Let me re-introduce myself and my new bird!

[ValleybNY]

OK so I introduced myself about 2 months ago and I was still deciding which kind of bird I was going to get. And I got one yesterday! I search high and low but there just wasn't that "spark" I must have visited a dozen breeders and a dozen bird specialty shops and I finally found my love!

I am Valerie and I am originally from Long Island NY but i just moved to Northern virginia (right outside of DC). I moved here with my dog Mia, and my long time boyfriend Marco and his mastiff Bosco. Yesterday my new baby came home with us! We haven't named him yet but we have a few names picked out!



He has already been sexed before i got him so i know he's a HE. I have never seen this kind of bird or even heard about it before so I have been doing non-stop research but I am running out of websites with info. Does anyone know anything about african cape parrots? I think they also go by Olive/Brown headed parrots. From what i understand they are endangered in the wild and rare in captivity, but thats not why I got him. He was the cutest little guy in the shop. He took to my boyfriend and I as soon as we held him.
So as i said we havent picked out his name yet. I want Flint (like Long John Silvers parrot in Treasure Island) or Tycho (pronounced Tee-co, after a Danish Astronomer who discovered the Supernova) but if anyone has a suggestions I would love to hear them! thanks!

Isnt he the cutest!!!

[dohcsvt]

Good luck with your new family member. I am sure that Michael will weigh in as I believe this is the type of bird that Truman is. Hope you have many wonderful years together!!

[Michael]

It's a Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus of either the sauhelicus or fuscicollis subspecies. The suahelicus tend to be larger and have less red in the neck giving them a greyer appearance. Thus the suahelicus is sometimes called the Grey Headed Parrot and the fuscicollis the Brown Necked Parrot. Neither of these two subspecies of Cape Parrot are particularly endangered though they are far from common. The nominate of the species Poicephalus robustus robustus is the yellow/olive colored one resident to South Africa that is in fact critically endangered. These are not found in captivity in the United States at all. Welcome to the forum and good luck.

[ValleybNY]

Thanks Dohcsvt and Michael!

Hey Michael, Thanks for the info, I was having a hard time placing which species Nigel is (I finally decided on a name, Nigel like Nigel Thornberry:Im a 90's kid what can I say lol). And also I think I can safely say that the youtube videos I saw of Truman the cape is YOUR Truman. He's adorable! Also the video of Truman at the pet store, if Im not mistaken, thats Ida's pet store right?!? in mineola! I used to go to NCC and during my breaks I would go there to play in the Jungle Room! Isn't it the best in there!?!? I plan on bringing Nigel there to get his wings and toes clipped, hows is she with Truman? every time I've seen her with a bird she seemed to be gentle and do a good job but I want to know from someone who knows first hand. Thanks!

[Michael]

I don't let anyone touch Truman's wings. As much as I enjoy going to that store, there is no way I would let her or anyone trim my Cape Parrot. I wouldn't be surprised is she mistakenly tried to trim the beak and cause undo harm on the bird. I would suggest learning to trim the talons yourself and leaving the rest untouched.

[ValleybNY]

I would love to let Nigel fly freely thru my house but I have two dogs. I trust them whole heartedly but I would hate for them to accidentally step on Nigel or lick him or even have him just falling in their water bowls. I just don't think it would be a good idea in my situation to have a flighted bird. I purchased two cages with play tops, a table top play gym (for my office) and a play stand for the living room when we are watching TV. He's has really taken to them! I am trying to compensate for not letting him fly with interesting toys and play places. He flutters and stretches his wings out once in awhile but im starting to think he thinks he's a dog! the only time he ever makes "loud" noises is after the dogs bark....Its quite humorous!
So anyways back to getting his talons, wings and beak done: So I take it you don't trust Ida to do them? I don't think I would do a good job and I even get nervous doing the dogs nails (I have the groomer do them) So do you suggest anyone else to do them? Do you think i should go to Marc Marrone's place in Rockville Center instead? Or just have the vet do them?

[Michael]

No, seriously. I wouldn't trust anyone to perform grooming on my Cape Parrot. My Senegal Parrot, sure I've had Ida do it and a vet. I prefer to do it myself now but I could conceive letting one of them do it again. The Cape Parrot, no way. For multiple reasons. First of all, I don't think Cape Parrots should have their beaks or wings trimmed at all. Further, they can get really phobic/upset about intrusions. I think a more slow/gentle approach to trimming is necessary rather than the grab snip snip snip approach that professionals tend to use.

I only trim Truman's talons and I have always done it myself. I'm not necessarily saying to do it yourself if you don't know how or haven't seen it done before. It's a dilemma. I knew how to do it from my Senegal Parrot so I was ready to deal with it on my Cape from the start. But from my experiences, I cannot name a single professional groomer that I would so much as consider allowing to work on my Cape for the reasons mentioned.

Whereabouts in LI are you?

[ValleybNY]

OK thanks! I just moved from Oyster Bay like a month ago. But I go back once a month to see the fam and what not. and as for the grooming thing, I understand and respect your views on grooming, I think its great to have those skills to trim nails and be able to keep their wings as they are but I had a terrible experience with my dog Mia, when I first adopted her and her nails. I went to school for two classes that day so I must have been gone for about 4 hours and when I came home she was hanging by one of her back nails that were stuck in my lace curtians! It was AWFUL! I have no idea how long she was like that but it was bleeding and terribly uncomfortable for her! I rushed her to the vet and she bandaged her up and expressed to me how important it is to keep all pets nails trimmed because you never know what they could get into.
Maybe we could have a little Cape Playdate one day when im back in NY lol

[GlassOnion]

I really think that it's illogical to clip a bird if you have other household pets. If a bird lands on the floor, there is no escape from the dogs. Flight is given to birds for their safety. If you say that it's safer for your Cape to be clipped due to your dogs, it's like saying that you're gonna leave the doors unlocked in order to prevent intruders.

Birds in the wild rely on flight to escape from predators. My birds would've been eaten by our cat a long time ago if they were clipped, no doubts about that.

[Cage Cleaner]

I really think that it's illogical to clip a bird if you have other household pets. If a bird lands on the floor, there is no escape from the dogs. Flight is given to birds for their safety. If you say that it's safer for your Cape to be clipped due to your dogs, it's like saying that you're gonna leave the doors unlocked in order to prevent intruders.

Birds in the wild rely on flight to escape from predators. My birds would've been eaten by our cat a long time ago if they were clipped, no doubts about that.

Agreed. This was the initial reason why I didn't clip my bird. I live on a ranch with plenty of wild critters from both land and sky, as well as an outdoor cat. In case... just in case the cat got inside, or the bird got outside, I wanted him to have some survival skills--meaning escape.