I am looking into getting my first african grey. Anyone on here have one that could tell me anything they know about them. Are they noisy in comparison to other parrots? Is it better to get a baby ? what age is a good age toi get the parrot at? Im aware of what it needs as far as housing and toys and enrichment as far as playing with the bird. I have also located a good avain vet thats relatively in my area. Im just wondering what anyones expierences are with these birds. I also know of the many subspecies timneh, erithacus, and the princeps, what can you tell me about each. Im just trying to get as much info from people that have these birds i have done a lot of research on the internet but first hand expierence from real owners would be greatly appreciated.
Answers:
I've had one for 7 years now, and mine isn't really noisy (my Conure makes far more racket) but he IS a talker. He picks up everything, including some things I wish he'd forget (fat chance, they've got the memory of an elephant!). They say Africans have the cognitive ability of a 5 year old human child. Mine certainly does. He not only says words, but whole sentences. And he doesn't just mindlessly repeat sounds, like most parrots do. He not only knows what to say, but exactly when to say it. Once when I had his cage by a window, he pulled the curtain into his cage to play with (shredded the damn thing too!). I pulled it out, and Bogie went right back and pulled it in again. Then I moved his cage about a foot from the window (and the curtain -- or what was left of it anyway), so he goes back ready to do it again, reached the bars and realized he couldn't, turned to look at me, cocked his head and said, %26quot;Well, sh*t!%26quot; I was practically rolling on the floor laughing! He also imitates my wife when she's on the phone. Our bedroom is right next to Bogie's room, so he gets a real earful sometimes. One afternoon my wife and I were changing the sheets on our bed when we heard Bogie in the next room, in a perfect immitation of my wife's voice: Hello. Oh hi, Lisa (my wife's sister)! How are you? Noooooo! You're trippin' girl!%26quot; I told my wife she'd never be able to cheat on me as long as Bogie was alive. He'd rat her out in a New York minute! He also does noises other than speech, and Africans are such perfect mimics, it's like that old commercial for recording tape, %26quot;Is it real, or is it Memorex?%26quot; He immitates my wife's dog so well, the first time I heard him, I thought the dog had gotten shut in Bogie's room. A bus used to go past our house early in the morning and turned the next corner as soon as it passed. It had very squeaky brakes, and every morning at 6:15, we heard the driver apply those brakes right in front of our house. You could have set your watch by him! Well, Bogie did those brakes so well, you'd swear that bus was going down my upstairs hall! Bottom line? You'll never be sorry you got an African.
It will be like having a two year old child for 80 years. Top three talkers. Get hand raised or you're wasting your money.
My dad owned one, before I was born so I am going to tell you what he told me. They are very very senstivie birds, and often spazz's. They are drama kings/queens. The littlest thing can freak them out. The hand moved: AHHH the toys swung: AHHH! My human left the room: AHHH! They can be just as loud as many larger parrots, but it is tolerable if you have a bird that only screams once in awhile rather than all the time. The other grey's(Timnehs, etc) are pretyt much the same except for coloring. All very intelligent, and pretty much the same in behavior. You want to get a young parrot, definately younger than 6 years old. Get it from a breeder that sells at a fair price and will elt you spend time with the birds for a couple hours deciding. Let the bird pick you. Birds will go play with a human they like. No point in buying a bird that doesn't like you. Also buying a young parrot has the advantage that you can socializwe it with your family and friends so it doesn't terrorize everyone. Since some tend to bond with one person, if you don't socialize them young. It is like having a toddler for 50+ years, but they offer much joy and often make you laugh with their playful natures and intelligence. They can definatley learn to talk, and most do although there is always the oddball somewhere. It is better to get a younger bird so that they can form a deep bond with you but in the end it wouldn't matter. A 10 year old grey could probably bond with you just as well as a 2 year old,or a 7 month old. They are very sensitive though just remember a one second mistake could eally affect your relationship/bond of 10 years. But a grey is a really good pet bird is treated right. They are pretyt demanding compared to other parrots and are mor eprone to plucking in stressful situations. Some like to cuddle and some just want scritches.
First let me say my experience is that they are curious but do not freak out at everything. You just have to learn to introduce them to new things and always say, %26quot;you're alright, it's okay%26quot;. They can handle anything if trained from a baby. Mine dealt with the sound of a nail gun and sheets of tin last week when I installed a tin ceiling. She NEVER screams, but calls %26quot;You Whoooo%26quot; when she wants to get my attention. Don't let people scare you, they are what you make them. Read on:
My Congo African Grey is 14 months old, she's been home for 11 months. She was just 6 weeks old when I got her and visited her daily at the parrot shop until I could take her home. She started seriously talking about a month ago, did a lot of vocalizing and practising prior to that. Are they noisy? I would say no. They have their talking periods, generally morning and evening. I played whistling tunes for her to listen to from the time I got her home, also Kenny G cd's, now she sings constantly. Very easy to train and tame if you give them plenty of attention. That's their main focus, being with you or at least seeing you. Don't feed them any junk food, you don't want them to loose their appetite for what's good for them. They need plenty of toys. Start traing immediately, 20 minutes of one on one time each day is ideal. Mine could identify shapes and colors by 4 months. Now she looks up when I say %26quot;See the blue sky%26quot;. They are soooo incredibly smart. She travels well, loves car trips. I take her on vacations with me. Her wings are clipped so that she doesn't hurt herself flying into things in the house. I can't imagine my life without her. Oh yes, one important thing. She goes to bed between 7-8:00pm and once the cover is on the cage I don't hear a peep. She loves to go to bed. If I don't put her to bed when she's ready she'll fly down from her perch, walk to her room and climb up into the cage. Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy!
They are not as needed as say a goffin .. They are happy to play alone with toys ..I put toys on top hung down and leave the cage door open all day .. They are like a 2 year old can be loud seems to be like noon in the sun happy sounds they make ..But then again not as bad as a goffin ..They are the best talkers!! and get a hand fed baby 3 months old ..They should run from 950.00 to 1200.00 find a good in home breeder .. The TAG and the CAG look just about the same other then the tail is red on the CAG and black red tint on the TAG the TAGS beak is like a nail with pink in it and talks just as good the body it a tad smaller on the TAG too ..With the AG you have to rember they are SMART !! and you will need to change toys rotate them they get bored easy ..And give them the same amount of time when you get the bird as you will the rest of its life they do NOT like change!! If you get the bird spend 24/7 with it then change that time they may start to pluck ..99% of plucked greys are from owners change in life ..
Good luck
I'm hoping you've done your homework on the diets of these birds. They need a special diet directed at the vitamin A and D deficiency. Seed diets do not cut it with any bird let alone this species of bird.
African greys tend to be a one person bird, therefor do not tend to be a family orientated pets. They have the mental capicity of a 7 yr old child, so they don't forget if you do something wrong. They are also neurotic birds and are prone to be pluckers if you have a change of life style later down the road.
Whether you get a different sub species or not, they all have the same qualities as the others. Only difference is the price and an inch in size and color.
Make sure you get it to a vet and run a CBC, Pssit, and a gram stain for the least amount of border line testing to cover your own backside. This way you have a guidline when and if the bird ever does get sick, they know what the normal limits are of the bird. This also is a guarantee the bird is healthy when you bought it.
The bird should also be eatting off your table as a baby. The more variety of foods the bird eats, the healthier your bird will be. The more vitamins, proteins, and minerals the bird gets out of it's food. Feed it what you eat, and the bird will live a longer and happier life. Use some common sense and it will take your far. Treat it as a child, and you will be fine.
Good Luck!
Grey are very smart and live a loooong time.
They dont think so much like humans but can really surprise you at times. They take a lot of committment and need lots of interaction.
You seem to have done lots of homework and likely will be doing so for years to come. Good on ya!
My grey isnt really noisy but he likes to be the one to make ME mimic him---He picks the tunes and I am supposed to follow in his game of %26quot;einstein%26quot; I think is the version.
My Grey is a rescue so he came with a broken wing and issues of his own which we are working through.
Good luck to you.
I have a 7-year-old CAG that I've had since he was six months old. I love him so much!
He's a great talker.
He imitates everyone in the house. He's hilarious!
He freaks out over bright pink and red objects. He always has. He squawks a lot if I wear my bright-pink bathrobe, or when my son carries a hot-pink towel.
He takes a while to %26quot;warm up%26quot; to his toys, but plays with them (read: destroys) when he gets used to them being there.
He loves toys that he can rip apart. Things made of wood, especially. Also, %26quot;not to worry beads,%26quot; which are hard plastic beads on a string - cracks 'em in half with his beak. In addition to the dietary needs, be sure to look into keeping your bird entertained. If they get bored or stressed out, Greys are notorious pluckers.
we have a congo and a timneh. like any birds, they have their loud moments, but even then it is so cool to hear them saying the new words they've learned. they are both great with our children. they both take to change really well. they are no where near being neurotic or feather pluckers. our timneh will ask for a cracker and let you know when he's ready to go night night. they do tend to both prefer my husband over anyone else, but the will let all of us pet them and play with them. i prefer our timneh(can't say about all timnehs though) because he seems to be a little more laid back and is just over all a better behaved bird. of course he is about a year older than our congo. i think they are both great and you wouldn't regret getting either one of them.
It is probably better to get a baby African Grey. But the babies Babel a lot just like human babies. They're learning new words and they kind of jumble them together at first but it's realy cute.
my cag, shadow is 4.5 months old and im in love!!!
let me tell you how i came about him. i wanted a greenwing macaw and my husband went to see a breeder to try and find me one and the breeder had a pet grey. leave it to the grey as soon as my husband walked in that grey said everyword and made every sound he knew and my husband was quite impressed. well about 1 hr later he came home, told me he paid for our bird and that the rest of us had to meet him. we get there to see the scrawniest bird ever, and of course not a macaw but a cag. i did not want a grey. they are nervous, neurotic, very impersonal one person birds and i wasnt having it, besides the little bastard bit too. my husband knew how to handfeed birds so he brought him home when he was on two feedings and of course as soon as he had to go to work, i got stuck with him. we did not like each other but i had to feed him so i tried. he is not nervous, neurotic or impersonal. he is a huge lovebug who never leaves me alone. at only 4.5 months he wolf whistles, laughs, does the monkey sound and imitates my parakeets to a t. my favorite thing is when my conure falls off his cage, or when my kids trip or whatever he laughs his head off. he has to eat with us at our table and he loves chasing my kids. he is only loud if angry/scared and again, so smart and funny. younger is better if you want to be able to handle him, but if you are ok with taking it slow and bonding more through talking than petting an adult will be fine. good luck, have fun.
I have a hand raised timneh, and he is 9 months old, and also a 6 year old congo who I recently got after she picked all of her feathers out at her last owners. Now my opinion is, the congo has more beautiful colouring, and her voice is very clear. She learns new phrases very quickly. Her feathers are growing back but she is still mutilating some of them.
The timneh is very devoted to me, he comes off of his cage looking for me but is also very moody and if he is not happy will gladly give me a good bite on my hand. He likes to sing out sounds and talks a little bit. Both love kisses and attention, they go outside with me too. They don't like to be close to my dogs or strangers. They are quiet most of the day except for a while in the morning and evening, and are still much quieter than our amazon. I paid full price for the Timneh and not much for the congo, and I love her just as much so if I was you I would get one that is neglected and give it a second chance at a better life. So many people get them and once the novelty wears off they leave them locked in their cages eating just pellets . This is just heartbreaking for these birds, don't get one unless you intend to handle it every day!
No comments:
Post a Comment