African Grey

[vix]

Anyone keep African Greys here?

Would be greatful of any advice, or pointers in the right direction. My darling hubby has just left the house to pick up my first African Grey. I am so EXCITED

 

[AlexAndCarmen]

Wow, they are very gorgeous.

My mom had one when I was small. It was a male and he was very jealous if her attention was not on him. They make a lot of noise, so be prepared for the squawking. Not sure how long they live, as my mothers grey got a cold after we'd had him for about 5 years, and even though they took him to the vets, on a number of occasions for this cold, he died . My mom still misses him.

I kept a Patagonia conure and think they're pretty much the same. My male also hated me paying attention to things other than him. Was easy enough to tame, but obviously we had to re home him having moved from South Africa to the UK. We took him to a bird park, that had loads of females they wanted to breed and Squeal was in his element with all those babes.

Where are you getting yours from? Is it a breeder or a pet shop? They are pretty much like kids and need loads of attention. And if you have a cat, keep it's tail away from the cage . My cat found out the hard way how much my moms grey loved him.

Good luck and looking forward to some pics.

 

[insanityseeker]

watch your ears. unless you wanted ten peircings in each ear???!!!

 

[vix]

We are getting her from someone who no longer has the time for her, i have been doing a lot of reading and realise they need a lot of time. However, since she is coming into a new home i am hoping to get onto a good footing straight away, i would like her to socialise with all the family therefore everyone is going to be involved hopefully she will get used to everyone.

I do have a cat and was quiet worried about the cat attacking the bird, maybe i should worry about the reverse situation lol.

I have her booked in the vets Friday, to make sure we are given a clean bill of health to start with

 

[Jessica13]

African Greys dont always make great family pets as they are very much 'one person birds'. They will bond with one person in the family and although sometimes they will tolerate other people handling them, some birds will get very territorial of "their" person and can become agressive towards other people.

Im assuming he's handreared which is good, but make sure you get everyone you can to handle him to ensure that he will tolerate as many people as possible - That is very important!!

African Greys can live 50+ years.

Is he coming with a cage? If so make sure its plenty big enough, he should be able to stretch his wings out fully without touching anything. Also expect to spend a small fortune every month on toys as they dont last long!! I find baby toys are great for Greys, wooden bricks, plastic hoops things, anything like that. You can also make your own to save money!!

He will need a good quality parrot seed mix as well as fresh fruit and veg daily. Cage needs to be cleaned daily and water must be replaced whenever it gets dirty. You will also need to get him a calcium supplement to put on his food or in his water, if they dont get enough calcium they can start to pluck and become very ill.

You'll need to have him out most of the day. Mine used to be out, with me for about 10 hours every day. If you keep the bird occupied it shouldn't be loud (african greys dont have the piercing shriek! Thats cockatoos). If he talks, expect him to do it all day everyday. To make him stay quiet, just talk quietly around him, thats the way i keep my birds quiet!!lol! If they dont hear lots of noise around them they tend to talk musch quieter, my Cape Parrot barely talks above a whisper unless he wants food

And thats all i can think of for the moment. Good idea to get him vet checked! I would advise having his wings clipped too if they're not already done. I dont know if this is your first bird, but if it is expect to put a lot of work in, and to get bitten, hard plenty of times!! Even the tamest bird can bite and you just have to put up with it.

But you seem to have started well so good luck with him

 

[grahamsokel]

Jimmy my 18 month old grey is friends with all the family and is friendly to visitors but will not Talk when visitors are in the house.
Is yours hand tame?
we have no worries with the cat and bird infact the cat is terrified of Jimmy since he pulled the cat off the window sill by the tail

I am very anti wing clipping (Birds have wings for a reason)Its like chopping our legs off

Jimmy

 

[Jessica13]

Jimmy is lovely

I wing clip all the rescues i get. For one thing, its just not safe to have a large bird flying around the house. You wouldn't believe how many birds i've had, from budgies to macaws, who have broken beaks, wings and other body parts from crashing into windows, walls, ceilings and furniture. Birds are meant to fly, but they aren't "meant" to live in houses. If we have them in our homes we have to ensure they're as safe as possible and if that means limiting their flying ability then it must be done IMO.

I also find that a wing clipped bird is more happy to settle into a new environment. They have to rely on their new family to move them around the house and are therefore much more tolerant of the new people and become much happier pets.

All of my birds are wing clipped, they are in perfect health, and are very happy. They can fly about 5ft so can get off the chairs and cages and fly to the ground safely, but they cant fly upwards so cant get loose.

Its everyones personal preference, but if this person is inexperience with birds i would 100% recommend clipping the birds wings, at least until he's settled. They grow back in about 2 or 3 months anyway

 

[RandomWiktor]

Wing clipping is not at all like removing legs; it is just the removal of flight feathers (which grow back), and it is done for the bird's safety. You'd be amazed at how many birds manage to get out of open windows and doors; it breaks my heart to see all of the lost birds in my area, knowing that few will ever make it back home before dying in the climate here. Furthermore, even with every window and door secured, it is very easy for birds to wound themselves when they can fly, as they can crash into doors, windows, and mirror, or simply acess unsafe areas. Now, if the bird is only coming out in one locked, bird-safe area, it may not been needed, but if you want the bird to be out for hours and hours on end loose in the house as a family pet, it is definately important for safety reason.

As for the info on parrot care... I think Jessica about covered it! My one point of disagreement is the seed mix, as I find most parrots pick only what they want out of it, don't eat the rest, and become obese and nutritionally imbalanced. My advice would be to purchase a high-quality pellet, and suppliment the diet with fresh fruits, veggies, leafy greens, legumes, and (more as a treat) nuts and seeds. I happen to be a fan of Roudybush, but it is a little on the pricey side, so I usually mix it 50/50 with Mazuri or Zupreme so it lasts longer. Honestly, my experience as an animal nutrition counsellor has been that a variety of pellets is more nutritionally complete than just one brand, because all brands have strong and weak points no matter how good the reputation.

 

[Jessica13]

As for the info on parrot care... I think Jessica about covered it! My one point of disagreement is the seed mix, as I find most parrots pick only what they want out of it, don't eat the rest, and become obese and nutritionally imbalanced. My advice would be to purchase a high-quality pellet, and suppliment the diet with fresh fruits, veggies, leafy greens, legumes, and (more as a treat) nuts and seeds. I happen to be a fan of Roudybush, but it is a little on the pricey side, so I usually mix it 50/50 with Mazuri or Zupreme so it lasts longer. Honestly, my experience as an animal nutrition counsellor has been that a variety of pellets is more nutritionally complete than just one brand, because all brands have strong and weak points no matter how good the reputation.

We shall have to agree to disagree on that I am very anti-complete food im afraid! I haven't met one bird that enjoys pellet food as much as seed food!! Yes it gets a bit messy (just sweep up around the cage at meal times!), and sometimes they will leave certain things they dont like (my Green Cheeked conure wont touch the peas!!) but most birds will eat most of the food in the top seed mixes. I had two greys in who had been fed harrisons for the last 5 years and they were hideously obese and looked quite unhealthy. That may well have been contributedc to by other problems with their home as well, but within a couple of weeks on the seed diet they were much happier and had beautiful glossy feathers! The seed i give my birds is Tidy Mix. It has very few sunflower seeds in (which make them obese) and has lots of dried fruit, nuts and other seeds which make up a healthy diet. The good seed brands are designed to provide a healthy balance of food in a more interesting way for the bird.

Of course, as with wing clipping it is personal preference, but the pellets are certainly nothing i'd consider. They are about twice the price of the very good seed mixes and i dont personally believe they are any better for them!

Here's a picture of my old African Grey Indie who was fed seed, veg and fruit from the day i got her at 15 weeks, and she wouldn't ever touch pellets, and she was healthy enough

 

[vix]

watch your ears. unless you wanted ten peircings in each ear???!!!

Lol, i have been advised not to let her sit on my shoulder

African Greys dont always make great family pets as they are very much 'one person birds'. They will bond with one person in the family and although sometimes they will tolerate other people handling them, some birds will get very territorial of "their" person and can become agressive towards other people.

Im assuming he's handreared which is good, but make sure you get everyone you can to handle him to ensure that he will tolerate as many people as possible - That is very important!!

African Greys can live 50+ years.

Is he coming with a cage? If so make sure its plenty big enough, he should be able to stretch his wings out fully without touching anything. Also expect to spend a small fortune every month on toys as they dont last long!! I find baby toys are great for Greys, wooden bricks, plastic hoops things, anything like that. You can also make your own to save money!!

He will need a good quality parrot seed mix as well as fresh fruit and veg daily. Cage needs to be cleaned daily and water must be replaced whenever it gets dirty. You will also need to get him a calcium supplement to put on his food or in his water, if they dont get enough calcium they can start to pluck and become very ill.

Thanks for the reply, she is a family orientated bird at the moment, so i'm hoping to continue this, although my partner has just phoned me to tell me she hates him.

She is hand reared and the previous owner has told us how tame she is. She is coming with a large cage - it would fit in the back of our 4 x 4!

Many thanks for your tips, i will make sure i have a good supply of toys lol

You'll need to have him out most of the day. Mine used to be out, with me for about 10 hours every day. If you keep the bird occupied it shouldn't be loud (african greys dont have the piercing shriek! Thats cockatoos). If he talks, expect him to do it all day everyday. To make him stay quiet, just talk quietly around him, thats the way i keep my birds quiet!!lol! If they dont hear lots of noise around them they tend to talk musch quieter, my Cape Parrot barely talks above a whisper unless he wants food

And thats all i can think of for the moment. Good idea to get him vet checked! I would advise having his wings clipped too if they're not already done. I dont know if this is your first bird, but if it is expect to put a lot of work in, and to get bitten, hard plenty of times!! Even the tamest bird can bite and you just have to put up with it.

But you seem to have started well so good luck with him

The parrot has already been wing clipped, so that is out of my hands.

hmmm my quote went slightly wrong don't know what happened there

 

[Barracuda518]

African Greys are awesome birds. I knew someone who had one and like Jessica said, once they learn to talk, they will talk non-stop. I also noticed they listen to everything you say around them and they will start saying that too.

Are you going to post some pics?

 

[donna123]

hi,
all the best with your new member of the family,
it would be great to see some pics when shes settled in,
donna

 

[cichlidcrazy]

My brother in-law has one lovely looking birds but way too noisey .whenever we visit i always leave with a headache .
good luck with your new pet my advice to you would be to invest in some good ear plugs

 

[vix]

Thanks everyone, i might take some pictures of her later. She is in need of some serious TLC she has plucked lots of feathers and her beak looks overgrown to me.

Shes very frightened and shaking so i will leave the pictures till later.

 

[blue acara]

if she is very frightened try putting a towell or sheet over some the cage to give her some 'security' then gently talk to her and offer some food.- mine loves apple, grapes, sesamie seeds and as a special treet he gets a small bit of cheese. good luck with her-