African Grey Parrots?

[Good Hope]

The little mom and pop hardware shop is nearby closing today. I stopped by and took them some homemade cookies. The business has a very talkative 11 year-old African Grey Parrot. No, he does not curse or swear, but loves to visit. Any who... they asked me if I'd take him and give him a good home.

Hmmmm... these birds are very bright, live to be about 50 years old, need a min. 45 min. interaction per day, special diet, and lots of toys. I don't know. What do you all think? Anybody have any experience with these birds? A 39 year commitment for 45 min. a day is HUGE. My dh was interested, but I believe he would like to teach it cuss.
MEN! lol.

Deena

[mjjensen]

  I don't know anything about parrots but if I remember right Melissakins and Brandon said a whle ago that they had several. They could probably tell you anything you needed to know to make your decision.

[Miranda]

My great-great aunt had one. I think his name was Murry or something. She had had him since she was a teenager. As a kid, I LOVED him. My cousins and I would sit there and talk to him for hours. Buuuut I quickly realized that he's like that annoying friend you just can't get to leave your house. CONSTANTLY babbling, whistling, humming (my aunt was a big hummer, so he picked it up from her), coughing (again, my aunt was a smoker, so he copied her cough), etc. She died a few years ago and not one member of my family would take him. They ended up giving him to a pet shop. I wish I had known they were going to do that, because I would've taken him.

As much as I hated Murry, I've been thinking about getting a parrot. For some reason it sounds like fun. But like you said, a 70 year commitment is NOT one to take lightly.

[bigdogs@5501]

ok I confess - I have a African Grey. Have had him since he was 21 days old, he is going to be 18 this week. He has been very low maintenance as far as his health. I give him a variety of food including pellets, which I prefer since it doesnt make the mess that seeds make. Greys can be tempermental and usually bond to one particular person in the family. They are extremely intelligent. We have ours in the common area of the house and that way he is always in the center of the activity- his cage is also set up so that he can watch TV. He is coniving, he will call the dogs over to him so that he can bite them ( all of the dogs learn to ignore him early in life) He is entertaining- and a member of the family. He went to daycare with the kids when they were all little since he was on a hand feeding formula-but he will still bite if given the opportunity. Get a book on African Greys- it will answer a lot of questions. His name is Teo. I do not get him out of the cage each day, but again he is in the main area of the house and is included in the activities. He loves opera music and is now whistling the McDonald theme song.
Toys, well he has several - but I dont buy them all of the time- and he has his favorites.
To sum it up- he is a great bird and is a major part of the family.

[nohesnotahorse]

The only thing that I'd add to what others have said is the that it will be a major transition for the Grey to go from a store environment to a home environment, so you may want to prepare for some upset on the part of the bird due to that.  Greys, because of their intelligence, are very sensitive to changes and may need extra attention during periods of change.

[ZooCrew]

Oooh, I simply adore african greys, and if I were to get a parrot that would be the species I would get.

I just don't know if I could handle having a 3-5 yr old child for 50+ yrs. 

I would suggest that if you aren't familiar with parrots and their needs, that you may not be prepared for the kind of care that they require.  Birds can get anxiety disorders rather easily.  My last cockatiel started plucking feathers when introduced to another bird.  Even after removing her, she continued to pluck feathers until she died this spring after I had her for 11+ yrs.  Parrots are also known to be screechers, and it can be very hard to get them out of this habit.  And depending on if you have children in your household, some can be biters.  And you definitely don't want a parrot to bite you, they can easily break your finger if they really want to.

Parrots should also have fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis if possible, along with their pellet and seed meal.  Toys are expensive for the larger birds, and some go thru them rather quickly.  Keep in mind that birds are really messy, and parrots pick up quickly on things that annoy you and then end up doing them on purpose.

Of course they can be very sweet and wonderful companions for the right person.  But they do require alot of time and attention.

[sarnewfie]

i had one i adopted becouse the lady didnt want him anymore, he plucked his feathers, he came to me with that habit, i tried everything, even leaving his door open, and laying newspapers on the floor around the cage, he was in the living room where he could be the main center of attnetion getter.
he still plucked but, i loved that bird.
than i got a big D
divorce, and could not keep him so i gave him to the vet in town that took care of my dogs.

[brandon]

Just make sure your family has the patience for the noise and the mess.  I don't think greys will scream like our Macaw, the ones I have been around are more about talking and making goofy noises...ALL DAY LONG!

If you want him/her to be healthy, they are high-maintenance. If you ever need vet care, you'll just about need to take out a personal loan (That just may be our area.)

We feed pellets, seed mix, and we cut up vegetables every morning , the macaw also gets a few nuts.  We make a mash to feed at night with oatmeal, spinach, broccoli, carrots, peanut butter to make it more yummy, sweet potatoe, etc.  We make a big batch maybe once a month and freeze it in ice cube trays, then bag it.  We just heat a couple of cubes up for them at night.  It makes for some nice birds, when they have full bellys.

We don't have a grey, so not sure on toys, I know it is a realy pita to keep toys for our macaw, he is 1/2 beaver. To make it easier on ourselves, we hung a stainless bucket and fill it with wooden pieces from www.caseyswood .com, he picks through his bucket taking out interesting things, putting them in his water, feeding them, destroying them , etc.

If you have the patience for the noise  and the mess, then parrots are companions unlike any other animal. 

Oh forgot to mention, no one has any allegies do they? Greys, like cockatoos are really  dusty birds.

[Good Hope]

Thanks everyone for your input.

My dh lived on a very large family ranch as a young boy outside of Medellin, Columbia. His grandparents had two Macaws. His uncles had taught the birds to swear like drunken sailors whenever company came to the house. His grandfather was a physician and grandmother very pious Catholic. This made for some embarrasing and VERY funny moments in that house. He has always wanted a parrot. (Didn't know until now.) He's such a great guy I hate to say no.

I believe we will go see the bird today and talk to his owner. His owner has a couple of books, so I hope we can borrow them and research for a week or so in order to have a better idea of the commitment we would be making and can THEN make a final decision.

We have 40 chickens, 3 turkeys, 11 ducks, 4 guineas, and 9 peafowl. So, we do have an idea of how dirty birds can be. We have had baby chicks and peachicks in the house for short periods of time as well. I realize that this possibly only represents a mere fraction of the possible noise and clean up.

If any one has recommendation s regarding links/websites to check out for additional info, I'd really appreciate the info.

Thanks BPOers!

Deena

P.S. Bigdogs... loved your story!

[brandon]

Parrot strut is like a BPO for birds with a very active forum.  Lots of good stuff there:

http://www.parrotstrut.com/

[Good Hope]

Thanks for the link Brandon.

The parrot's name is Rhett. We visited him a couple of times, and after doing some research and reading have decided to take him. He'll be coming home on Sat.

The group Brandon posted was what made the difference. Having support and someone to answer questions really gave us the courage to take him!

I'll post pics and share a couple of funny stories this weekend. It should be fun to see him interacts with the puppers! He's a dog lover!

Deena

[brandon]

Yay!!! Congratulation s.  I love it when someone really thinks about decision before they make it.  You're gonna love this boy/girl. When they come around and decide that hey, you're ok, and they want to be your buddy you are going to love it.  It make take a while, I'm sure as this will all be really new to him.  But when it happens, its really neat.

By the way:  My Parrot, My Friend: An Owner's Guide to Parrot Behavior by Bonnie Munro Doane is a real good book to have to understanding them.

[ZooCrew]

I'm sure he'll make a wonderful addition to the family.  Congratulation s!