African Grey

[robski24]

who here has an african grey or any other parrot
i'm looking into buying one and i've been doing my research

 

[mech]

I (meaning we) have a bunch of pets and one of things we do is get them extremely young so they imprint on us.
I had to finish spoon feeding my Macaw when we first got her.
She is a jumbo GreenWing (big ass red bird with a touch of green on the wings).
They are the second largest parrot.
She is just under 4' in full bloom and is the alpha of our pets.
Sometimes when I take a nap she will actually come up and crawl under the blanket with me.
Our house is rather large and she will fly 40 some odd feet to me when I call for her.
This is totally a cool trick and easy for a bird to learn just play catch with your new young bird and another family member starting out at a few feet then increase the distance, before you know it you will be there.
I don't cut her feathers and she doesn't take off when outside while we BBQ or play fetch with our dogs. I think this works only because of early imprinting....warning your mileage may vary.
Been doing this for 15 years.
So here is a African Grey story...
A long time ago my work buddy got a young grey, they did a 2 week vacation and let their
Mexican neighbor who also had a grey babysit his bird.
When they got home the bird would only sing Spanish songs and talk in Spanish.
Good luck to ya.
Andy

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

If you are considering a large parrot be prepared to have a(nother) child. They require just as much attention and toys as a toddler does, and they never grow out of that stage for their 50+ years of life. They seriously need something to keep them mentally engaged all the time, and they figure out toys and puzzles extremely fast. You can get on the computer or watch tv, but they rely completely on you for their mental stimulation and they are quite literally at the same mental capacity of a 3-4 year old person. You'll need to constantly be coming up with new enrichment for them. When they don't get enough attention (and sometimes even when they do) they get very neurotic or scream all the time to get you to pay attention to them. African Greys are notorious feather pickers because they just do not get enough mental stimulation in captivity. They have lots of heart disease like people do because they don't get enough exercise and aren't fed great diets. The last time I fostered a baby macaw I couldn't go out with friends much, I was always worrying about what she was doing, if I turned my head for a few minutes she completely destroyed furniture or window sills, I had to constantly provide new toys to keep her entertained, etc.

If you have never had a bird then do not start with an African grey. You need to start with a cockatiel or conure, something not as smart or needy to make sure you could handle the ultimate commitment a large intelligent parrot requires. The smaller guys need lots of attention too, just not quite as much, so if you can't handle it on the small scale you definitely won't want to upgrade.

If you are dedicated and know what you're getting into they can be extremely rewarding pets! I loved having birds but I knew my limits and did not delve into the bigger parrots more than temporary fostering. I just don't have the time and am not ready for kids yet, which means I'm not ready for a big bird! They just need so much, but they can be very loving and so much fun.

One thing about early imprinting...if they bond to you as their parent figure they will be snuggly and loveable and everything everyone hopes for in a parrot when they're young However, when they reach puberty the drive is to find a mate, and having only been around people they often chose a person as their potential mate, which is who they want to spend all their time with. Well they are not going to chose their parent figure to be their mate so often times parrots will actually reject the person that raised them for someone else in the household. I've seen way too many women crying over their bird that was their baby and now all of a sudden their bird won't have anything to do with them and only wants to be near the husband (who usually doesn't want anything to do with the bird).

 

[d3s5]

I have had an African Grey for 17 years. ferretinmyshoes is absolutely correct. Please think long and hard on whether or not you are ready for such a sensitive, smart, and long-lived pet.

 

[mech]

Ferretinmyshoes you made some very valid points that I didn't even begin to scratch the surface of.
I've had birds and exotic critters through out my 30 year marriage.
My Macaw is and will always be our "special needs child".
Not a pet for every one to say the least.
I went from conures to amazons to my macaw.
For me the little birds just didn't do it but were good educational stepping stones.
Thank you for filling in some of the little "treats" I didn't go into.
Andy

 

[JonRich]

If you are considering a large parrot be prepared to have a(nother) child. They require just as much attention and toys as a toddler does, and they never grow out of that stage for their 50+ years of life. They seriously need something to keep them mentally engaged all the time, and they figure out toys and puzzles extremely fast. You can get on the computer or watch tv, but they rely completely on you for their mental stimulation and they are quite literally at the same mental capacity of a 3-4 year old person. You'll need to constantly be coming up with new enrichment for them. When they don't get enough attention (and sometimes even when they do) they get very neurotic or scream all the time to get you to pay attention to them. African Greys are notorious feather pickers because they just do not get enough mental stimulation in captivity. They have lots of heart disease like people do because they don't get enough exercise and aren't fed great diets. The last time I fostered a baby macaw I couldn't go out with friends much, I was always worrying about what she was doing, if I turned my head for a few minutes she completely destroyed furniture or window sills, I had to constantly provide new toys to keep her entertained, etc.

If you have never had a bird then do not start with an African grey. You need to start with a cockatiel or conure, something not as smart or needy to make sure you could handle the ultimate commitment a large intelligent parrot requires. The smaller guys need lots of attention too, just not quite as much, so if you can't handle it on the small scale you definitely won't want to upgrade.

If you are dedicated and know what you're getting into they can be extremely rewarding pets! I loved having birds but I knew my limits and did not delve into the bigger parrots more than temporary fostering. I just don't have the time and am not ready for kids yet, which means I'm not ready for a big bird! They just need so much, but they can be very loving and so much fun.

One thing about early imprinting...if they bond to you as their parent figure they will be snuggly and loveable and everything everyone hopes for in a parrot when they're young However, when they reach puberty the drive is to find a mate, and having only been around people they often chose a person as their potential mate, which is who they want to spend all their time with. Well they are not going to chose their parent figure to be their mate so often times parrots will actually reject the person that raised them for someone else in the household. I've seen way too many women crying over their bird that was their baby and now all of a sudden their bird won't have anything to do with them and only wants to be near the husband (who usually doesn't want anything to do with the bird).

LMAOOOO. Literally as i was reading this my Umbrella Cockatoo has been trying to attack my wife because she is jealous. I am a little worried because she (the bird)ONLY wants to be on and around me and tries to bite anyone who gets close . I have 2 small kids!

But yea, i am her mate. Its kinda cute.

Id hate to have to give her up because she is too aggressive towards my wife and kids.

 

[birdman5000]

smaller parrots like conures tiels budgies parrotlets....... are good pets. but amazons toos greys and macaws are pretty children that u can legally lock in a cage when they miss behave...lol
i have had all of the above except greys and iv come to the conclusion that bubba my shamrock macaw is the one and only for me.

and much like jonrich's cockatoo, bubba only likes me and my mother and will kill all others. he will even ask to be picked up and lift his hand for a "high five" and when the unsuspecting person reaches in he will chomp down and laugh at them for their mistake!!!

 

[birdman5000]

one thing i have learned from my friends grey is that it does not screach or roar or yell. it only makes whistles and talks when its bored or wants attention. most will scream at that point and it sucks. my same friend has a umbrella cockatoo that can be heard 1.5 blocks away when it is pissed. which is quite often. african greys also tend to be "one person birds" and many will pluck like a heroin addict jonsing for a fix, if they dont get the attention they want.

 

[Fearaffect]

smaller parrots like conures tiels budgies parrotlets....... are good pets. but amazons toos greys and macaws are pretty children that u can legally lock in a cage when they miss behave...lol
i have had all of the above except greys and iv come to the conclusion that bubba my shamrock macaw is the one and only for me.

and much like jonrich's cockatoo, bubba only likes me and my mother and will kill all others. he will even ask to be picked up and lift his hand for a "high five" and when the unsuspecting person reaches in he will chomp down and laugh at them for their mistake!!!

I know......and he SHOULD be locked away.....evil mcgaw that he is...

 

[birdman5000]

I don't cut her feathers and she doesn't take off when outside while we BBQ or play fetch with our dogs. I think this works only because of early imprinting....warning your mileage may vary.
Andy

id keep it away from the bbq. Toxic fumes dont do well with birds. Teflon is the worst. I met a lady who was cooking bacon for brealfast and the teflon fumes made her macaws in the next room fatally ill. One dropped dead the other lasted a little while longer but didnt make it.
parrots dont really imprint like a duck goose or other fowl. They just develope a strong bond but not always with the one who handfeeds them. I have handfed my other macaw and bubba was fed by my cousin. But he loves me and not my cousin. And the macaw i hand fed never really bonded with anyone.

My grandma had her macaws for about 10 years and they were very bonded but he still took off. And my old grandma got lucky she found him in some trees a few blocks away and he took off back home. Then she had to climb the roof and luckily coaxed him over with a corn cob. This is the only case i know of where a renagade parrot came back home.

 

[birdman5000]

I don't cut her feathers and she doesn't take off when outside while we BBQ or play fetch with our dogs. I think this works only because of early imprinting....warning your mileage may vary.
Andy

id keep it away from the bbq. Toxic fumes dont do well with birds. Teflon is the worst. I met a lady who was cooking bacon for brealfast and the teflon fumes made her macaws in the next room fatally ill. One dropped dead the other lasted a little while longer but didnt make it.
parrots dont really imprint like a duck goose or other fowl. They just develope a strong bond but not always with the one who handfeeds them. I have handfed my other macaw and bubba was fed by my cousin. But he loves me and not my cousin. And the macaw i hand fed never really bonded with anyone.

My grandma had her macaws for about 10 years and they were very bonded but he still took off. And my old grandma got lucky she found him in some trees a few blocks away and he took off back home. Then she had to climb the roof and luckily coaxed him over with a corn cob. This is the only case i know of where a renagade parrot came back home.

 

[ijmccollum]

LMAOOOO. Literally as i was reading this my Umbrella Cockatoo has been trying to attack my wife because she is jealous. I am a little worried because she (the bird)ONLY wants to be on and around me and tries to bite anyone who gets close . I have 2 small kids!

But yea, i am her mate. Its kinda cute.

Id hate to have to give her up because she is too aggressive towards my wife and kids.

Yeh, I had a yellow head amazon like that. Would chase the hubbie thru the house trying to keep him away. And if she thought he was close but not close enough to bite him, she'd nip me. I got her when she still had her pin-feathers and had to be spoon fed. We thought it was cute too, 'till she decided to go after the kid when he was 18mo old. She went to go live with a friend of mine after that -- in fact, all of them did -- birds that is. My husband tolerates my zoo but will not allow another bird in the house. I have to say, while it was sad to let her go, I don't miss the feathers, poo, and screeching.

 

[mech]

I hear ya about to toxic fumes birdman.
Her being supervised 15 or so feet away from our bbq has been cool for the last 15 plus years.
We burn off smoke/fumes/grease prior to her perching up out there.
I have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to letting her be around smoke or household cleaning stinky stuff.

Oh and my little retarded redhead just loves to play come pick me up to new house guests.

Our house is rather large/open and her spot is in the middle of all the action.
I don't like or tolerate people messing with my bird (most people don't have a clue that they are teasing her) so I claim that she is vicious.
Those that know her know better.

I've had/have feathers and numerous exotics under this roof for the last 30 plus years.

Exotics are not for everyone.

Andy

 

[birdman5000]

I figured u probly took all the precautions before hand. Theres no way u would have a bird thrive in your care for this long and not have already learned these things.

I miss candles and air freshner and using my fireplace. But since bubba moved to The living room. Its all a no go. Put my tv in front of the fireplace. No point in it anymore.