View Poll Results: African Grays; They difficult to look after?

Voters
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  • Yes, extremely and not for the beginner bird keeper!

    2 33.33%
  • Moderate, Common sense is all you need to look after a bird

    4 66.67%
  • Nah, They're like the bird equivalent of a beardie, Nice and easy and they're friendly

    0 0%
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Thread: African Grays: How Difficult are they?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    England
    Posts
    187

    Default African Grays: How Difficult are they?

    Hey, I have no experiance with birds whatsoever.. well, a budgie..
    But I was thinking in getting an african gray for the family.
    They a difficult pet to look after?
    Ive seen them and they make alot of noise, do they settle down at any point?
    How much and what do they eat?

    A general caresheet from someone with a AG would be appreciated.

    I coooould google it but im far too lazy and I trust this site more that the rest of the world (y)


    Thanks in advance =)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Harrison, ME
    Posts
    224

    Default

    My aunt had an African Gray. What a character Bennie was. She had him for many years and truly loved him. But because he was so noisy, she had to move from her condo. He was disturbing the neighbors while she was at work all day. He would scream like a woman being tortured.

    She started leaving the television on for him during the day. It was during the summer Olympics. The U.S. was cleaning up so he learned to sing portions of the Star Spangled Banner.

    Eventually, her work as a narcotics detective consumed more and more of her time. Bennie became more and more unruly. He would punish her for being gone all day by screaming the entire time she was home. She of course had worked all day (or night) and had other things to do when she got home. So she couldn't give him the attention he demanded.

    She eventually gave him up to someone who's passion and life was devoted to these types of birds. It was very good for Bennie but very hard for my aunt.
    Renee

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    England
    Posts
    187

    Default

    ah, doesn't sound like they simmer down at all then..
    Cause there is a gawjus red one at my local pet store.. but the sqarking makes me jump out of my skin.. every time lol

    Shame.. because they are such beautiful birds.. Im guessing it would stress the reptiles as well all that noise.. maybe not so much Iguanas that live in rainforests.. but beardies.. I dunno.

    Maybe birds are not the thing for me.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Canada, Québec, Pointe-Calumet.
    Posts
    1,493

    Default

    My parent had a beautiful Umbrella Cockatoo (unvailable to buy now). What an awsome bird, he was a real baby, always need attention. The big parakeet need a lot of attention if not, they do a big mess.

    Do birds are good pets for you? look at this!

    1) Are you ready to give them a lot of attention? Because these pet are very jalous and possessive.

    2) Are you ready to clean all the mess that they do?

    3) Are you living in a house ?

    4) Do you have the money because these one in Canada cost 3000$ (i don't know how much they cost in USA)

    If you answer all yes, that means that birds are maybe for you!
    good luck!
    Ben
    0.1.0, 2007, Bearded Dragon (Uresaii)
    1.0.0, 1999, Hermann Tortoise (Tama-chan)
    0.1.0, 2007, Redfoot Tortoise (Kame-chan)


    Got msn? If you want to talk to me just leave me a private message !

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Oceanside, California
    Posts
    72

    Default

    I have a Congo african grey female named chloe. I got her about 2 months ago. She is now about 11 months old. I love my grey and I wouldn't turn back my decision to get one here is some pro's and con's to influence your decision to get one. I too am a first time bird owner and jumped into all this without much info on the species or how to take care of them. Keep in mind all greys are NOT the same and results do vary per bird although my pros and cons are mainly generalized on the average grey.

    Pros: Extremely friendly, Social, love to play, Can say up to 1,000 words on average, sing and make noises, mimic you and sounds it hears, Self cleaning, outgoing (meaning can take almost anywhere with you), the best parrot for your buck in my opinon. Will entertain itself while you are at work. Products such as poop-off will dissolve and sanitze bird poop with relative ease no mess left over and no stains. Cheap cost for litter such as newspaper etc.

    Cons: Can be loud and screechy although uncommon, extremely expensive rough prices include... food 7-12 bucks every 1-2 weeks, cage 300-400 dollars for anything nice, toys 10-50 dollars per toy and these birds MUST have a lot of toys if you do not interact with them most of the day as they get extremely bored and that can lead to plucking their feathers out until they have bald spots, expect to spend 200 dollars on your first vet visit for a physical, sexing, tagging (they put a micro chip in the skin so if it's lost you can find it) or they tag its leg with a bird "doggie" collar type device and possible medications. They are extremely messy water food and cage must be cleaned every other day at a bare minimum.
    While they can be potty trained they poop about once every 20 min and usually without training anywhere they want you must accept be pooped on or furniture being pooped on as a normal thing. Biting is possible but not usually likely, these birds bond to ONE person. Meaning it will love you to do death and be your best friend but it might not let your family friends, girlfriend/boyfriend hold/pet or interact with it. Mine loves me but ignores my room mate. Last thing is bird's must be cleaned and showered every few days (misting with water bottle is fine too). They are also VERy sensative to many human things, for example anything teflon coated such as pots and pans gives off teflon fumes and those are deadly and will cause respitory issues with you bird and kill it quicker than you can say "WTF?!". Avocado, alcohol, chocolate and other things can kill your bird just as easy do your homework first! And NEVER buy from a pet store. Pet store birds suck and usually come from second rate breeders, buy directly from a local breeder but first meet them talk to them, learn from them then make a choice and meet your bird of course too the younger the better GL!

    That's all i can think of right now, I know the cons seem over whelming in spite of the pro's but the pro's are all VERY rewarding in comparison with the many small con's which are not as big of a deal. My over all opinon is good first time bird, look into it before you buy, make a educated decision if you want to spend 50 years with a bird which might never talk ever and will most likely only bond to you. Anything you want it to do can be trained but it takes time and patience. You cannot punish a bird like you would a dog or any other animal. They understand right and wrong but not as easy as you would like. You ignore bad behavior and reinforce good behavior with treats and praising such as "good bird!". Males are generally larger and better talkers than females but females are usually the more "chill" of the two and a tad smaller it's all about prefrence and luck. hope this helps.

    P.S. www.greyforums.net best website online for extremely supportitive community with lots of grey knowledge and help, check it out

  6. #6

    Default

    With any of the large parrots, the time and effort you should put into them is about the same as you would put into an eighteen-month-old human child with ADHD. If you've had some toddlers with ADHD and loved the experience, then a big parrot with complex behavioral and social needs like a Grey or a macaw or cockatoo is a great choice!

    I should mention that I don't believe in "starter" species--that is, I don't think a person should get some smaller/easier animals for practice before getting what they really want. People should learn a ton about the species they really want, and maybe get some experience through volunteering or meeting people who keep them, but ultimately if you have your heart set on a Grey you won't be satisfied with a budgie.
    I enjoy the company of large and dangerous creatures.

  7. #7

    Default Re: African Grays: How Difficult are they?

    Quote Originally Posted by Davii
    Hey, I have no experiance with birds whatsoever.. well, a budgie..
    But I was thinking in getting an african gray for the family.
    They a difficult pet to look after?
    Ive seen them and they make alot of noise, do they settle down at any point?
    How much and what do they eat?

    A general caresheet from someone with a AG would be appreciated.

    I coooould google it but im far too lazy and I trust this site more that the rest of the world (y)


    Thanks in advance =)
    Hey Davii African Gray Parrots are the only full-size parrot found in Africa...all other offerings are from South America. ( And Australia with Cockatoos etc)
    Your best bet for any parrot is a hand-fed baby ( and most expensive)
    Noisy?: Yes...PERIOD
    Messy?: Better to count on YES
    If not broadly socialized when young, your African Grey may imprint and/or bond with one handler and be (by degrees) difficult with others.
    Grays tend to be very hard with their beak. In other words, a parrot will use its beak as a tool to climb with, such as from it's perch to your hand.
    Grays use a lot of pressure....they're holding on tight when they climb...they're not biting you, but you may think it feels like that 'til you get used to it Arguably the best talkers of all the parrots, the African Gray is an excellent choice...provided you want to deal with the mess and the noise and the destructive tendencies inherent with all Psitticine birds. I will respectfully differ with ChaimsMom on the subject of 'starter' birds....a common gray cockatiel ( Rather than merely a budgie) will be rather cheaply bought, can( with a young one) be trained to the hand in under an hour and will serve to show you many of the ways of the parrot
    without a huge expenditure of money, or blood.
    Did I say blood? Here's a sweeping generalization, for what it may be worth to you: To have parrots is to be bitten by parrots. If that is unacceptable to you, then there is your answer. Mind you, it may be that your parrot will never ever draw blood from you...I wouldn't count on it.
    Parrots can be immensely rewarding....Good Luck!
    GMB
    amergin@comcast.net
    "Be mindful of your thoughts.
    Thoughts crystallize into habit and
    habit solidifies into circumstance."

  8. #8

    Default

    Every parrot bites. Every parrot owner gets bitten. Right now I've got two pierced fingernails, and those were both accidental bites that happened during playtime. (The cockatoo grabbed my finger and not the toy.)

    All birds WILL make noise! Sometimes very loud noises! And yes, they are messy, they chew on furniture and love to disassemble remote controls, and the really clever ones can sometimes get out of their cage while you're at work. (He figured out how to slip the padlock out of the door. I came back to a house in ruins and a cockatoo saying "I'll be good!")

    My point about the "starter bird" concept was not that a budgie or tiel isn't an engaging and rewarding pet all by itself--I have seen videos of some amazing talking budgies, btw!--but that the idea of getting an "easy" version of a difficult animal eventually results in either the human getting overloaded with animals, or the "starter" pets needing to be rehomed.

    I have heard that among Greys, the Timneh (slightly smaller than the Congo African Grey, with a darker tail) tends to be more complacent and tolerant of things like travel and other disruptions in routine.

    Birds' ability to learn and to change behavior is incredible. They don't seem to lose brain plasticity with age the way mammals do, so even an adult parrot with bad habits can be re-trained with time. Greys have a potential lifespan of 50-80 years, so don't rule out adopting an adult from a rescue or getting a re-homed bird!
    I enjoy the company of large and dangerous creatures.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
    Posts
    9,505

    Default

    hi Davii.Welcome back.Long time no see.I'm sorry I can't help you with the caresheet.It's been to many years ago that I had a Aftican Gray and a Umbrella Cackatoo.All I can say is that the AG didn't like women so I never could hold him.But what I thought was cool is that he knew how to do the car alarm of my car :lol: .And the other bird was very loving.I never got bit by her.The only thing that bothered me about her was that every time I was on the phone she started to scream and sad her name.As soon as I got of the phone she was quiet.She loved to cuddle up with me.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    296

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    I imagine volumes of information could be written on the African Grey parrots. Both the Timneh, and the Congo birds. I've had a Timneh, the smaller of the two for ten years now. They aren't difficult, but they are intelligent, and require a lot of daily attention for that reason. You have to keep one step ahead of the bird it seems.

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