Wanting a African Grey,.....I think ???

[427HISS]

Well living with you, she'll have a great live, blind or not.
I agree, we have other pets and don't want to entertain the bird over the rest, and I'm wanting to keep the screaming down to a minimum, as I have a lot headaches.
Do you have pics you can post of your birds ?

 

[roxynoodle]

For awhile I couldn't post pics on here but I switched to using googlechrome and now I seem to be able to. I admit, I don't have that many on this computer as it's pretty new. And Pete keeps trying to eat the camera so the ones I took of him are in his cage, lol! I do need to get more of Rowdy on here. I lost a lot of pretty funny ones that were on my old computer. My backup hard drive died, I bought a new one, and then the day I got it, the whole computer died!

 

[PiperAndRiosMommy]

As to your question about pros & cons .... birds are like people and it all depends on each individual bird/how they were raised etc. I cannot answer questions about Too's since I have never had one but I absolutely love my Grey. So I can answer about him, not every Grey will be like him though.

1- Personality traits - Piper is full of personality, he dances, he is still a baby so he practices his new found voices (yes, voices .... he has his high pitch voice and then his real deep voice) He is such the entertainer.

2- Intelligence - He is extremely smart and picks up on all kinds of noises/words without repetition.

3- orneryness,ssss (lol) - He has never tried to bite me and never acts annoyed.

4- Trainable- Not sure what you mean here.

5- Screaming (very important) - He is not a screamer but he does get excited at times and talks very loudly. It's not annoying in the least.

6- Lovable, cuddling etc. - Piper is like a baby when it comes to cuddling. He will snuggle into my neck and take a nap while we watch TV. He adores people and hasn't met a person he does not like yet.

7- Nervous (plucking, chewing) He does not pluck, he is a pretty happy guy.

8- Bad habits - He destroys all of his toys in a matter of a day or so ..... so my toy allowance gets pretty expensive to keep him entertained when he is in his cage.

9- Sleep well & quiet overnight - He gives me a kiss at bedtime and he is as quiet as a mouse all night.

10- Good with other pets - I have a Boxer as well, and a cat in the house that Piper interacts with and Piper loves them. They are just big toys to him. I have pictures of him kissing my cat and pics of him trying to free my dog from her collar. They get along great but I would never leave them unsupervised.


In my experience, Greys are amazing and mine is a very easy keeper besides having to keep him supplied with something to shred but it's not a problem.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[usamimi]

I dont have a too since I knew that as a student I wouldnt have the time to devote to one but I do have a grey and I love her to bits so like the above I can answer your question with my experiences.

1- Personality traits - She's such a goofball, she's always doing something entertaining and goofy

2- Intelligence - I know she's too smart for her own good, that's for sure.

3- orneryness,ssss (lol) - only when she wants love and I want to work

4- Trainable - We've easily taught her to step up, she's already picking up no and we're starting target training

5- Screaming (very important) - she's nearly silent. The only noise she makes is her babbling

6- Lovable, cuddling etc. - she'll sit wedged against my cheek rubbing her head on me for hours. Almost TOO cuddly xD

7- Nervous (plucking, chewing) - none, hopefully it stays that way

8- Bad habits - she nibbles my ears when she wants attention, she's getting a bit too hard so we're nipping that in the bud.

9- Sleep well & quiet overnight - silent. about 9 am I hear a "peep" from the living room.

10- Good with other pets - she wants to beak at them, but no malicious behaviot

 

[lene1949]

I have two of the smaller cockatoos, a Shortbilled Corella and a Galah.

They are both beautiful birds, and only call morning and evening... If anyone wants cockatoos, I can recommend these 2 species... They are much more independent than the larger breeds... but I agree with the others, go for an African Grey..

 

[roxynoodle]

PiperAndRiosMommy, Merlin's previous owner shipped me a huge box of pine cones for Merlin to shred. It definitely cuts down on toy expense by not having her go through 1 or more toys a day. I believe she told me she got them from MySafeBirdStore. That site has been recommended to me as well on here. The owner also recently adopted a blind Grey. I've been meaning to call her to talk about that.

 

[427HISS]

roxy- lol, I did not,.... back up my computer files, pics, home movies, email, once, and I learned a lesson ! I bought a external hard drive and I back them up evey 6 months now !

So, sorry for your loss !

usamimi- "babbling",.....lol, growing up with my sister, I'm used to BABBLING !!!

I think the Grey for us and I'm wanting to visit with "Shredded Oak Aniary", as their very close to me, maybe 15 miles from home.

Is it better/easier, to raise a Grey as a youngster as a first parent rather one that's already been with a owner/owners, for several years ?

Also, I visited a website that shows a bird flight jacket/harness and long leash, for letting the bird to fly outside. Is that a good or bad idea ?
It looks fun for both the bird and the owner, and letting the bird enjoy an aspect that's natural,.......flight. But, will that lead to him wanting to fly indoors causing a mired of problems ?

 

[roxynoodle]

Yeah, it was just bad luck on my part to buy a new external hard drive and have the whole computer go the same day it got here in the mail! I swear I'm the person Murphy wrote his laws about! I had that computer for like 9 years, too. So it had a ton of stuff on it.

As for taking your birds outside, I don't anymore. But, we've had West Nile for a few years now, and that's my main reason. I also have a lot of predatory birds like hawks and owls and eagles. And many of my neighbors let their predatory dogs run loose. The dogs killed and chased off my barn cats and my raccoons. I sure don't trust them around my birds.

I have 2 older rehomed birds now and quite honestly they have made great additions to my home. I'm in my 40s now and a baby Grey would probably outlive me so I decided to give older birds a new home instead. I've never had a kitten as a house cat either. I take in one that no one else wants instead. So I guess I'm kind of like that. I know baby animals find good homes easier than adult ones do. But, I've had my conure since she was a baby and it's also a lot of fun to do it that way as well.

And hey, my old amazon said something new tonight! He said, "Be right back" when I went to get dinner out of the oven! And last week he said, "Good boy" for the first time.

 

[427HISS]

Great with the amazon !

Question- we keep our home pretty cool at apx. 65 degrees, but no open windows at these temps that cause's any drafts. My mothers cocktateils were fine, how about the Grey ?

 

[roxynoodle]

That's all I keep my house at, too, when the wood burning stove isn't on. And right now I need to replace a cord for the blower, which I forgot to buy yesterday, dummy me. My birds have always been fine. And to be honest, I don't like it much warmer than that either.

 

[427HISS]

"Cool".......lol

I do have my wife excited now, but with a little hesitation. I really need to meet with Shredded Oak and see some of her birds.

 

[roxynoodle]

Go for it Actually Merlin's previous owners talked to me about how she gets hot easily. They wanted to know how hot it gets in here over the summer. I said I never let it get over 71-72, lol! And at those temps I can't stand wearing anything more than shorts and T shirt.

 

[427HISS]

Oh, I see,....you're a nudist ! lol
I love the cold but wimpy, in the HOT & HUMID weather.

We went on a cruise to Alaska, and should live their !

 

[427HISS]

What do you do to keep your birds quiet, if really needed ?
Especially the Grey, since that's what I'm sure we'll get.

 

[suncon97]

We haven't had an issue with noise too much we just keep Pearl entertained with new toys and we spend lots of time with her.we've learned to love her noises which are mostly during dinner time.

 

[Neravas]

unfortunatly i wouldnt recommend either... greys require a lot of mental stimulation and get bored easily, this leads to destructive behavior and screaming. Cockatoo's are beautiful but their bite is mean and they need tons of attention to be well behaved. (also very loud) If you want a bigger parrot i would recommend a larger conure variety or perhaps one of the smaller macaws. but thats just my opinion

 

[lene1949]

What do you do to keep your birds quiet, if really needed ?
Especially the Grey, since that's what I'm sure we'll get.

You just can't keep a parrot quiet, if really needed... If really needed your bird will be much likely to vocalise...

 

[427HISS]

How about using duct tape. lol
In a local town, a man actually duct taped his little boy on a house wall, because he would not be quiet ! :smile010:

And yes, he's in jail & hope he receives the same treatment.

 

[roxynoodle]

I don't even try to keep them quiet. They're birds, they need to vocalize. If I have to make or take a phone call and they won't let me, I go into another room. Advantage cell or portable phone!

I guess I even encourage their vocalizations by imitating or saying them back. That did get Pete and Merlin to begin bonding to me right away though. They said, hey, she speaks our language!

 

[427HISS]

Talking about birds being outdoors, I just read a post that a lady was outside with her bird and very happy, and he would say,....hello,oooo, to everyone that walked by. lol