African Greys !!!?

Question

I am thinking seriuosly of getting an African Grey and have already read a lot about the pros and cons of owning one. I came across this website. Please please please inspect it as thoroughly as you a have time for and tell me if this is the reality of owning a parrot or if African Greys are different.:
http://www.mytoos.com/main.shtml
Thank you.

Hi all again. Most of you seem to say TIME is the essential thing. Thanks but worry not. The African Grey would not be 'only for Christmas' for for life. In our family he/she would take its important place.... as one of us, like if the bird cannot go nobody goes. I have even seen cages for sale you carry on your back with your AG in it. I would love one How cool is that ?! I owned a cockatiel once and loved it to eternity. Patience and time for it ? Where I go in the house he goes. They are the most beautiful things on this planet (and come a close second to the wife, LOL, but don't tell her)

" RAV "
Thank you RAV for your offer of help. I will keep your email address. I am not rushing into getting an A Grey. I am learning so much from you all African Grey owners at Yahoo Answers. I just know we will love our African Grey to bits when we get one. We are learning from you all that we need patience, time, knowledge, a large cage and a 12 week old hand-reared baby. We're almost ready. Now I need to convince my wife that £680 for a h/reared baby is a good thing to spend money on. My experience with a parrot is with a cockatiel.

Answer 1

My mate breeds them and he has one as a pet and 3 dogs they all get on fine.

Answer 2

That page seems to be mostly about Cockatoos, not African Greys, they are quite different birds.

I think you should read more at the web address below instead.

You can feed a Grey on just sunflower seeds if you want but they also love green veg and a steak bone to chew on (good minerals!) All parrots need plenty of attention, should only be kept in a cage when you're not around to keep an eye on it, if mis-treated they will make sure you know about it, even if treated well they will still chew your furniture and door tops! You may be able to stroke it once you've earned it's trust but don't expect much more.

If you go out to work every day then forget it - the bird is likely to miss you and get bored during the day, start plucking it's feathers out or throw tantrums with you. If you have room for an aviary and a couple of birds then that could be a different matter, but hardly anyone has that kind of space to give over to a parrot!

Unlike a child it will never grow up so you'll have this for the next 80 years or so.

Answer 3

Well, the first thing I will do is ask you if you think you can live with a pretetual 2 year old child for the next 50 - 70 years?

Adult African Greys may have the intelligence of a 4 - 5 year old, but they seem to have the emotional developement of a 2 year old. That part doesn't really change.

That website only applies on a lesser level with greys and they are quite different. Cockatoos would have themselves surgically attached to you if they could. Greys, in general, are not nearly so clingy, but do require a lot of time, effort and care. I would not relate that site to african greys. Plucking and self mutilating are issues with Greys, but they don't seem to resort to it as easily and quickly as Cockatoos do.

Look at sites that are more geared to African Greys if you want a clearer picture of life with a Grey. It's been a real eye opener for us and we didn't realize just what we had gotten ourselves into in the beginning, but we've adjusted and learned A LOT thanks to our avian vets, avian nutritionists, and other knowledgable people. Our Grey is our baby and is healthy, well looked after, and dearly loved.

You can e-mail me directly if you would like me to pass on suggested reading, informative sites, nutrition information, links for safety, health and other issues.


Edit: I just noticed the post that said that you can feed them mostly seeds. REALLY BAD IDEA.
Greys seem to be really effected by low calcium levels. All birds are, but it seems to hit Greys hard. Seeds contain a lot of fat and this seems to block the uptake of calcium. NOT a good thing!

***DON"T get an unweaned baby! Please have a look at this site and check the links!

http://www.anafricangrey.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=9

Answer 4

The site gives factual information. Of course All birds change overtime, as they mature, just as people do. During sexual maturity they may develop a tendancy to become nippy. These things can be handled. The attention they require is without a doubt essential if you are to raise a happy healthy parrot. Too many people discard parrots after owning them just a few years. With African Grey's, because they are flock birds they will come to see you as family, part of the flock. When given away, they feel you have died and it is emotionally disturbing to them. When seperated from the flock for long periods again they become emotionally upset. IF you have the time for a Grey, they are excellant birds and will be life long companions, if you do not have the time they can become stressed and sickly birds. Think of owning a bird as you would having a child. How much time are you willing to give it so that it grows into a sound, emotional happy, healthy bird?

I've seen those backpacks also. I haven't gotten one but let me tell you, my Grey loves to travel with me. The family went on vacation this past summer and drove 6 hours one way with her in the car, she rested in her carrying cage, perched on my finger and looked out the window and chatted to the passing cars. I think she even knew when we were going home, she was very excited. My point with this addition? She just wanted to travel with the flock. As for carrying her from room to room, you'll do that alright, but just being able to see and hear you will make your bird happy.

Answer 5

Although the article targets toos, alot of that can be applied to CAGs. These birds require ALOT of time, space and money. If you are lacking in any of those three, don't get one.
They are WONDERFUL birds and can enrich your life in ways you wouldn't think possible, but they are a handful and require alot on your end. Have you ever owned a bird before? They are definately not good birds for inexperienced owners.
The key points I saw in the article that will relate to the Greys, are the dander, large cages, diet and time.
I believe that one poster said you can give them a diet of sunflower seeds?! Please don't consider that. They can end up with liver disease. A good pellet food, enriched with some seed, fresh foods and some people food is best.

Answer 6

My partner and i decided that we would like to own a mcaw, blue and gold, what a beautiful bird he was, he could talk ,sing ,dance, he had a massive cage with all sorts of toys to play with,after a few weeks of having him he became very attatched to me and when my partner entered the room he would squak like mad, parrots tend to bond with one person, daily his squaking became louder till it was virtually unbearable, most people tend to buy large parrots without looking into it, so if you decide to buy onemake sure you know everything about them first as they live for a verylong time. We eventually had to give our lovely bird to someone who was able to spend most of thier day with him, much to my sorrow , hence i've downscaled the size of bird we now own a baby budgie!!!! good luck

Answer 7

i had 1 for 11yrs he was like 1 of the kids but unfortunatley he died saturday. he was the best pet ive ever owned the house is so quiet without him. just make sure you feed it on harrisons organic pellets you can get these from the vets as there is so much crap in the seeds you get from the pet shop. good luck its money well spent mine cost £550 11yrs ago.

Answer 8

When people buy these birds they don't think of the life span, some can live to be of great ages.....have you got someone who will be prepared to take the parrot on after you have gone............or would it be put back into a pet shop????????this would not be fare to the parrot......

Answer 9

african greys are really good talkers but do give off a dust, that is no good to anyone that has a chest condition like asthma etc. i have a blue fronted amazon, they are also good talkers but dont give off the dust.