Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums although I have been lurking for a while. This site seems to be the best out there as far as having a wealth of knowledgeable members and a very active forum. I look forward to receiving a great deal of information from many of you.
With that being said, let me get started with why I've come here in the first place, that being my interest in potentially owning an African Grey. Now, you will notice I used the word "potentially". This is because an African Grey would be my first pet bird. I'm here to hear first hand why are why not an African Grey would be a good or a bad fit for me.
Let me start off by giving some background information on who I am. I'm 27 years old and grew up being obsessed with animals and nature (hence my username). I was raised on a horse farm where we always had a minimum of 10 horses among other various farm animals. After I graduated college, I moved into my own place along with my fiance and currently own a few reptiles as well as my Doberman who is a big baby due in large part to me spending a tremendous amount of time with him as a puppy as well as socializing him with other humans and other dogs at every opportunity. The reason I'm referencing this is to show that I'm committed to doing whatever it takes to have a well behaved animal, and I've heard that African Greys should be socialized, albeit in a different manner (obviously) than dogs.
I've always been fascinated by birds, and African Greys in particular due to their high level of intelligence and being so cerebral. I've been researching them heavily as of late, as I always do before I potentially take the plunge on something, especially an animal. I've researched their potential difficulties when it comes to ownership such as them being phobic, not overly sociable with people other than their owner, feather plucking, need for constant mental stimulation such as new toys, etc. With that being said, I love a challenge, especially when it comes to pets and I feel that I have the time and patience to overcome these difficulties. I've also spent a great deal of time researching their diet and what people recommend as a good staple diet. As far as pellets, I hear a lot of people recommend the Harrison's line of offerings, is this a good staple diet in your opinion(s)?
Now, in my research I continually come across many people suggesting people start out with something smaller, such as a Budgie. No offense to anyone who owns a Budgie, but they don't appeal to me very much, certainly not as much as a Grey. The last thing I want to do is buy a "starter bird" (I hate that term) only to potentially relocate it in the future in order to "upgrade" to a Grey. It's not at all fair to the bird. I'm the type of person where I will go after what I want to begin with or not go after it at all. I feel that I'm at a stage in my life where I can finally provide for a Grey both time wise, as well as financially.
With all of this being said (and I know this is a long post) please do your best to help give me the final nudge, or talk me off the cliff so to speak. I truly believe that I've done about as much research as humanly possible, and now it's best to turn to the actual experts who in this case are actual owners. Thank you for your time and I eagerly anticipate your responses!
With that being said, let me get started with why I've come here in the first place, that being my interest in potentially owning an African Grey. Now, you will notice I used the word "potentially". This is because an African Grey would be my first pet bird. I'm here to hear first hand why are why not an African Grey would be a good or a bad fit for me.
Let me start off by giving some background information on who I am. I'm 27 years old and grew up being obsessed with animals and nature (hence my username). I was raised on a horse farm where we always had a minimum of 10 horses among other various farm animals. After I graduated college, I moved into my own place along with my fiance and currently own a few reptiles as well as my Doberman who is a big baby due in large part to me spending a tremendous amount of time with him as a puppy as well as socializing him with other humans and other dogs at every opportunity. The reason I'm referencing this is to show that I'm committed to doing whatever it takes to have a well behaved animal, and I've heard that African Greys should be socialized, albeit in a different manner (obviously) than dogs.
I've always been fascinated by birds, and African Greys in particular due to their high level of intelligence and being so cerebral. I've been researching them heavily as of late, as I always do before I potentially take the plunge on something, especially an animal. I've researched their potential difficulties when it comes to ownership such as them being phobic, not overly sociable with people other than their owner, feather plucking, need for constant mental stimulation such as new toys, etc. With that being said, I love a challenge, especially when it comes to pets and I feel that I have the time and patience to overcome these difficulties. I've also spent a great deal of time researching their diet and what people recommend as a good staple diet. As far as pellets, I hear a lot of people recommend the Harrison's line of offerings, is this a good staple diet in your opinion(s)?
Now, in my research I continually come across many people suggesting people start out with something smaller, such as a Budgie. No offense to anyone who owns a Budgie, but they don't appeal to me very much, certainly not as much as a Grey. The last thing I want to do is buy a "starter bird" (I hate that term) only to potentially relocate it in the future in order to "upgrade" to a Grey. It's not at all fair to the bird. I'm the type of person where I will go after what I want to begin with or not go after it at all. I feel that I'm at a stage in my life where I can finally provide for a Grey both time wise, as well as financially.
With all of this being said (and I know this is a long post) please do your best to help give me the final nudge, or talk me off the cliff so to speak. I truly believe that I've done about as much research as humanly possible, and now it's best to turn to the actual experts who in this case are actual owners. Thank you for your time and I eagerly anticipate your responses!
