Thanks Rhino,, Brian... im not easily imtimidated, i bred large boids for many years but am out of it now.. i have been around a 8 yr old B&G. I was taught how to make the C hand and let them climb on, close your hand onto the feet gently for control.. i was also taught how to leg the parrot... this parrot was highly trained and very gentle,i dont expect to get one like that right off the bat. Pretty lucky if you did... i never heard that parrot scream which i thought was odd... the only greys i have seen were in pet shops,i have held them but im leary to spend 800 to a grand in this particular pet shop.... i think Cindy would be more comfortable with a grey especially after readind some of the posts we have read on the boards today. I think the power that B&Gs posess make ya a bit leary..

Were probably looking to buy from a breeder. We just dont know what to expect,so i guess we are getting ready and preparing to have our hands full..

We adore our rescue macaw, but if you haven't had a parrot before, I'm not sure I would start with a macaw. Macaws by their nature like to take over the house and if possible be the top dog. They need a firm and loving hand by someone who understands parrot mentality. They are not dogs and will not respond to the same kind of discipline. They have a great sense of humor and are a riot to be around, but they will dominate the timid if allowed. I have never had a grey, but know they are sensitive and might also suffer if not understood. Are you sure you want to start there? We started with a Quaker, all parrot with big personalities in a less intimidating package and I am sure lots of conure owners will extoll their virtues also. The smaller birds are just as fun filled but less intimidating.

I have a grey as my first bird-my husband had owned a pionus previously. We found a rehome and after much discussion with Pepper's previous owner on the phone, we decided she'd be a great fit for us. The things that attracted us to greys were:
relatively quiet: Her alert call is shrill, but it is brief and she only makes it a couple times a day. I have been in the presence of a B & G squawk and it was so loud it hurt my ears and I didn't even want to be in the same room as the bird-and that was it's normal noise. Greys talk or whistle more than calling. If they have been around other birds they can pick up that bird's noises too. Pepper can do caique and indian ringneck because they were in her previous home.
Ok around kids: The kid's handle Pepper a little bit, but overall she's my and my husband's bird and we hold her the majority of the time. However, she is fine with my busy and noisy house and she isn't aggressive (doesn't attack other people to protect me from them) If she doesn't want to interact with you she moves away from you, if you persist on bothering her you will get a nip but it's not a hard nip.
size: Ours is a Timneh, a nice medium size.
ok with multiple people: we needed a parrot to be ok with multiple people handling it. She was a family bird and has been fine with both me and my husband holding her and training her. I am her preferred and she wants cuddles and scritches from me, not from hubby.

A lot of it depends on bird personality, however, not all greys have those personality factors, but Timneh greys are very likely to have them! Congo greys generally are a bit more reserved and a bit more likely to have phobic issues if they haven't had a healthy home. But the best thing to do is be able to meet your bird ahead of time.

Whatever bird you get, be prepared that your bird may pick one of you as a favorite. As long as both work with the bird, it's likely both can have a relationship, but occasionally a bird decides the spouse is the rival. It can even pick the one who doesn't do all the cage cleaning and feeding duties as the favorite.

If you are looking into greys I'd recommend the African Grey Parrot Handbook. It really explains how they think and how to deal with setting up a healthy home and behaviors really well.

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Diana-caretaker of four small humans (Foxx, Pingu, Sweet Pea, Scooby) and Pepper the Timneh Grey.

Thanks Pooka, we have been reading a series of articles on African Greys.. there is about 35 and we have about 15 to go.. The writings cover alot of ground and it looks like its going to boil down to the individual grey we get.. We have to earn trust and a relationship with it, were not expecting any overnight success...

We are trying to find some local Greys but havnt had much luck so far... We want to spend time with the Grey we get if at all possible,we too think thats a great idea..

You can try a few different websites-ebay classifieds, Oodle facebook marketplace, birdsnow, and craigslist. Watch out for scams, they tend to have bad writing, advertise a young trained friendly bird at a very cheap price, and when you contact them they want to use a shipping company and you to send them money and they ask for your name address nearest airport etc. They will post in your local ads when they are not local and when you say you want to meet the bird in person you will never hear from them again. Also, where are you located? There are a lot of rescue organizations out there but some will really only adopt to people who can come in person to the bird classes. You have a lot more luck getting honest answers from a rescue organization-they are not just trying to make money and will be honest about a bird's challenges. Every bird has challenges-but you should know what they are before you get the bird.

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Diana-caretaker of four small humans (Foxx, Pingu, Sweet Pea, Scooby) and Pepper the Timneh Grey.