Thinking of getting a CAG, have some questions

[lylieblythe]

I went to a petstore this weekend and met and fell in love with an 8 month old female CAG. Every CAG I've met has been rather aloof, just standing there and staring at you. This one was on her back playing with her toys and reminded me of a puppy, very dorky, playful, and (unfortunately) clumsy. She has fallen off her cage several times and has split open her chest. The guy at the store said they are in the process of letting her flight feathers grow out and will give her a chance to learn to fly again before reclipping. I didn't think to ask if she'd been to the vet to make sure she didn't crack her keep bone, but can ask. My biggest concern is adopting this bird and her continuing to be a klutz. Will letting her flight feathers grow out and letting her fly correct the klutzy problem? Would it be in her best interest to keep her flighted? Another question I have is: Is the playful activitly something every baby CAG goes thru? Will she mellow out or is this likely her personality at this point? And is 8 months old still considered a baby? I'm concerned because I've also heard that when they go thru birdy puberty they'll shun the momma and want to "mate" with the other person in the house.

Any and all info is appreciated!!

[Suzzique]

The first thing I would ask is if she has been to the vet for her falls. As long as she has gotten a clean bill of heath from the vet you are good to go. Baby cag's are extreamly klutcy even flighted. They do grow out of this. At 8 months she is still very much a baby. You will not start having problems until she at least 2 and even then it might not be that bad. Letting her flights grow out and allowing her to fly is great! If you get her it will be up to you weather or not you want to keep her flighted. All my birds have always been flighted and I will never change that. However there are draw backs to having them flighted. They can go anywere they want. Which means bird profing your house. Though it's not that hard to teach them where they can't go. They might anyway once in a while just like a little kid. What you see is what you get with her. She might mellow a bit but most likely not. So if she is playful now she will always be playful. Cag's are wonderful and not just because they have the best talking ability.

Alex my cag will be 3 (he will then be concidered an adult) in July and he is still very much a momma's boy. He does like to visit with the rest of the house hold. This is a good thing. The more people that they are exposed to the better. There is always the chance that one day he wont want me anymore but until that happens I'm not going to worry about it.

Hope this helps and let us know if you get her.

[lylieblythe]

When you say I won't have "problems" until she's 2, what problems are you referring to? I have heard that if you are the primary care giver when he/she is a baby, a lot of times he/she will prefer the other person in the house. Anything else specific with these birds that I should know about?

[Suzzique]

What I mean is that at about 2 they are like teenagers. They will push what they can get away with, they can be moody, they might get a bit cage aggressive (not very often with cags). They might get more nippy. They might not be the cuddle buddy they were as babys. An example with Alex is that when he was younger he never even noticed if I was standing up folding things like large towles, sheets ect. But now when he sees me doing this he will fly over and try to land on my had or the item I'm folding and bite me. I see him coming and will drop my hands so he can't land. Sometimes he will try again and sometimes he wont. I'm not quit sure why large things are bad now but they are. This didn't start until after he was 2.

I am Alex's primary caregiver but I have always encuraged him to spend time with everyone else in the family. If I've had him or sometimes when I've just picked him up he will fly from me to someone else. I never show that I care if he spends time with someone else. Even if I had really wanted to spend time with him. The same goes for if I pick him up and he flys back to his cage or playstand. If he doesn't want to spend time with me he doesn't have to. I might be bummed but that is my problem not his. So to this end so far I am still his favirot person. The changing loyalties can happen with any bird no matter the size. My daughters oldest gcc was so totally her partners baby but when he got older he chose her insted. It doesn't mean that her partner doesn't still have a relationship with the gcc it's just different. The same will go for a cag. It's just a chance we take. Sometimes it will happen and sometimes it wont. The better socialized they are the fewer problems overall you will have. That includes the changing loyalties.

[lylieblythe]

Well, my fiance and I discussed the CAG at the pet store yesterday, and then he did some research on his own. He spoke with one of the local breeders, we went by the breeder's house yesterday, and I am now the proud owner of a 3 week old baby CAG! We decided that it would be better to start with a new baby. I just had a lot of concerns about the pet store CAG falling off her cage. I also talked to the owner of the pet store and she told me that the bird was rather skittish. I know it can happen with any bird, but I figured I might be better off with a baby. So... I guess I have to wait 2 to 3 months to bring the little rascal home. I am soooo excited!!! My fiance was not into birds at all before we met and didn't understand why I loved them so much. He'd started interacting with one of my GCCs and I showed him some videos online about greys and I think I've created another parront. He was fascinated with a double yellow head amazon yesterday and tried to convince me to switch. I held to my guns though, as I've wanted a CAG for years now. Anyway, I'm babbling now. Just wanted to let everyone know. And all advise, links for CAGs, etc would be greatly appreciated!

[Suzzique]

Congrats on your new baby even though you wont get him/her for a few months! You are going to love your . They are so cool! Just remember that though they are known for thier talking ablity some never do talk. Alex was almost 2 before he said anything. But he did do lots of sounds and he has always done lots of "singing". The more you socialize your cag the better. Introduce him to as meny people as you can. This will make things easier when he gets older and more set in his ways. Baby greys are VERY clumsy. If you plan on allowing your baby to be flighted make sure to let the breeder know so that the baby is allowed to fledge. It's good for them and helps with balance.

I got a book called African Grey Parrots buy Maggie Wright. It has lots of good general info about greys. I personally don't hold with everything she talks about, but it was a good starting point. I also found a forum that I liked and asked lots of questions.