Cockatiel Or African Grey

Thinking about getting one,

They seem cool!, had experience with 3 budgies in total!

But dont know which one, i want to train it to talk etc

What would you all choose???



African Grey - £850 (hand raised, young) LPS
Cockatiel - £45 (dont know age, but seeing the old budgies next to them, im guessing there old aswell) One in the town.

BUMP

betta_246 said:

BUMP

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I have an african grey and he talks really well, he copies everything you say and can even count. The noises they imitate are rather annoying though like the washing machine or microwave. They are also a very loyal and loving animal

i just contacted the local pet shop,
There asking for £850 for a hand raised young African Grey. Is that the right price?

betta_246 said:

i just contacted the local pet shop,
There asking for £850 for a hand raised young African Grey. Is that the right price?

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My local shop does them for £750 but i bought from a private ad, my brother got one as well and they have been fantastic, we paid £500. Just go and see a few and check they are hand tame and have been weaned.

Well, I think that you are the one who is sopposed to decide here are some info on them......after reading the info you can decide!:

Cockatiel
advantages:
1) Very playfull and cheerfull.
2) Not too Expensive.
3) Very easy to train when kept singly. (attention needed)
4) Easy to breed.

Disadvantages:
1) VERY annoying when it decides to scream!!
2) A tough flier!! it can fly for meters even with wings cliped!!
3) usually delivers a powerful bite when it get's angry!!

African Grey
Advantages:
1) Can mimic Human Speech.
2) With Patience...these Parrots can be tame.
3) Can be very hardy once it had been settle in.

Disadvantages:
1) These Parrots are annoying to the point of bringing neighbours complaints!!
2) It's bite can usually draw blood!!
3) These birds are a very bad choice for an aviary as they can be disrtuctive to wood work!!

Hope my info helped you..... those Infos are from my own experience!!

thanks! In terms of mimiking speech, is it the african greys?

Do cockatiels not talk, are they more like budgies?

african greys all the way! I'm a bit biased though, I have an african grey

tropic_john said:

african greys all the way! I'm a bit biased though, I have an african grey

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Cool! does it talk?
How much was it?

M.R Otter, in the cockatiel section you said easy to train, do you main like "step-up" etc?

betta_246 said:

thanks! In terms of mimiking speech, is it the african greys?

Do cockatiels not talk, are they more like budgies?

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What do you mean as cockatiel?, as in the ones you can pick up from any tom dick and harry place or something like a sulphur crested 'cockatoo'?

If you mean the larger sulphur or similar species then they both mimic extremely well but from my experience african greys are one of the best.

Prices for african greys are usually considerably lower than the likes of sulphur and relative species.

Choice is really down to you, a bird will react to the amount of attention given, just be aware that they need alot of this and plenty of play time and things to occupy them.

Edited just to say yes a suplher crested is a cockatoo but im not sure weather the OP was referring to them or actually a cokatiel lol, seems such a contrast from a african grey to a cockatiel

Cockatiel

my african grey was about £300, because we picked him up when he was still developing his feathers!
If you say 3 to him, he will tap the table 3 times, he can nod his head, speak, and still fly the lenth of our living room [quite big] with clipped wings, albeit he is slightly largr than average

I chose the two in terms of availability. Cockatiels are availabe, but with the african greys, i will have to tell the petshop to get in touch with the breeders.

Hard choice to make

betta_246 said:

Cockatiel

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Well then to answer your question a cockatiel is very limited to what it will mimic lol, it more tried to make a noise to something like a phone ringing rather than actual speach.

I'm not sure if that choosing such different birds that something like a african grey is right for you (no offense meant), they are so different within each other and take so much different in the way of care and attention.

tropic_john said:

my african grey was about £300, because we picked him up when he was still developing his feathers!
If you say 3 to him, he will tap the table 3 times, he can nod his head, speak, and still fly the lenth of our living room [quite big] with clipped wings, albeit he is slightly largr than average

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well then, seen as i have quite a few pets atm, maybe i should leave it till next year or something.