meshewa
Weaned Todd
Joined: April 2007
Posts: 29
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Post by meshewa on Apr 23, 2007 10:08:19 GMT -7
Hey everyone, I just want to get to know everyone here a little better, and so I was wondering when & how did you realize you were hooked on Greys?
With me, it came over time. When I was in 5th grade, I had to do a report on Macaws. That report sparked an interest in parrots. Later on, when I was in high school, I bought my first bird. He was a white and blue parakeet, who I named Mr. Bojangles. I loved that little bird to death. He would whistle a few toons for me and was just so pleasant. Sadly, he passed away while I was gone on vacation, though I never found out what the cause was.
I missed him so much, that I had to get another bird. I began to research different breeds, and came across the Grey. I was still in high school, so there was simply no way to afford one. My boyfriend at the time convinced me to get a Quaker, as he used to have one. So, I've had my Quaker, Toby, for four years now.
In those past four years though, I've still been looking for a Grey. My fingers are crossed, for one I may be able to get soon.
How about you?
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Post by Penny & Melissa on Apr 23, 2007 11:19:57 GMT -7
Hi! My son asked for a grey for xmas for 2 years. (He was 14). He had been researching them for quite a while. He had a parakeet when he was younger also. I finally gave in after many discussions with him about the care and commitment involved, so he got one for xmas when he was 16. I have learned alot here and in doing research as well. I'm hooked, in fact I do most of the caregiving to Talon, (no, I don't mind). So that's my story, I'm looking forward to hearing others. I hope you fing your grey soon as well!! ;D
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Post by sars on Apr 23, 2007 13:12:14 GMT -7
We were very happy with our Yellow Nape Amazon we had. He was as talented as parrots come.. also very nasty. He was a biter.. I didn't mind much because I knew his way and was able to recognize when he didn't want to be bothered.. We had our twin daughters.. Everything was OK until they were ready for walkers.. At that point the Yellow Nape who was use to being out on his cage had to go in it for fear he would bite my young daughters.. That was the beginning of the end of our relationship.. Soon we had to re home him.. He is still alive and well BTW.. We check on him from time to time.. He is about 20 years old now.. So we always loved birds.. One day we were at Petco and saw this VERY tame Dusky Conure. It was love at first sight. We named him Sammy.. We had Sammy for about a year when disaster struck.. Because of a careless error on my part Sammy was killed by my dogs.. I believe even Cody was unhappy at what had happened.. The family was in shock. We came home from getting coffee in the morning and found feathers ALL OVER THE HOUSE.. Sammy's lifeless body was soon found later.. Days went by and my daughters couldn't get over it.. Erica, the one on the left was deeply saddened.. She happened to see all the feathers.. I have to admit my heart was broken worse then theirs was.. So, I did the best thing a father could do.. I brought a new baby home.. We chose the Grey because in looking at birds to buy Ceasar made the sale... It's been a joy ever since.. especially meeting everyone here in Grey land.. Hey, what can I tell you.. you wanted a story.. you got one.. ;D BTW.. see that red feather on his ankle.. He's got a tiny Red Factor going on...
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Post by judygram on Apr 23, 2007 14:47:46 GMT -7
He sure does doesn't he, Frank. I have always liked birds but never had any except for a few parakeets when I was a skinny kid at home. About 6 years ago my son gave me a pair of society finches. It turned out to be a couple and she layed eggs. The first batch did not hatch but one in the second go around did. They both fed and took care of the baby and it grew and I kept it. Soon more eggs appeared and more hatched. I gave away probably 10 to 12 birds here and there until she finally died, probably wore her out. After the male died I bought a pair of zebra finches. The female died last year and I still have the male. I won't be replacing the finch, they are not a bird you can let sit on your finger. I wanted a bird that I could take out of the cage and play with so I researched and decided to get a sun conure. I enjoyed her so much that I decided to get another bigger bird and lo and behold I chose a grey, preferably a Cag. I think they are beautiful birds and the fact that most of them talk is a plus. Now that I have her I cannot imagine life without her. I am hooked. They are wonderful companions and you have chosen wisely. This is my story and I'm sticking to it.
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scook20
Weaned Todd
Sammy Birdie
Joined: April 2007
Posts: 72
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Post by scook20 on Apr 23, 2007 14:49:03 GMT -7
When I went to college I started out living in the dorms, and I hated it! I always had animals growing up and I missed living in the country terribly. Well after living in the god awful dorms for two years I got an apartment and really wanted to get a pet again....but our apartment didn't allow cats or dogs. OK, so I know what you're thinking, I only got a bird by default but that is not true...After doing much MUCH research on birds (I'm not exactly sure why I wanted a bird at that point) I actually decided I wanted an Eclectus. I had seen one at one of our local pet stores and it was love at first sight. So again I did my research and found a store that I could trust and put a down payment on an egg. I wanted a male (Eclectus are one of the few dimorphic parrots) Well bad news came. The only male of the bunch had died unexpectedly. At this point I had been going into this pet store continuously and became very well acquainted with all the birds in the store. One day the owner happened to mention his concern for one of the Greys. He was over four months old and he was worried that he wasn't going to find a home. Well I started to get to know this Grey....started doing my research on Greys and fell in love with him.....the rest is history! I wouldn't change what happened for anything....
I think I chose to get a bird because I was going through a tough time in my life and learned how sympathetic birds were...I know this is a bad reason to get one, but in a way, Sam helped me through a really tough time.
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Post by Adele on Apr 23, 2007 19:24:17 GMT -7
I had cockatiels growing up so I loved birds. I went traveling through central america with my husband and one family we met had an amazon. It was such a cute parrot and a total comedian. He repeated me and my husband within minutes of hearing us. At that time, I began to want a parrot. I began to research and decided on getting either an amazon, eclectus, macaw, african grey or caique. Finally, my husband found a grey for sale that was sick and very cheap (we didn't realize what a problem that is and wished we had known more about morally compromised sellers). He brought me to see him and he(Manzi) was adorable but the whole situation was a bit sad as he wasn't even weaned yet. Anyways, we decided to buy him. On the way home we were regretting it as he screamed the whole time and we wondered how fast it would take to get evicted from our apartment. It was only a matter of days before the screaming stopped and he is now famous, luckily not for his noise, in our apartment complex. We named him Manzi. I am very glad that we got a grey after learning more about other parrots and I love our/my Manzi.
In May I am doing a presentation with him to kids in our complex and neighboring complex (I was told there will be about 30+ kids) where I will introduce him, talk about general parrot care and then show them all of Manzi's tricks.
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dblhelix
Weaned Todd
Kipusa!
Joined: January 2007
Posts: 63
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Post by dblhelix on Apr 23, 2007 20:05:38 GMT -7
I grew up with a red lored Amazon that my Grandmother has had for over 36 years! When I was young I would spend summers in Switzerland and constantly play with the bird...he would sit on mike bicycle handle bars as I rode around playing outside (dangerous). He was/is quite mean with folks he does not know, but I learned a lot about birds and reading body language from playing with him. He remembers me year after year when I go to visit, though it takes a day or two from him to warm up to me. He is wild caught and has always been fully flighted so I really learned about managing door opening, windows etc. I then had my own cockatiel for 12 years (Tiki) followed by my budgie (Lucky) who passed last August after 13 wonderful years. what a great little bird a budgie is. Very under-rated, with vocab potential in the 100s of words if you work with them... All these aforementioned birds have been fully flighted and spent hours out of the cage every day. Throughout all this I always had a keen interest in Greys. I would spend time in petshops and other places visiting them, reading about them etc but they were cost prohibitive as a kid. They intrigued me because of their obvious intelligence and yet sort of mysterious quite nature. You can tell there is a lot going on their heads as they analyze you, situations etc. Also they seemed like a bird you had to work a bit to get to know you and trust you, plus their potential to use the human language so well also was a high point. A while after Lucky passed my Wife decided it was time to get another pet. She brought home a bird magazine (knowing that I was always interested in greys) and many visits to breeders/pet shops and several months later we added Kipusa to the family...Whew! ;D She is absolutely great so far and I imagine it will only get better I feel like I just wrote a book!!
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Post by maggiemay on Apr 23, 2007 20:07:54 GMT -7
It all started at a pet shop the employee had a Quaker Parrot on his shoulder, the parrot flew directly to me and it was love at first sight. That same evening I did some research and was so amazed on how smart these little parrots really are! One week went by, all I could do is talk about this parrot, my hubby taught I was going nuts! Went back to the pet shop and there he was waiting for me and guess what he flew back to me again, I finally bought the Quaker and the owner was so sad to see him go and said that if I could not handle the bird he would gladly take him back full refund . I named him Louie (in memory of my beloved brother who passed on). We have such a special bond, Louie is such a good talker and smart From then on the love of parrots grew stronger and stronger I HAVE THE PARROT FEVER ;D. Every time I go to the pet shop the first place I would go see are the parrots, I became more and more interested in the African Grey. There was an Avian show in my area that I attended, and met a breeder of Cags she had two babies and guess what one of the babies flew directly to me and Rocky it was!! to join the family, it's six months now and we are in love! I cannot imagine life without my babies Louie and Rocky. We are all hooked on Grey's, it's a good drug LOL My fingers are crossed for you, I hope that you will get your Grey soon. Maggie
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Post by spookyhurst on Apr 23, 2007 22:39:08 GMT -7
When I was a little kid (about 7 or so), a friend of my grandma's had a little parakeet named Bobby. He talked up a storm, I thought he was very cool. From then on, I wanted a bird. I don't remember how long it took to convince my parents, but I got my little Bobby (I was quite original, wasn't I ) probably within a year or so. My older brother wanted one too, so he got Joey a couple weeks later. Once he lost interest, Joey moved into my room to be with Bobby. Neither one ever talked, but it didn't really matter. Bobby died at the age of 6 (probably lead poisoning from his old cage), and Joey died at the age of 10 (a stroke). I really wanted another bird (I looked around at several pet stores), but at the same time, I didn't want to go through the heartbreak of losing a pet again. About 9 months later, I decided to look once again. I had decided against parakeets because of their short lifespan, and was looking at either getting a Quaker, Conure, or a bird I don't remember the name of (he was grey, but had a small band of color across his chest that were pastel colors). This was probably the time that I decided I would realllllyyy like a Grey, but it just wasn't affordable. I ended up buying a Dusky Headed Conure named Jesse James (the CAG in a nearby cage was ever so attractive though and kept showing off trying to get me to come back and look at him some more). Ten years later, I moved out of state to go to college. I couldn't take Jesse with me at the time, but planned on looking for an apartment that allowed birds and moving him down in about 6 months. Jesse lasted about 1 month with my mom and dad before they sold him to a neighbor . I have no idea if he is even still alive, because the neighbor gave him to their son/daughter-in-law, who I did not exactly consider to be pet owner material. The worst part was that I ended up back at home 3 months later due to illness, so they sold Jesse for no reason. I missed Jesse terribly, and dreamed about him often. It's crazy, but I would wake up muttering, "I WANT MY BIRD BACK I WANT MY BIRD BACK." I drove my parents crazy with, "Remember when Jesse did (enter anecdote here)?" After mourning Jesse for 3 years (and harboring fantasies of birdnapping), I started looking for birds again. I still wanted a Grey, but still couldn't afford one. I also had to choose a non-screamer because my dad hates noise, especially animal noise. I decided on either a Pionus or Senegal. While looking for breeders on the internet, I came across a bird rescue (Tuscon Avian Rescue & Adoption). Suddenly a Grey became a viable option, because their adoption rates were very reasonable. This was in May, 2005. In August, a one eyed CAG was available, but I didn't yet feel prepared, and also was leaning more towards a TAG. I was already buying bird stuff in preparation for my new friend so that I wouldn't have to spend gobs of money all at once. In September, I had the cage. I felt like by the time a bird became available (I was thinking at least another 6 months), I would be ready. Then in October, I got the latest adoption list late at night. On it was Nikko. I just felt like she was the one meant for me. I emailed right away, and managed to be the first one to ask about her. They said they didn't normally hold birds for someone (I hadn't taken the mandatory parrot care class), but they decided to make an exception. The next week was a blur of trying to buy everything I needed, getting the home visit to make sure I'd be a good mommy, taking the class, etc. Nikko has been with us every since . I came close to adding an additional Grey a couple weeks later. I had to take Nikko back to Tucson (a 3 hour drive) for a checkout (she had a bacterial infection when I took her home). I met Harry, a CAG who was found lose in the city and that no one had claimed. He really liked me. He sat on my arm and made his phone ringing sound, and when the vet came to take him, he protested and tried to stay with me. He reached through the bars of Nikko's carrier and gave her a kiss too . It would have been so easy to bring him home, but I couldn't afford another cage and another adoption fee .
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Post by traci on Apr 28, 2007 0:48:24 GMT -7
my story is, that I worked for petsmart and one day I went in and there was this awesome bird in the habitat, my dept manager said he came from another store and that he was mean, Traci spend some time with him and see what you can do ( ohh yay, I was thrilled ) well I spent 4 months or so with this bird that I named Goober, I got him talking, whistiling andy griffith theme song ect... he knew the moment I walked in the store, and he would drop what ever he was doing to come and give me kisses, as you can tell, WE BONDED.. he was becoming a one person bird and didnt like anyone else doing for him ( it was becoming an issue with the others, Goober only wants Traci ) I could do anything with him, flip him on his back what not. I tried to get them ( petsmart ) to work out something with me so I could have him and they wouldnt do it. I couldnt afford 1500.00 that they wanted. So needless to say he did end up being sold and I refused to be the one to pack him up, they sold him to some one who just wanted a PARROT... ( go figure ) I cried like a 40 yr old baby for days I missed and still miss him dearly. I have his pic on my old cell phone, a co worker came in with this add she found, baby greys for sale hand fed ect,,,, 750.00... HAPPY DANCE... I called the guy told him my petsmart story and begged him to hold one for me that i didnt care male or female, I had my choice of 2, I picked the one who bit me and pooped on me,, and have had Boo for almost 3 years now.... ;D
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Post by sars on Apr 28, 2007 1:17:25 GMT -7
HI Traci, That's such a sad story. Petsmart should have worked something out for you. I am sure you love your boo now but Goober misses you too..
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Post by sars on Apr 28, 2007 1:20:12 GMT -7
=what a great little bird a budgie is. Very under-rated, with vocab potential in the 100s of words if you work with them... You ain't kidding Mark. They really are GREAT birds. At $19.95 their a steal too..
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jeanne
Weaned Todd
Kaew
Joined: January 2007
Posts: 26
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Post by jeanne on Apr 28, 2007 8:01:47 GMT -7
I didn't realize I needed a Grey in particular, but a Grey needed me. Last year, when we were still living in Hong Kong, one of my colleagues was running a rescue center for abandoned pets. I grew up with a budgie that learned to speak and was the most important member of our family but I wanted a parrot. One day, my colleague came to work and told me that she was taking a parrot from a who couldn't keep it any longer and she was looking to re-home it. I went to visit Kaew at my friend's place and decided that I could do something for this bird so we took her home that very night. And so the adventure began. A few months later, we had to leave Hong Kong and move to Singapore but we couldn't leave Kaew behind so despite the bird flu outbreak in Asia and the costs we managed to bring her along. With her and the cat, it's like having Animal Channel live, at home every day.
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Post by traci on Apr 28, 2007 9:55:07 GMT -7
ty c-dad... Boo is my bud, my main man... hes awesome & wouldnt trade him in for the world.. ;D
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notuo821
Just Hatched
Joined: November 2005
Posts: 9
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Post by notuo821 on May 13, 2007 2:11:23 GMT -7
I have to tell this. I have never been a animal person be it dog or anything else never considerd a bird till I met my friends CAG a few of years ago. My friend being someone I played online games with decited to throw a party and I was invited to stay over at her place being that I lived in central Califorina and she lives in the Pheonix Az. We had been friends for about a year before I met her in real life although We spoke on the phone and in game often She would tell me about her three birds Soldier (CAG), Merlin (Lessor sulpher crested cockatoo) and also Max (blue and gold Macaw) her 2 dogs and what not. I just really thought she is just one of them animal Loving people that are a little off about what there animals can do.
When I went to stay at her house I wake up to Honey want to go out for a smoke? then to a reply of sure babe. then I hear can you grab me a Pepsi before you come outside. thinking my friend and her husband are up I walk down the stairs and outside to no one there. and the room really silent. Ok so I must just be hearing things so went back up stairs only to hear good morning. so I go down stairs again yet no one is up. Then as I walk up the stairs I jear my friends laughter. Only to turn around and see it is her CAG laughing at me. I was sold I knew I just had to have a African Grey In my life.
I have since spent alot of time in AZ. since then even have stayed there for 3 months last year. Unfortantily I have been on some waiting lists to get a (CAG) I have not found one yet I am hoping this summer will bring me my Shadow (the name I am giving my grey boy or girl) although I have been blessed when she Gave me cage and All with Merlin she just said He is so happy when I come around and gets blue when I leave. She did not want to sell him she just knew Having merlin in my life would be better for both of us and the fact I been the only one to take him out in the last three years of his cage without a fight. But still hope to get a (CAG) when I can find a good breader or a pet store that cares for there birds. I have also been saving up have read all the Parrot books I could find.
(ps. Sorry for rambling on about this.Also my grammer and spelling errors. I never been good with wrighting anything.
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