up to see you girls and your new pet. Just wait until it starts barking like the dogs or repeating you when you call and whistle for the dogs. Mine used to whistle and call the dog when he was bored. And then he'd laugh at the dog when the dog came snooping around to see who called him.   Lord forbid you set off your house alarm more than a half dozen times, Jade will pick that up and associate the fact that when it goes off, you come running. She'll do that to get your attention.

[Pete7539]

Right on Ohio, "pin feathers" I've heard them referred to as. They're what creates a lot of dust around the cage as well. Some of my birds loved to have the coating removed, others not so much. You'll get to learn as to how they tolerate certain areas. I always tested by capping the tip, then working down pinching between thumb and forefinger or middle. The ones that are thicker toward the base are a lot more sensitive. Most important thing is to make sure you're not putting a rotating force into it while you pinch to break the wax shell. That is what hurts and can turn them off to being helped out by you. You'll see what ones they can't get to and need assistance grooming. I think to them its kind of like an ingrown hair trying to break out. Speaking of twisting or twisted... I think it also can turn on some of them lol. A male bird I had would treat the knuckles on my hand like, well....it was another type of knuckle,...you couldn't help but laugh. No harm no foul no mess, it didn't bother me and it was a good laugh for anyone around. Friends nicknamed him Elvis the pelvis because of his "dancing" moves.

[porthole]

Pin feathers - always fun and sometimes quite the challenge.

First aid kit for birds - ask your breeder - very important. A bird can quickly bleed out with a pin feather plucked out too soon or violently.

Ask your breeder about "toweling". With our macaw it was sometimes the only way to handle him (clipping, nails etc). Doing it soon and often and sometimes as a game keeps the anxiety down. Not every toweling should relate to something unpleasant.

Anxious birds, scared birds can self mutilate - pluck whatever feathers they can get too. Those are the "naked" birds you see in rescue.

Like puppies, a tired bird can be a happy bird. We would "exercise our guy by gripping a toe nail while sitting on our hand and getting him to flap his wings. Once flapping he would do this until he was tired, and then nuzzle up for some time together.

Cold drafts - very bad
Teflon pots and pans in the kitchen, toxic odors to the birds. Birds are very sensitive to out of the ordinary odors.

Lots and lots of toys, stuff to chew. But, rotate them so he/she doesn't get bored.
Our guy was an expert at making splinters of whatever we gave him.

Not sure about the Greys, but with macaws it is best to not let them get higher then you, once above they tend to dominate, get mean. The only way we could get our guy off the top of his cage was use a 3' long wooden dowel.

So much to learn, good thing the life time it takes is the lifetime you could potentially have with your bird. 40+ years if in a health environment.

If you plan on traveling with him in the car, a cat - dog carrier works well and the latch is about impossible for them to open. We used a big carrier that I mounted a "roughed up" 1.5" wood dowel in the forward end, with enough room over his head to stand upright.


Be prepared for the mess  

A favorite pastime of ours was to grab a foot full of food and throw it out of the cage - this would always get the dogs running! "Beak sweeping" is fun too.

Diet is very important, not just "bird food".

Only know about the macaws, but our guy ate just about everything we did, besides specific food.

My wife use to sit down on the floor every night and share baby food (the jarred stuff) with the bird, 2 dogs and 2 cats. They would sit in a circle and each get a spoonful.
Ever taste baby food veggies  

Your going to have a blast

[porthole]

And if you are handy, I still have some manzanita branches.

[LovemyCVOgirl]

And if you are handy, I still have some manzanita branches.

Duane thank you for the valuable feedback.  It was very nice of you to take the time to type all that info! 

Are the manzanita branches used in the cage?  Do they have a way to attach them to the cage sides? 

[ultrarider123]

Congrats on the new "baby" coming to you, Judy.

BTW, how did you get Chip to pose so well for your avatar picture....

[LovemyCVOgirl]

Congrats on the new "baby" coming to you, Judy.

BTW, how did you get Chip to pose so well for your avatar picture....

I pulled the picture out of his High School book. 

[Pete7539]

Are the manzanita branches used in the cage?  Do they have a way to attach them to the cage sides?  

Home Depot or Lowes should have screws that are half lag and half machine thread. Or you could drill the ends and just get threaded inserts to drill and tap into the end, then use threaded rod, fender washers, and wingnuts to attach. Just measure out the length you need and cut down the branch. Drill into the end either a pilot hole or a hole big enough for some kind of well nut. If using a well nut loctite the short piece of threaded rod into it. Then slide branch inbetween rails like any other perch. I've used fender washers on both sides, you could get away with just the outside of the cage and then wingnut. Doing it this was will make it easier to take out for the thorough cleanings of the cage. A simpler method would be to cut to length then drill pilot holes, put in place use a fender washer and a wood screw to hold it there. Con to that is more of a pain for cleaning or rearranging things in the cage. Wouldn't go any bigger than 1/4-20. Making them yourself is cheaper than premade and you can get them to fit the way you want and not force it to fit otherwise. Also recommend stainless hardware if you can find.

You could always just make a bunch that attach by one end only, kind of like stairs she could climb up. Then drill out the extended part and attach rope or toys. Lots of options, all fun.

[porthole]

Are the manzanita branches used in the cage?  Do they have a way to attach them to the cage sides? 

Yes to the branches in the cage, or wherever you might make a play stand. See Pete's comments for attachments

The stand below is 5-6 branches screwed together and stood about 4' tall

[LovemyCVOgirl]

Yes to the branches in the cage, or wherever you might make a play stand. See Pete's comments for attachments

The stand below is 5-6 branches screwed together and stood about 4' tall

Your Amazon is beautiful Duane!  I would be interested in your branches!     I could do some really creative things with them for my bird.    Get me a price and I will settle with you.

[porthole]

Zip code?

[LovemyCVOgirl]

Zip code?

43560

[FLHTCUSE7]

43560

That is a great picture from the dragon, love the angle the picture is shot from