Help with African Grey Parrot????

xxlaurissaxx

Hey guys,

Im looking to get an African Grey Parrot and although it will be my first I will read up sooooo much before I get him to make sure I have everything covered.

I have already posted in the Scotland Forum but with no luck. What im wondering is -

. How did you find your breeder? Was it through word of mouth?
. How much should I expect to pay for a good bloodline and good family history?


As I say I have not had a parrot before, but have thought long and hard for months and have decided I can give him a very good home and will read up every bit of info available before I get him. It would be until December/January as I have to save up first.

Also, If you have a parrot, do you think this would be a good cage -
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PARROT-CORNER-CAGE-WROUGHT-IRON-AFRICAN-GREY-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ250482980622QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Birds?hash=item3a51f2f70e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Or is it too small? Width wise I mean.


Thanks for reading and any help would be greatfully appreciated.

xxLaurissaxx

YorkiePud_3

Hi there,

African Greys are fabulous birds but they don't suit everyone ... a lot of people don't go into everything about them and can end up with a dead bird a year later either through not having the right info or by giving them something poisonous ... it is an absolute minefield so I really applaud you looking into it all first!

You can pay between £800 to £1200 for a baby grey ... I paid £800 from a big pet centre. Ordinarily I would never buy from a pet centre, but this little thing had just been brought in from the breeder so hadn't heard any of the weird and wonderful loud noises the other birds there made (ie and wouldn't replicate em!!) .. plus it hadn't had people poking at it from every bit of the cage so as far as I was concerned it was as good as getting it directly from the breeder's home.

I would always buy one that is ringed.
Reason being, you can always trace back to the breeder if there are problems ... but also because I cannot tell you how important it is to insure your bird. And of course, insuring it means they need to know the number on the bird's ring to make sure it is definitely the right bird ...

Bloodlines and family histories don't usually come into it (unless you are going into breeding yourself, of course!) ...

A baby grey is an amazing little thing though ... just as helpless as a human baby and just as easy to attach itself to you or to the "special human" it chooses. At that age, I would advise you to let EVERYONE handle the baby ... five years down the line after it has attached itself to just one person it becomes very good at inflicting horrendous bites and wounds on anyone else if it hasn't taken to them.
I know of an African Grey whose owner let it out to "play with the dog" .. (her words ...) ... I warned her and warned her ... then one day when her great dane had to have surgery because her bird had bitten through its jaw bone in a frenzied attack, she decided it best to keep them apart.

So basically ... socialise socialise socialise it with all members of the family ... even so, they may just take to one person though but as long as they are ok to be handled by everyone then you don't have to worry if you are poorly one day and unable to clean baby out .. at least you know he or she will allow someone else to do it.

And of course, you have holidays to contend with ... who's going to look after baby? Has to be someone it knows or trusts otherwise he or she may stop eating and drinking and start gouging the skin on its own belly till you end up with a trip to the vets for surgery ... they are wonderful birds, but they have the intelligence of a three year old child.
So yes, they can hold a bit of a conversation with you ... yes, they can learn to talk, sing and whistle and do tricks, but along with all that comes the moods and tantrums of a three year old child.

Some bird trainers (unbelievably) say hold the bird in your hand and drop it to the floor when it is playing up .. kind of shock treatment. I'd like to do it to them ... gggrrr ... all you may end up with is a bird who is frightened of you or hates you and attacks you, or, worst case scenario, a bird with a broken breastbone ... not nice.

If birdy plays up, just whip him or her back into their cage. They soon learn that they have to behave to get what they want, ie being outside with you.

A lot of people clip their wings too. Something I totally disagree with. If you have an ounce of intelligence (which I am sure you do!) then you will go round the house, securing all windows, locking all doors, taking all pans off the cooker, putting fireguard round fire, covering mirrors etc before even getting birdy out ... !!! So you don't need to clip their wings ... and anyway, isn't it better for birdy to come to you because he or she loves you and wants to be with you rather than because it is stuck and cannot move away?

There are SO many dangerous things we have in the house though that are poisonous to parrots ... basically, throw away ALL your disinfectants, window cleaner, air fresheners etc ... anything that gives off fumes is poisonous to them.
The best thing to clean with is one of those steam cleaners ... anything else can be fatal. I just use hot water to wash my cage down (and my house!) ... and the steam cleaner also ...

Essential oils, candles .... even the fumes from a boiling saucepan ... (stainless steel aren't too bad, though I still open the doors and windows if I use them) ... the non stick saucepans are LETHAL ... once they get to a certain heat the non stick constituency lets off fumes and then it is bye bye birdy.

There are some household paints you can get that are supposed to be low in fumes ... (they do them for people with asthma etc) ... I usually just wash down my walls with hot water though when they look a bit grubby. I'm not risking anything!!!
On the other hand, if you have a friend who your grey likes who would have him or her till you have done your decorating, then brilliant!

Avocado and chocolate is poisonous to parrots .. green beans are carcinogenic, grapes are to be avoided because they are just sugar ... don't give anything straight out of the fridge .. let it come to room temperature first.
Never any ice cream ....

As I say, it's a minefield! My grey has cherry tomato, clementines, mango, melon and carrot. He has mashed up veg when I make myself some (cauliflower, broccoli, carrot) ... but NEVER with butter on!!!
Now and then he has those plain breadsticks ... a plain digestive biscuit.

I feed him on a pellet diet ... it is called Nutri bird and they are like coloured shaped biscuit things. He has had those from being a baby and they are full of everything that they need nutritionally, so really the veg and fruit are just an added bonus, so it doesn't matter so much if he leaves those as long as he eats his Nutri bird (which, fortunately, he loves!)

He doesn't eat seed after friends of mine lost some of their birds due to aspergillosis ... a lot of people do give their parrots a seed diet but more and more, when autopsies have been done in the USA and over here they are finding that this in the seed is causing problems with the lungs which cannot always be cured and can result in an horrendous agonising death ... this is what happened to my friednd's bird and, as she said, but everyone says give em seed!!

Anyway, as soon as she lost her bird, I took Elvis off seed and he's been a brighter bird .. his plummage is lovely and he is a happier bird altogether.
I put the Nutribird biccies in a little dog bowl in the bottom of his cage and he has free access to them so he munches away through the day when he fancies one.

The most important thing though is to get a good calcium additive for their water or food. The one I use is called CALCIVET ... I put 3mls into Elvis's water twice a week.
So many poor birds end up having to be put to sleep because they are prone to calcium deficiency. No matter how much fruit they eat, they can never absorb the amount they need. One vet said it turns their bones to glass ... *shudders* .. so if you don't do anything else, do get yours a bottle of Calcivet .. it will last you ages and is worth it to know you are helping your bird that way *S*

*L* seems like I am bombarding you with so much all at once (I best bring it to a close else I'll end up being banned for using all the space up!!) ... I'm just so excited for you to be getting one! I know how much fun they are ... they are wonderful babies, but beware cos they can be stroppy little tinkers in a year or so!! They really are a handful and a specialised pet, but if you have the patience, time and devotion, then go for it!!

Sorry ... forgot .. cage size ... big as possible! Some people say it doesn't matter if you are having the bird out, but it still means it has to sit in a poky little thing while you are busy or at work ...

A lot of new cages have grills on the bottom of the cage. They are trying to get them banned in USA because a lot of birds are getting their legs caught in them when walking on them, struggling to get free and having heart attacks and dying through the stress and shock ...
All they are for is for the poo to drop through onto a tray beneath ... hence making it easier for owners to clean it.
I just have the tray on the bottom (no grill) and I put newspaper down. If it gets too dirty through the day and I don't want Elvis trundling through it, it is a two minute job to whip the tray out, take the dirty newspaper out and replace with clean newspaper ... much safer for the birds, too!

xxlaurissaxx

YorkiePud thank you soooooo much. Theres loads of excellent information. You have been a great help and im sure if I ever have a question, I will ask you as you know so much. Thanks again

xxLaurissaxx

supersunshine

We used to get our parrots from the Parrot Society mag private sales adverts. It might be worth having a look in there. We have two African Greys now and they live outside in an avery which they are very happy in and spend many an hours chatting to me down the garden. They are lovely pets but be warned they live 30 - 40 years so make sure you really really want one :-) My husband got them when he was 16 and he is a lot older than that now but they are still going strong which is fab :-)

YorkiePud_3

xxlaurissaxx wrote: »

YorkiePud thank you soooooo much. Theres loads of excellent information. You have been a great help and im sure if I ever have a question, I will ask you as you know so much. Thanks again

xxLaurissaxx

No problemo! I am not an expert but am onto my second one now ... the things I know are what I have found out from other owners, from vets and from research online and in books ... just a thought though .. if you buy a book about them, make sure it is an up to date one ... the thinking of looking after them and food to feed them etc changes often!!

A lot of people, especially in the USA, keep many of them and if they have any suspicious deaths then they autopsy them incase it has been a problem that is infectious and could spread to the rest of their birds so things are being discovered all the time re what causes problems for them.

My vet is Matt Brash .. he's the one on Zoo Vet and Zoo Vet at Large on Sky ... he is the vet for Flamingo Land. Thankfully, I haven't had to go to him yet but I'm told he is great!

YorkiePud_3

. They are lovely pets but be warned they live 30 - 40 years so make sure you really really want one :-)


30-40 years ... ????

They can comfortably live to 50-60 ... with some having been known to get up to 70-80 years, too!!

In fact, my greys were the reason that I gave up smoking .. I wanted to make sure (as sure as I could!) that I would be around for them!! *L*

YorkiePud_3

I've just had a look round and found this on a parrot website! ... imagine all those years .. what this one must have heard, the people it must have known ... the mind boggles!!

Quote: The oldest CAG that i had died at 86 years old,was bought from Harrods and was passed through the family on the death of each owner.
She laid for the first time at 44 years old,and made the sound of bombs coming down as she was kept in London during world war 2.
She hated women and kids,but loved men. Unquote

specsappeal

I am picking up my baby grey in the next 10 days and am so excited. I found the breeder on the bird trek site. He has been great. We went to see the grey when he was 4 weeks old (he is a 2 hour drive away) and since then the breeder has been sending pics of him to me every week. We also supplied the breeder with an aviator harness so he could get George used to it. We are paying £600. For that we get the baby (ringed), the papers etc, a travel carrier and 3 months worth of tidymix food. I have also spent £250 on his cage, toys etc. The breeder is fab and happy for me to phone or email him whenever i have a query or question etc. When we went to see the baby for the first time the breeder also admitted that it was an opportunity for him to check us out as if he felt that we weren't suitable he would not have let us have the baby.
Am soooooo excited and can't wait to get him home.

supersunshine

YorkiePud wrote: »

. They are lovely pets but be warned they live 30 - 40 years so make sure you really really want one :-)


30-40 years ... ????

They can comfortably live to 50-60 ... with some having been known to get up to 70-80 years, too!!

In fact, my greys were the reason that I gave up smoking .. I wanted to make sure (as sure as I could!) that I would be around for them!! *L*

Well there you go then, even more reason to make sure your really want to live with one before you buy one.

YorkiePud_3

supersunshine wrote: »

Well there you go then, even more reason to make sure your really want to live with one before you buy one.

Couldn't agree more with you .. *S* .. as much as I love mine, he is a heavy duty responsibility .. more of a responsibility than a dog or a cat (got both of those, too!) ... but I think people don't realise ... then the poor birds tend to end up in rescues when they grow out of the cute fluffy stage where they come running to you when they see you (oh how I miss that!) ... my bird is coming up to 3 years old so we're entering the "Kevin the teenager" bit now ... oh joy!!!!

YorkiePud_3

specsappeal wrote: »

I am picking up my baby grey in the next 10 days and am so excited. I found the breeder on the bird trek site. He has been great. We went to see the grey when he was 4 weeks old (he is a 2 hour drive away) and since then the breeder has been sending pics of him to me every week. We also supplied the breeder with an aviator harness so he could get George used to it. We are paying £600. For that we get the baby (ringed), the papers etc, a travel carrier and 3 months worth of tidymix food. I have also spent £250 on his cage, toys etc. The breeder is fab and happy for me to phone or email him whenever i have a query or question etc. When we went to see the baby for the first time the breeder also admitted that it was an opportunity for him to check us out as if he felt that we weren't suitable he would not have let us have the baby.
Am soooooo excited and can't wait to get him home.

Awwwwwwww .. am so jealous!!!! *LOL* ... they make the cuddliest clingiest babies ... I wish they could stay that way!!
Sounds like you have dropped on a really great breeder there ... well done and I wish you years of happiness and fun with your boy!