Hello,
I am interested in getting an African Grey but have been reading
and hearing some things that are making me think twice about it.
Many articles refer to them as neurotic. Is this true? Do they get
nervous and pull their feathers out? I was at a breeder's shop
today but the guy was really tight lipped. I could not get good answers from him. I think he may have been nervous because I had my 4 year old daughter with me. She is very well behaved and not a concern, even in a china shop. But of course he did not know this. When I asked him if the Greys were neurotic he just said, "no". And then mumbled something about them not liking fast movements around them. Does this mean if my child reaches in for the bird to step on her finger she is going to get bit - hard?
I really do want to get a bird for our family. Here is my wish list:
Not a loud screacher - a quiet bird.
Good family bird
Talker
Will get plenty of attention from family but I don't want a bird who DEMANDS attention.
Am I asking too much?
Other birds I have considered include:
Cacque,
Eclectus,
Senegal,
Red Bellied Meyers.
I am not currently a bird owner and want to get the "right" bird for our family which consist of me, my wife, 2 children (well behaved girls 4 and 5) and a 92 year old grand-ma.
Any input you have would be well appreciated.
Thanks,
Rick
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Hi Rick!
Thanks for writing. It's important to educate yourself before you dedicate your life to a bird. First of all, you will NOT find a quiet bird, EVER. Even the "quiet" ones make noise. My African Grey, known as one of the "quietest" parrots, has come up with a screech that makes my ears bleed. My cockatiels, even though they're small, make enough noise to drive me crazy. There are no quiet birds, unless they're stuffed and found in a toy store.
In my experience, Greys are much more sensitive than other parrots. My grey is nervous. She chews on her feathers, but I'm not sure if this is related to a diet problem, disease, or if it's behavioral. A vet visit this weekend should clear things up. Nevertheless, Greys are known for being feather pickers. It's because they're so darned intelligent, that when they're placed in a cage all day, even if it's a great cage with tons of toys, it's not what they should have. All parrots, especially the large ones, need an area where they can fly. A large aviary is best.
As for a "good family bird", it all depends on how you socialize a bird. All birds, no matter how well socialized, no matter how great their manners are, can and will bite. Your children, no matter how well behaved they are, will get bitten eventually if they are allowed near a bird. You will get bitten too... I've been bitten by my Grey when she's scared, like at the vet's. Even my little Cockatiels have bitten me bad enough to cause me to yelp! The severity of the bite depends on the size of the bird and how pissed off it is. A Grey can break skin easily. Even a small Cockatiel can break the skin if they're scared enough. These animals are NOT domesticated, like dogs and cats. They have ALL their instincts, including the instinct to bite, to scream, to be messy and destructive, etc. You have to be ready for this when you decide to get a parrot. It's not their fault- they were created to do these things.
As for a talking bird, Greys and Amazons are the notorious talkers. But not all of these birds talk. My Grey does not talk. But I love her just the same. Never go get a bird with the expectation that he will talk. There's never any guarantee.
As for getting a bird that will not demand attention, that's a tricky one. In the wild, parrots are together ALL THE TIME. They mate for life. They are never alone. So what happens when we put them in a cage and leave for work every day? By golly, they can have problems. And when you, their mate, come home, of course they want (they NEED) to spend time with you. Unless they have another parrot in the house they are bonded to, they need you. It's best to keep birds together -- they can meet each other's social needs BEST. It's important to teach your bird how to play independently. Your bird should have a few different toys in the cage, and all toys should be rotated weekly.. that means new/old toys are placed back in the cage so that the bird has "new" toys to play with all the time. The bird will need interesting food too. In the wild, most of a parrot's day is spent foraging for food. Placing food in a dish defeats the purpose.
Anyway, what I'm getting as is:
1) Parrots are work! They take lots of time, energy, and money. They live a LONG time (Greys can live 50+ years) so you need to be prepared to care for this animal for its entire life.
2) Parrots are wild. Just because they've been raised by humans does not make them tame. If they are tame now, that does not mean they will remain tame. If they are tame to you, that does not mean they will be tame to everyone. Parrots have all of their natural behaviors and instincts, including the instincts to bite, scream, be messy and destructive. These are natural behaviors and should be expected.
3). Parrots are outnumbering most other pets. Sadly, this means that more people are buying parrots without doing their homework, without taking the time to learn just what they're getting into. There are so many parrot rescue facilities right now, and unfortunately, most of these are completely full. Parrots are now being taken to vet's offices to be euthanized because people cannot deal with them. They are overpopulated. There are simply not enough humans who are equipped emotionally, physically, and financially to care for them.
Please think it over carefully. Read the articles on this page: http://parrotsonline.homestead.com/articles.html Get on some parrot-related email lists (go to http://www.yahoogroups.com/ and do a search for "parrot" ... there are a lot of lists for you out there. Go out and get and READ the following books:
My Parrot, My Friend by Bonnie Monro Doane and Thomas Qualkinbush
Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior by Mattie Sue Athan
Feeding Your Pet Bird by Petra Burgmann, DVM
Please know that I'm not trying to scare you out of getting a parrot, I just want you to know the truth. Best of luck, and let me know how everything turns out!!
Becky Margison
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Thank you so much for your feedback. The letter I wrote, I sent to a few different people as I try to educate myself. The whole thing about getting a grey and having small children was meant as an attention getter as I have done enough research to know this is not a good mix. One person wrote saying that it is all a myth and that greys are great family birds. Another said if a kid puts their hand in a grey's cage they WILL get bit. In talking to a local bird fella it seems there is an interesting terminology. I guess if a bird grabs your finger and make you winch, he has squeezed you and it is not considered a bite until he draws blood, or maybe you loose a small limb~
Your feedback was not the typical "we can set you up with the right kind and we have a bird ready for you today"... your feedback was very honest and interesting that a bird lover, rather than trying to add another bird lover to the gang instead said, be careful, know what you are getting into, do you really want to be one of us. ...The thought that someone could buy a bird and then put them in a garage or closet is disgusting. Are these Taliban members or something!
I visited a local bird shop and my impression is that birds are awesome and can be incredible pets. but after your letter I am taking a step back. The truth is that we had purchased a Sun Conure on a whim without being educated. Then came home, got on the net and found that they are known to be very noisy. And that is exactly what he turned out to be. Unfortunately this was not tolerated in our house as we have a 92 year old G-ma living with us who can not go upstairs and close a door when the bird gets to screeching like the rest of us can. Don't get me wrong, he got lots of attention and we talked to bird people and tried all kinds of remedies to get him to be quieter but none worked. We ended up giving him to a lady at the pet store where we bought him. She had been the one to wean him and was crying the day we bought him because she was so in love with the little guy. Well, she is a pet shop employee and can not afford a $500 Sun Conure, but now she is a very proud and happy owner of one that she weaned herself. So we are not the kind of people who would put our bird in the garage, we found him a good home.
My wife and I discussed your email and decided that a Parrot is just a little too scary of a proposition. What if he's noisy, what if he bites, what if everything we are reading on the net about certain breeds being quiet and nice and "family birds" is all a bunch of bull and we get another bird we are not happy with. No thanks, giving Tiki (the sun conure) away was very hard to do. Despite being very noisy he was a wonderfully fun bird. But now I am thinking more in the lines of a parakeet. Just a good ole $19.99 budgie! So now, if you have made it this far through my rambling, first - thank you, second - I have a couple of other questions that I hope are easy ones.
Question(s) 1
Re: Budgies... we have a Cockatiel sized cage that we had for the Sun Conure. It is about 18 inches square and about 2 feet tall. Is this cage too big for a parakeet? If we get 2 parakeets, will they still talk? As a kid we had a parakeet (Pete) he talked like crazy! He lasted about 10 years and then died. No warning, just one morning he was dead. So we got another one (Repete) who never talked and died after about 2 years. Could it be that Repete was older when we got him? It was so fun to have a talking bird. Is there any way to pick a talker when choosing a parakeet?
Question(s) 2
I am fascinated with the talking birds. (There was a green bird (?) at the bird place who would wave to us with his hand and say "Hello" it was hilarious!!) I want one really bad and think I could make a good owner but I am not so sure it is the best thing for the house. I own my own company and it would be possible for me to set up a place in our lobby for a bird. My concern is nights and weekends when nobody is there. Would this problem be alleviated by having multiple birds as opposed to just one? Would having multiple birds deter their wanting to "talk"? Don't get me wrong, I am not going to go out and get a bunch of birds at once. But I could start with a "pair" and add birds down the road. Please give me your thoughts on this...
Thank you so much for your first response. I am sure you are busy but I hope you will once again take the time to help me out so that I do not make a mistake.
Sincerely,
Rick
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Hi again Rick,
Thanks for writing again. I'm glad to answer any questions you have.
First of all, budgies. While they may be inexpensive, they are still parrots. They still have the same requirements as the big guys, such as diet, toys, cleaning, and vet care. Birds don't just suddenly die without any kind of warning. Birds are very very good at hiding illness, and they need regular vet care to make sure they're healthy. You need to have a gram scale and weigh your bird once a week to make sure he's not losing any weight. Weight loss is usually the first signal something is wrong. Yearly vet visits can also help keep your bird healthy. Just because budgies don't cost much doesn't mean they don't deserve the same care as a larger parrot.
Not all budgies talk. As a kid, we had a few budgies, and none of them talked. Your only guarantee at getting a talking bird is to buy one that talks already. Otherwise, there is NO guarantee. I'm afraid that if you go out and get a bird hoping it will talk someday, and then it doesn't, you'll be very disappointed and take it out on the bird. That's not fair and I want to make sure you know that there are many, many birds that never learn to talk.
As for displaying a parrot at your place of business, I can't condone that. I spend my time urging businesses to STOP doing this due to the stress it causes the birds. Parrots shouldn't be exposed to drastic temperature changes caused by doors opening and closing in the winter. Parrots shouldn't have to put up with curious customers and clients poking their fingers in the cage either. They should NEVER be left alone evenings and weekends. Parrots can injure themselves easily in a cage and if you don't catch it til the next morning, they're dead. Parrots should never be used as decoration or to lure people in. This is exploitation. These glorious birds do not deserve that.. they've been exploited enough.
As for multiple birds.. I can't recommend more than two or three birds per dedicated, experienced bird person. I have two small parrots and one large one. They take up most of my free time. They're just too much work and too much responsibility. It's not fair to the bird to get shortchanged on your attention just because you wanted more birds.
Do not ever get a bird based on what you think the bird can bring to your life, or how you think a bird can benefit you. Take home a parrot because you KNOW you can provide a loving, lifelong home. Period.
Thanks for listening... I hope I didn't offend you at all, I just want to be sure you understand what parrots are really all about :)
Becky Margison
