African Grey Parrot

[Oldenburg27]

Does anyone own one? Really want one and have done for about 15/16 years or so but have a few question before I get one..

Are they hard to look after (dont mind if they are), have they any special care needs and are they better kept as a pair? Would they be ok to live in an bird aviary outside as I not a fan of the small cages I know they need space and thats not a problem... I know they like company and its important to socialized them with people..

Sorry for all the silly questions but I dont want to go into this light hearted I want to now fact's before I buy one...

Many thanks in advance

 

[Twinkley Lights]

I have a two and a half year old boy called Zebedee. He is totally in charge of our little family flock and rules the house. We adore him and love him to bits. They do need specialist care and are quite demanding and time consuming and I really wish I have looked into that more. Having said that I couldn't imagine life without him. He has a huge aviery type cage and lots of safe toys and he is a happy and talkative chap. The parrot club is a nice friendly forum as some can be a tad bitchy to newbies. PM me any specific questions as there is alot to learn.

 

[Oldenburg27]

I have a two and a half year old boy called Zebedee. He is totally in charge of our little family flock and rules the house. We adore him and love him to bits. They do need specialist care and are quite demanding and time consuming and I really wish I have looked into that more. Having said that I couldn't imagine life without him. He has a huge aviery type cage and lots of safe toys and he is a happy and talkative chap. The parrot club is a nice friendly forum as some can be a tad bitchy to newbies. PM me any specific questions as there is alot to learn.

Thank you for you reply I cant think of anything off the top of my head minds gone blank but I was thinking about hatching one..

Do they live better in pair's? All being well I will have loads of time at home so he/she will never be alone as will be working from home.. What's better to have male or female.. What type of specialist care do they need? I think I will just lurk one the Parrot Club forum lol

Many thank's for replying just want to now as much as I can before I get one. God I'm soooooooo excited

 

[Alexart]

I don't have a grey but have an amazon and a cockatoo - both rescues. Try parrot line as there are so many birds needing homes at the mo as folk buy them on a whim, or realise just how much work they are, or the bird hits sexual maturity and gets aggressive so they sell them on!
They are like having a child and do need an awful lot of attention and out of cage time - at least 4hrs a day really as a bored parrot will either be very noisy/destructive or pluck all it's feathers out which greys are prone to doing!
As for hatching one - leave it to the professionals as they are so difficult to get right and really need the social interaction with other parrots - hand reared birds are the ones with the most issues, and even though you may hand rear it it will more than likely not like you when it hits maturity at 2, as it will see you more of a parent figure and not a mate which is how hand reared birds view people and why they are so screwed up!!!

They are very costly to keep as well, parrot toys are not cheap and even my little cockatoo will destroy a £20 toy in an hour or so, and even with home made toys they get through them at a rate of knots!
A pair can be nice - I've never kept a pair before so a more experinced parrot owner would be better to help you there, but most folk who keep pairs do so for breeding and they are usually aviary birds and not that tame as they bond to each other, they are usually parent reared birds which do make great pets but require more time and patience to win them over hence why breeders favour the hand reared bird as they are easier to sell as they will bond to anything that moves when little and are cute!! A hand reared bird though doesn't know it's a parrot and more often than not will not like other birds and if it bonds to you alone it will also not like the rest of your family - my 2 birds will take chunks out of my Mum and sister - the cockatoo will stalk them like a cat when they're not watching and will pouncewith a scream and a nasty bite if she gets a chance!!!
There's a few parrot foums around so worth asking on there, but rescues are the way to go I think - at least most have hit sexual maturity so you know what you're getting rather than waiting!!

 

[Richie]

African Greys are very intelligent and so they'll need a lot of you time and things to keep their brain stimulated.

Often these birds will outlive their owners.
Their lifespan in 60years so you'll need to make a serious commitment.

good luck!

 

[Oldenburg27]

I don't have a grey but have an amazon and a cockatoo - both rescues. Try parrot line as there are so many birds needing homes at the mo as folk buy them on a whim, or realise just how much work they are, or the bird hits sexual maturity and gets aggressive so they sell them on!
They are like having a child and do need an awful lot of attention and out of cage time - at least 4hrs a day really as a bored parrot will either be very noisy/destructive or pluck all it's feathers out which greys are prone to doing!
As for hatching one - leave it to the professionals as they are so difficult to get right and really need the social interaction with other parrots - hand reared birds are the ones with the most issues, and even though you may hand rear it it will more than likely not like you when it hits maturity at 2, as it will see you more of a parent figure and not a mate which is how hand reared birds view people and why they are so screwed up!!!

They are very costly to keep as well, parrot toys are not cheap and even my little cockatoo will destroy a £20 toy in an hour or so, and even with home made toys they get through them at a rate of knots!
A pair can be nice - I've never kept a pair before so a more experinced parrot owner would be better to help you there, but most folk who keep pairs do so for breeding and they are usually aviary birds and not that tame as they bond to each other, they are usually parent reared birds which do make great pets but require more time and patience to win them over hence why breeders favour the hand reared bird as they are easier to sell as they will bond to anything that moves when little and are cute!! A hand reared bird though doesn't know it's a parrot and more often than not will not like other birds and if it bonds to you alone it will also not like the rest of your family - my 2 birds will take chunks out of my Mum and sister - the cockatoo will stalk them like a cat when they're not watching and will pouncewith a scream and a nasty bite if she gets a chance!!!
There's a few parrot foums around so worth asking on there, but rescues are the way to go I think - at least most have hit sexual maturity so you know what you're getting rather than waiting!!

That's fab thank you I have wanted one for years and years.. Its not something we are taking lightly I know they need alot of time.. Sounds abit like my horse for wrecking things lol Thank you