Kimali was three years old in 2002. Parrots of his general size will live, if well cared for, 80 years or more. He will definitely outlive me. Like many other parrot owners, I am concerned with what will become of him when I am gone. That is why I try to make him a good companion, prevent him from developing any bad habits, and teach him to speak NICE things and not expose him to bad language. Placing him in a home where parrots are treated properly is important. He is a fine talker. He goes to work with me several days a week where he is exposed to a wide variety of people. He now takes great delight in telling me, "Gotta go to work. Gotta take a shower." He also has a tooth brush which he wields with proper motions. Like many of my birds and dogs, Kimali has a microchip implanted in his breast to make identification easy should he be lost or stolen. He can fly very well, even with his major flight feathers trimmed. We have been apart only for one night, and it really upset him. He has great sensitivity to my moods, and is very gentle with me and the pets in our home. He loves Camille, the girl Maltese, and calls her. He also loves Georgie Girl, the rescued macaw. He tells her, "Georgie good girl, gimme a kiss, OOOHHH," He is a one-bird show, using numerous voices, playing all the parts. His favorite voice is that of my brother, who was around when he was growing up. I figure he uses the voice of the person who gets ME to speak most often. His vocabulary is amazing, and his comprehension of words is awesome. Kimali is not a screamer, he is not a plucker. He is a great companion. He is my heart. |
Kimali loves his toys, especially his bells. He has several but loves the tone of the stainless steel bells from Grey Feather Toys the best. He hangs from a boing (rope spiral with wire inside) and shows no mercy to anything close by. |
Kimali is shown here on a T-stand in the study helping me with computer chores. He has his very own screen name, posts to parrot message boards, attends bird chats online, and is considered a dashing young attorney in a grey pin-striped suit. He is an advisor and counselor to pet birds. He is a very eligible bachelor in Greysland, the only parrot soap opera I know of. |
Kimali came into this world on March 18, 1999, the first and largest of three babies hatched by his parents. These three were from a pair of Congo African Greys who always had strong, healthy, big, talkative, intelligent, fearless, nonplucking and well adjusted offspring. I'd wanted to have one of their babies for many years, but could not get a Grey unless I stopped working in the oilfield offshore. Greys need to have their owner close by, and would not understand being babysat for nearly 300 days a year. My first two conures, AB and Sailor, left that long with the same friend who bred Kimali, could adapt to it--- but I wouldn't chance it with a bird having the reputation for sensitivity of the African Grey.. I first saw him when he was a couple of weeks old, and it was love at first sight. THIS WAS THE INDIVIDUAL BIRD FOR ME. It was so important to me, that I decided to take early retirement--the only way I could give this boy the attention he needed. I think it was meant to be. As it turned out, this was the last clutch that his parents ever had, because during the drought of the summer, his mama died. Kimali came home with me when he was five weeks old. This is not the customary way to do things, because parrots of this size are not weaned until they are at least 17 to 21 weeks old. With me, I had some experience hand-feeding parrots, and I had his breeder, my dear friend at VGBirdsUnlimited, near in case things went wrong. Handfeeding baby parrots is a risky business because so much can go wrong, and the bird will suffer the consequences all its life. It is definitely NOT for the beginner. Kimali was ABUNDANCE WEANED, a term Trademarked by Phoebe Greene Linden ( Santa Barbara Bird Farm) to describe her method of handling, feeding, and raising companion parrots. Kimali was given a hand feeding as long as he wished it, fed directly from my hand with soft cooked foods, had pretty and fresh food available to view or play with or eat. Somewhere around the time he was 22 weeks old, on his own, I considered him weaned. Even to this day, he enjoys being fed from a spoon, and take food from my fingers. Kimali was named for a track star at the University of South Alabama, Joseph Kimani. Kimani was from Kenya, a country from whence the Grey bird originates. I misspelled the name, you will notice, but nonetheless, Kimali is a winner also. |
MoccasinLanding. Garden Interiors Yesterday Parrot Flock Other Pets NEIGHBORHOOD QUICK LINKS LARRA Inc Rescue |
Updated: 6/8/03
Ali KIMALI Congo African Grey Companion |
MoccasinLanding. Garden Interiors Yesterday Parrot Flock Other Pets NEIGHBORHOOD QUICK LINKS LARRA Inc Rescue |
Kimali came into this world on March 18, 1999, the first and largest of three babies hatched by his parents. These three were from a pair of Congo African Greys who always had strong, healthy, big, talkative, intelligent, fearless, nonplucking and well adjusted offspring. I'd wanted to have one of their babies for many years, but could not get a Grey unless I stopped working in the oilfield offshore. Greys need to have their owner close by, and would not understand being babysat for nearly 300 days a year. My first two conures, AB and Sailor, left that long with the same friend who bred Kimali, could adapt to it--- but I wouldn't chance it with a bird having the reputation for sensitivity of the African Grey.. I first saw him when he was a couple of weeks old, and it was love at first sight. THIS WAS THE INDIVIDUAL BIRD FOR ME. It was so important to me, that I decided to take early retirement--the only way I could give this boy the attention he needed. I think it was meant to be. As it turned out, this was the last clutch that his parents ever had, because during the drought of the summer, his mama died. Kimali came home with me when he was five weeks old. This is not the customary way to do things, because parrots of this size are not weaned until they are at least 17 to 21 weeks old. With me, I had some experience hand-feeding parrots, and I had his breeder, my dear friend at VGBirdsUnlimited, near in case things went wrong. Handfeeding baby parrots is a risky business because so much can go wrong, and the bird will suffer the consequences all its life. It is definitely NOT for the beginner. Kimali was ABUNDANCE WEANED, a term Trademarked by Phoebe Greene Linden ( Santa Barbara Bird Farm) to describe her method of handling, feeding, and raising companion parrots. Kimali was given a hand feeding as long as he wished it, fed directly from my hand with soft cooked foods, had pretty and fresh food available to view or play with or eat. Somewhere around the time he was 22 weeks old, on his own, I considered him weaned. Even to this day, he enjoys being fed from a spoon, and take food from my fingers. Kimali was named for a track star at the University of South Alabama, Joseph Kimani. Kimani was from Kenya, a country from whence the Grey bird originates. I misspelled the name, you will notice, but nonetheless, Kimali is a winner also. |
Kimali is shown here on a T-stand in the study helping me with computer chores. He has his very own screen name, posts to parrot message boards, attends bird chats online, and is considered a dashing young attorney in a grey pin-striped suit. He is an advisor and counselor to pet birds. He is a very eligible bachelor in Greysland, the only parrot soap opera I know of. |
Not at all bashful. The red tail is a major difference between the Congo ("red-tailed") and the Timneh African Greys. "TAGs" are smaller and generally darker also. |
Kimali loves his toys, especially his bells. He has several but loves the tone of the stainless steel bells from Grey Feather Toys the best. He hangs from a boing (rope spiral with wire inside) and shows no mercy to anything close by. |
Kimali was three years old in 2002. Parrots of his general size will live, if well cared for, 80 years or more. He will definitely outlive me. Like many other parrot owners, I am concerned with what will become of him when I am gone. That is why I try to make him a good companion, prevent him from developing any bad habits, and teach him to speak NICE things and not expose him to bad language. Placing him in a home where parrots are treated properly is important. He is a fine talker. He goes to work with me several days a week where he is exposed to a wide variety of people. He now takes great delight in telling me, "Gotta go to work. Gotta take a shower." He also has a tooth brush which he wields with proper motions. Like many of my birds and dogs, Kimali has a microchip implanted in his breast to make identification easy should he be lost or stolen. He can fly very well, even with his major flight feathers trimmed. We have been apart only for one night, and it really upset him. He has great sensitivity to my moods, and is very gentle with me and the pets in our home. He loves Camille, the girl Maltese, and calls her. He also loves Georgie Girl, the rescued macaw. He tells her, "Georgie good girl, gimme a kiss, OOOHHH," He is a one-bird show, using numerous voices, playing all the parts. His favorite voice is that of my brother, who was around when he was growing up. I figure he uses the voice of the person who gets ME to speak most often. His vocabulary is amazing, and his comprehension of words is awesome. Kimali is not a screamer, he is not a plucker. He is a great companion. He is my heart. |
Looking deep into the eyes of Kimali you see intelligence and compassion. He is the best companion animal I've ever known. To call him "animal" doesn't mean he is "less" than we are, if we remember we belong to the animal kingdom ourselves. I look in his eyes as I talk to him. His pupils expand and contract in minute ways as he comprehends either my meaning or my mood. Kimali went through his "terrible twos" like any human child would, only he was never hard to live with. Over three years old now, he will in a year or so be sexually mature. African Greys, unlike some of the Amazon species from South American, don't become "hormonal" during this time. Kimali is good natured, calm, and also easy to live with. I do not teach him words. He chooses those he likes which have meaning. Then he combines them creatively with the rest of his vocabulary. |
