Surprise! I saw my baby again yesterday! (Pictures!)

[Lullx]

It was really short notice, but yesterday I was able to go visit my baby congo african grey at the aviary!
I went up with my boyfriend and finished paying for Little One, so I officially own a grey! Just... Not physically yet ):

But of course I took more pictures and videos for all of you!
LO's older sibling is perching, so my little one should be soon, then we get to find out the gender! The breeders think LO is a girl, but they've been wrong before. I'm still hoping for a boy, but it truly doesn't matter anymore to me.
After my experience with LO yesterday, nothing that was causing me anxiety matters anymore. I am so in love with this tiny dinosaur. With my tiny dinosaur.

Both babies are in the weaning cage now, and no longer require a heating pad to keep warm. So we got to snuggle and pet my baby for about an hour!
The breeders wrapped LO gently in a towel and plopped her on my lap. I could feel her shaking so badly, but that quickly stopped once we started petting her.

So I unwrapped the towel a bit for easier access to pets and lovings.

Little One eventually ditched the towel on her own and tried climbing on my boyfriend, Rob.

But got a little tired from pooping on him and decided to rest for a moment in his jacket.

Then it was my turn to be climbed on!

(That smile! I can't handle it!)

She saw herself in my front-facing camera and realized how cute she is.

And finally, the moment where I very nearly cried in front of everyone and passed the point of no return.
My Little One snuggled up against me and fell asleep in my arms

I also took a couple very short videos, which can be viewed in the links!
Rob holding Little One
Seeing herself in the camera
Getting some loves from both Rob and myself
And, Rob holding and petting her

Little One warmed up to us within minutes and handled the entire encounter really well! She was really curious and tried exploring, but her legs aren't quite strong enough to really get around, especially not on squishy humans. The breeders also said that they're not eating veggies yet, but have accidentally eaten some while playing with them haha

The breeders also want me to come back up on May 3rd, which of course I'm super excited about! And I should know the gender by then

 

[Birdman666]

Looks like a happy bird!

Yeah, when they're looking to explore at this age that's a good sign...

The seventh picture down, that's definitely a big birdie smile!

 

[Lullx]

I was so nervous at first, and I know she could sense that.
I'm so embarrassed to admit that I'd never handled a grey prior to this.
I've only met a few in person, and they were "aggressive" and not allowed to be handled. Those poor loves ):

But it only took us both a couple of minutes to get used to each other and get comfy.
They have a dog and a cat, but the greys haven't really met the dog yet, so she kept getting really scared when the dog came over to see us (the breeders had to remove the dog from the house for a little bit), and when the cat walked by. They'll be able to play on the floor and interact with the other animals and more people soon. All of the babies leave that aviary well rounded and used to lots of new things, they're just too young still. But when she'd get scared, she huddled against me and I'd put my hand on her and whisper to her and she'd calm back down. It made my heart melt.

LO even played with my bracelet a little! So I got to play tug a little bit with her.

But oh my, when she fell asleep on me. I never stood a chance.

 

[Birdman666]

CAGS tend to be handled on their own terms. If they don't know you, they can often be skittish, stand offish, or defensive and bitey...

If they get handled by a bunch of people from a young age, they generally accept it. If they don't - there is a good chance they might not like going to people they don't know.

My CAG goes after the cat. Making a cat's life miserable is just another way of amusing himself. We didn't have to worry about the cat going after the bird...

 

[Lullx]

This aviary documents the journey that all of their babies go through on Facebook, and when the babies are just a little older than mine is now, they have their daughter and her friends come over and play with and handle them.

I guess sometimes their babies are able to say a couple of words by the time they go to their new homes. I feel really comfortable with how this aviary goes about raising their babies. They also only have one clutch a year, so the babies (only two this time) get so much attention and care. I guess the wife used to run a pet store where she raised a bunch of babies, and they've been doing this for about 20 years, I believe she said. The husband also raises the babies, but the wife is definitely the primary caregiver.

Little One took to me and my boyfriend in just a couple of minutes. The breeders left the room entirely for a while after they handed her to me. I can't wait to go back in a few weeks when she's perching and playing more! But this was such a wonderful start, and I'm so grateful to have had this opportunity to bond with her when she's still so young. I know that she won't bond with me until she leaves the aviary, but it was really important to me that she wasn't afraid of either of us.

 

[Birdman666]

That's the right way to do it. CAGS raised in isolation tend to be phobic and fearful.

CAGS start talking at a very young age. Tusk was speaking complete sentences at six months.

 

[Lullx]

I didn't realize they often talked so young! I was under the impression that most don't really "get" talking until about 12 months.
I have no expectations of mine learning to talk, but since I'm going to be working with her so much and spending a lot of time with her, I think she'll be very likely to be a talker.
I feel so at ease after handling her yesterday. I'm so ready for the grey life.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Oh my gosh, Britt, that was THE best kept secret, HAHAHAH! Your baby looks STUNNING!!!! I know you had to have been so over the moon!!

Incredible how fast they grow, isn't it??

 

[Birdman666]

No.

If you work with them, they will pick it up fairly readily from a young age.

Just off hand feeding young...

If you teach them things in context, and use language appropriately and in context, they will pick it up in context, and use it back with you in context.

 

[Doublete]

My grey only used about 12 sentences. His context was amazing.
The very strange thing was my roommates grey that she raised and I think hand fed herself when he was in high school didn't speak a word. He had sounds but no words. And when he was around my grey basically stopped talking. Mot of it came back after the two years they lived with us.

 

[Lullx]

Thank you, Birdman. I'm feeling pretty confident about all of this finally
My anxiousness had to break sometime. You've been a huge help to me over the weeks, and I can't thank you enough.
What food would you recommend for a treat when training a CAG? I use a sprig of millet for my smaller birds, since they'll do just about anything for it and it's easy for me to give them quickly after they complete the task. I also use a clicker. Obviously millet isn't a good reward for a CAG.

Wendy! I'm still completely over the moon. I never came back down haha
Been daydreaming all of yesterday and again today. LO is just so precious. And I'm really warming up to the idea of having a girl. I know that the way you raise them has more to do with how they handle things than their gender does. I'm going in with a totally open mind. I used to be really worried about a girl, until I did more research on the species.

Doublete, that's really interesting! I'm concerned my Little One will come home with an array of macaw noises because of the environment she's being raised in haha
And worried that my conure Genevieve will teach her to laugh, and then they'll gang up on me and laugh at me all day. Genevieve thinks it's hilarious to make fun of my laugh, my sneeze, ect. In all fairness, her laughter makes me laugh even more, and it's a never ending cycle. They bring me so much joy

 

[Bandespresso]

Ohmygosh I am in love just from the pictures! I can't even imagine how over the moon you must be! And that breeder sounds superb i wish they were all that great

 

[Lullx]

I got pretty lucky with this aviary. They're genuinely really nice people and easy to talk to. They answer all of my silly questions and I can tell they really care about the birds and know what they're doing.

I originally got into contact with them last year when I was trying to find a turquoise conure breeder. They used to breed them, but had to downsize their breeding pairs because the wife's mother grew very sick and she needed to take time off from her work to care for her. I guess they only kept their CAGs and a B&G pair.
Now they're slowly building their pairs back up. They have two CAG pairs, but only the one is proven right now, and they have Blue and Golds that they're waiting to bond more before putting them in the closed aviary to hopefully lay eggs. The previous female became egg bound and died ): So they got a new female and are hoping their boy likes her enough to breed with her.

I wish more aviaries did things like they do. And I guess they do ship their babies all over. They said that I'm the most "local" person yet, and I'm 45 minutes away!
The other baby is going to a family friend of theirs, who is several hours away in a different part of the state.

But I'm feeling so confident in my decision and haven't seen anything that was troubling. My baby looks so gorgeous and happy and healthy, as does the sibling (they think the older chick is a boy).

And I finally have a roost cage, so that's one less thing to worry about! I've been working on my anxiety and am hoping to get it totally under control by the time LO comes home with me.

 

[Birdman666]

My CAG's favorite treat is Cashews. You can get a big bucket of unsalted cashew nut pieces for around ten bucks. That will last you quite awhile if you're just using them for training treats.

 

[Birdman666]

I know that the way you raise them has more to do with how they handle things than their gender does. I'm going in with a totally open mind. I used to be really worried about a girl, until I did more research on the species.

YEAH. I WOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT THAT TOO MUCH...

Doublete, that's really interesting! I'm concerned my Little One will come home with an array of macaw noises because of the environment she's being raised in.

ACTUALLY, RAISING THEM WITH MACAWS AND AMAZONS (BOTH VERY CONFIDENT OUTGOING SPECIES NOT PRONE TO PLUCKING) TENDS TO HELP THEM WITH CONFIDENCE ISSUES... MINE HAS BEEN AROUND AMAZONS AND MACAWS ALL HIS LIFE...

And worried that my conure Genevieve will teach her to laugh, and then they'll gang up on me and laugh at me all day. Genevieve thinks it's hilarious to make fun of my laugh, my sneeze, ect. In all fairness, her laughter makes me laugh even more, and it's a never ending cycle. They bring me so much joy.

I'D BE MORE WORRIED ABOUT YOUR CAG FIGURING OUT THE CLICKER NOISE, AND THEN MESSING WITH YOUR HEAD, AND YOUR OTHER BIRD'S HEAD... (OH, YES, THEY DO!!!)

(WELL, MINE DOES, ANYWAY... )

 

[Lullx]

So nuts are good for training? I've heard of some people using pine nuts, but those are VERY expensive here ):

I just need some ideas for what to offer to see what she really likes.
Would plain cheerios be okay? And is it okay to switch up the reward food with CAGs? Or should the reward always be the same food item?

 

[Birdman666]

I wouldn't go with cheerios myself.

You can change it up. A training reward is anything a bird is willing to work for.

Pine nuts are hideously expensive here as well.

I used cashews and slivered almonds myself. They were reasonably inexpensive, and somethings my birds would work for.

Alex used to like almonds. Called them "Cork Nuts" as I recall...

 

[Lullx]

I'll keep cheerios as a special treat then. I actually picked up some almonds, both whole and sliced at the store the other day. And pecan halves! Those are doable, price-wise. Thank you baking aisle!
I used to give my little guys peanuts to shell, but stopped when I learned how unhealthy they were for them. Now they'll get one once in a great while. They love ripping the shell open more than they like eating the actual peanut. I also give them mini popcorn once in a while for a treat.
It's going to be weird, adjusting to a new, bigger bird. I'm very excited though!

 

[Birdman666]

http://www.parrotforums.com/avatars/birdman666.gif?dateline=1421876386

'BIGGER BIRD" is a relative concept...

 

[Birdman666]

'BIGGER BIRD" is a relative concept...