african grey?

Question

I have just bought a congo african grey parrot is not weaned yet but soon to be in less than 2 weeks and will bring home,what i am wondering is if there may be behaivor diffrence between male/female and also if a dna is a good idea ?

Answer 1

According to some research I have done there are several 'subtle' clues that are usually detectable by breeders that can tell what 'sex' it is. If you are getting your baby from a breeder or pet store that carries Grey's frequently, they MAY be able to give you an educated guess. The only SURE way is DNA sexing which requires a blood drop from a toe-nail that is sent in to be analyzed. Many people say you don't 'need to know' if you aren't gonna be a breeder, but I DNA sexed almost all (I have one parrot that is not out of 4) of mine, and it had NOTHING to do with whethere I was to breed or not. I just plain wanted to know if I could name it a boy name or a girl name, instead of a unisex name! LOL I wanted to 'address' my birds properly by saying Good Boy or Good Girl!

Guesses I have HEARD which are not usually visible in babies and ARE NOT ALWAYS TRUE!!! REMEMBER THIS!

Males have flatter heads. The older they get, it looks like a 'frying pan' smacked em on top of the head and made it flat. Male's also tend to be larger. AGAIN not always 100% true!

Females have more 'rounded heads', some say their feathering is more of the light grey (powdery grey post 1st molt at 6 months of age). There is also some truth to MATURE birds having vent feather differences. However an African Grey does not Mature at the earliest of 2 years of age.

So my BEST advice is spend the 40 bucks, get him/her DNA'd at the pet shop (so you don't have to clip the nail) and find out what sex he/she is so that you can give them a proper name. Ms Lila Puff or Mr. Clint Eastwood! LOL

Read up for ALL care information for your birds, and TRULY understand the needs of your parrots. It IS a lifetime committment and somtimes your birds live long enough that they must be willed to someone when you pass on. Love them, give them routine and they will give you way more than you EVER clean up, chop (for food) or get annoyed with. At least for happy parrots, that's how I feel anyway :D

ALSO it is mostly true that any parrot is a one person bird, however, it will bond with whoever it bonds closest with no matter the 'sex' of the handfeeder, or any other factor. The BIRD chooses (and often rechooses for much of it's young life - changes loyalty a bit here and there for tests) 'it's mate' as it gets into your household. I would encourage EACH person in the home (or a boyfriend, siblings, parents etc..) to all handle yoru parrot to ensure that it is sociable to the best of your ability, and while it still will usually choose one person it WILL then be social enough that it would prefer to be with you, but able to be with others (bird sitting, or just visiting) without causing the bird a lot of stress.

Answer 2

You may find as it grows older that it links up more to one person than another in the family. This can be down to the sex of the person who reared it or it may be down to the fact that one person gives it more affection than another. Some times a male bird will bond with a female person and vica versa. Getting a Dna test done not needed if you are not thinking of breeding this wonderful parrot. I recently had my pet grey of 8 years stolen from my shop and I miss him like crazy.

Answer 3

A DNA test is the only way to tell 100% whether it's male for female. Although I've heard people say that eye shape tends to indicate the sex. (more oval shape = female, round = male). I don't necessarily buy into it totally, but I've noticed this theory to be true on several occasions.

I have a Congo African Grey and I've never had the test done. I named her "Mia" after I bought her and I have no plans to get her to reproduce. Therefore, I don't care what her sex is.

Answer 4

All I know is that regardless if it's a male or female, you will have to give it PLENTY attention. It's like purchasing a 2 year old baby that will stay that way for the next 50 or more years. My Grey got so attached to me that it started plucking its feathers when I leave and now looks like a little vulture. He/she doesn't even have tailfeathers. Thing is they don't like being disrupted in ANY WAY AT ALL. Mine still gets lots of attention, I never lock him in a cage, he's always free to move as he pleases, but as soon as there's the slightest change in our home (building etc.) he starts this feather plucking thing and it takes about 6 months before he looks like a Grey again...very important-feed him pellets right from the start as seeds are too fatty for them. I suggest you make 100% sure you're ready for the commitment. They're very sensitive!!

Answer 5

I am not aware of major differences in African Greys based on gender. Unless you have plans to breed a bird, it is not usually helpful to know the sex, so I would not pay for a DNA test.

There are so many things to know about bird ownership, it would be difficult to cover in one posting. I would recommend you find a good group or two and ask your questions there.

Owning a pet bird is very rewarding but it is not simple. You need lots of knowledge about diet, behavior, training, dangers, etc.

Life with a bird can be wonderful or it can be a disaster and unfortunately, there is usually not much middle ground. Just keep asking and researching and you will have a wonderful companion.

Some links:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clickbirds/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bird-Click/

http://www.parrottalk.com/index.html

http://www.parrottalk.com/bbbook.html

http://www.parrottalk.com/listsubgreys.html

Feel free to mail me direct if you need more resources.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

The only thing I know is they can live practically forever. My sister had one for a time, and he was pretty amazing. He starting making the same sneezing sound she did (which was pretty odd) and even got along with one of her cats. I don't know loads about birds, but I know for many species it can be difficult to tell the sex early on. Will this be an issue with this bird?

Answer 7

nicely, first issues first - Whoever on your house is asserting "F*&#ok off!" around the chook, tell them to knock it off and supply up being a moron. Who ever has used "sic em!" instructions on the canines around the chook, tell that individual a similar ingredient. next, the single poster - Sapphyre - has extremely dealt with one in each and every of those difficulty if she works at a rescue middle. If she is keen that may be useful you out greater, you may rather settle for the grant. do no longer take Bethany's suggestion on spraying your gray to punish it. you've a sprig bottle obtainable to mist your gray. it rather is totally sturdy for her epidermis and feathers and would on no account be used for a punishment. a lot of birds like it once you mist them. you may desire to apply it for a cope with while she's a sturdy woman. do no longer punish her as you will possibly a cat or canines. Cats and canines are preditors. Your gray is prey. completely diverse thinking animals. A chook won't respond nicely to that variety of medical care and you may desire to reason greater issues than you have already got. forget approximately approximately undesirable behaviour and attempt to no longer react. if your chook says irrelevant issues, do no longer even look at her, do no longer say a be conscious. tell others to act themselves round her and to no longer chuckle while she's undesirable. Human laughter would be a huge motivator for birds. they actually respond to it. attempt coaching her some humorous words that have no swearwords and could no longer reason issues - some thing human beings will chuckle at.

Answer 8

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