Help with African Grey Parrot????

kr15snw

Great to meet some other bird owners on here! Im paront (parrot parent) to Ollie the cockatiel but grew up with Winston the african grey.

Winston is your stereotypical grey that went straight to my dad for cuddles as a baby and wasnt handled enough by others. Now at the age of about 15 he only goes to my dad. Although after 2 weeks at our place (we always look after him when mum and dad go away) he was starting to let my boyfriend give him head scratches through the bars. So I reckon we could tame him up nicely

Such an amazing character though, and constantly entertaining!

Yorkie: You said you dont like them having their wings clipped? Im in the other corner on that one. Ollie doesnt have his clipped and he loves flying around. BUT I would always get a larger bird (i.e a cag) clipped simply for safety. Not so much the getting out as parrot cages are always checked before a door / window is opened in the house, but for him being able to fly into something and hurt himself. Plus we dont have the largest space for him to fly around in, its suitable for a tiel, but not a cag.

In reference to them living for a long time. Winston is 15 and dad is 65 now. Its already been decided that me and the boyfriend will get winston if he ever gets too much for mum and dad to care for / if the un thinkable happens. We're also getting the (2 year old) tortoise as well..... Dad is even contemplating putting this in his will!

YorkiePud_3

Well I wouldn't ever keep a parrot who wasn't allowed to fly around and had to endure a life of being on people or on the floor.

#1 it is cruelty beyond the imagination and #2 an African Grey HAS to fly to exercise its chest muscles. If it isn't able to then it can become very ill.

There is absolutely no risk of my parrot getting out of its cage by itself .. most parrot owners I know have padlocks all over the cage ... i.e. both sides of the door, the top if it is an opening top and over the feeding slots if they are those silly ones that slide up and down (like on a lot of smaller cages).
The sheer strength of a parrot's beak, combined with their incredible intelligence, means that if you don't take these precautions, you will end up walking in the room and find your bird has let itself out!!

When people have Greys, they tend to have one designated room where the parrot is allowed to fly. A room without plants or hot stoves or mirrors up at the wall ... but a Grey WILL bash into things at first until it learns to navigate, which it does in a short space of time.

Clipping a bird's wings is rather like having a baby who you never allow to learn to walk.

I know of one lady who clipped her bird's wings and when it tried to fly a bit, it landed in the bowl of hot washing up water (the stupid woman thought being clipped, the bird wouldn't move off her arm but the poor thing tried) ... not being able to fly upwards, out of the bowl, it drowned within seconds.

So, as with all animals, there are fors and againsts for every part of their care. Obviously we won't all agree on them all.

YorkiePud_3

tiamaria wrote: »

Thanks, I think they are already bird people as they had a cage from a cockatiel that had passed away. Apparently she flew down and landed on his shoulder, they seem to know who to go to somehow:)

Sounds like she had a nice holiday, being pampered!

I tell you something ... it will be interesting to see if she comes out with any new noises or words from her holiday away!!

You might even find she starts doing some garden bird noises ... dependent on how long she was out and if she fancies having a go at them herself!!

kr15snw

YorkiePud wrote: »

Well I wouldn't ever keep a parrot who wasn't allowed to fly around and had to endure a life of being on people or on the floor.

#1 it is cruelty beyond the imagination and #2 an African Grey HAS to fly to exercise its chest muscles. If it isn't able to then it can become very ill.

There is absolutely no risk of my parrot getting out of its cage by itself .. most parrot owners I know have padlocks all over the cage ... i.e. both sides of the door, the top if it is an opening top and over the feeding slots if they are those silly ones that slide up and down (like on a lot of smaller cages).
The sheer strength of a parrot's beak, combined with their incredible intelligence, means that if you don't take these precautions, you will end up walking in the room and find your bird has let itself out!!

When people have Greys, they tend to have one designated room where the parrot is allowed to fly. A room without plants or hot stoves or mirrors up at the wall ... but a Grey WILL bash into things at first until it learns to navigate, which it does in a short space of time.

Clipping a bird's wings is rather like having a baby who you never allow to learn to walk.

I know of one lady who clipped her bird's wings and when it tried to fly a bit, it landed in the bowl of hot washing up water (the stupid woman thought being clipped, the bird wouldn't move off her arm but the poor thing tried) ... not being able to fly upwards, out of the bowl, it drowned within seconds.

So, as with all animals, there are fors and againsts for every part of their care. Obviously we won't all agree on them all.

I know what you mean about having different opinions. Ive known greys live for very lengthy, healthy lives without having their wings clipped. Its one of those things that some people do and some people dont, but I definately dont think it has any health problems.

I agree on having one room. Ollie VERY rarely leaves the front room as Im too scared I havent checked the other rooms for danger! For example Ollie in the kitchen scares the hell out of me, simply because its full of hot, wet and sharp things! He only walks through that room (on our shoulder).

Also agree on the padlock, although Ollie doesnt need one Winston definately does! Even though Winston can't fly he still likes to let himself out of his cage so he can run around his play stand. Padlock was very quickly added to the cage once he started doing that!

That poor bird and the water. No matter if a bird can fly or not I would never have them in a dangerous place (i.e the kitchen when something is on / full). Just like letting your child run around the floor covered with bowls of water and knives!

Tiamaria: I agree with yorkie, I bet shell have some new phrases! We always teach winston something new when he comes to say (mainly to wind my mum up), but it doesnt take long for him to pick it up!

bodeia

I to am a parront, I have two CAG (congo african greys) 5yr old & a 2 yr old and soon to be three in about 5 weeks or so when she is fully weaned by the breeder cost £600 add cage and toys £240

I don't wing clip they have free flight indoors, and it just means we are very careful about open doors and windows. Makes for a very interesting life.

YorkiePud_3

Congrats on your new arrival!! They are fabulous babies ... and I totally second what you say about being careful.

If you are going to be careful about what they eat, about not using anything around them that could be fatal to them, then it really isn't all that difficult to leave the poor beggar's feathers alone and just ensure the room they are in is parrot-proof all the time!!

£600 isn't bad at all though .... I paid £800 for my CAG just 3 years ago and a lot of adverts I have seen recently are pushing the thousand mark.