Help us choose our future parrot!

[texsize54]

View attachment 85786Nameliss has to use a food house to stop her from throwing food dishes with expensive pellets on cage bottom. She plays with dish. She threw water dish on bottom saying opps. So water bottle. She can now only throw bottle out of cage. Currently she is trying to figure out how to open chest freezer. To find the pistachiosShe's not a chewer. She's a disassembly expert. She loves taking apart. So yes all parrots require thinking. She knows how to give correct answers on speaker phone. It can be embarrassing. Any parrot has pros and cons. Research is necessary. Sorry I am definitely in favor of my Grey feathered dictator. As you can see in pic. She's not using easy clean as advertised. She's eating on edge dropping pellets on bottom.

Even though Bella is bonded to my wife she is quite friendly with me. I can carry her around, let her ride on my shoulder, and take a (red butt) shower with me.
I just can’t give her scratches.
My son can also do all these things but she is more likely to give him a bite. Only happens when trying to move her and she doesn’t want to be moved.

 

[Vincent_V20]

View attachment 85786Nameliss has to use a food house to stop her from throwing food dishes with expensive pellets on cage bottom. She plays with dish. She threw water dish on bottom saying opps. So water bottle. She can now only throw bottle out of cage. Currently she is trying to figure out how to open chest freezer. To find the pistachiosShe's not a chewer. She's a disassembly expert. She loves taking apart. So yes all parrots require thinking. She knows how to give correct answers on speaker phone. It can be embarrassing. Any parrot has pros and cons. Research is necessary. Sorry I am definitely in favor of my Grey feathered dictator. As you can see in pic. She's not using easy clean as advertised. She's eating on edge dropping pellets on bottom.

Oh yeah this is what I mean, they're so smart I think they'd outdo me in no time hahaha! They do seem very fun though.. I knew of an amazon that responded every time the owner picked up the phone, and learned her rambunctious laugh lol. It's fun how each bird has their quirks and you truly never know what you'll get. If you have some anecdotes or stories about keeping a grey I'd love to hear about them!

 

[Vincent_V20]

Even though Bella is bonded to my wife she is quite friendly with me. I can carry her around, let her ride on my shoulder, and take a (red butt) shower with me.
I just can’t give her scratches.
My son can also do all these things but she is more likely to give him a bite. Only happens when trying to move her and she doesn’t want to be moved.
View attachment 85787

Ohh I see! I always imagined a bonded parrot would lash out more towards other people and refusing to be handled at all. Maybe that was just the worst case scenario? Any info would be appreciated, I saw just today 3 Grey's being rehomed on the market which is quite a lot for that 1 website.. One of them is 25 years which I would almost prefer..hmhm

 

[texsize54]

Ohh I see! I always imagined a bonded parrot would lash out more towards other people and refusing to be handled at all. Maybe that was just the worst case scenario? Any info would be appreciated, I saw just today 3 Grey's being rehomed on the market which is quite a lot for that 1 website.. One of them is 25 years which I would almost prefer..hmhm

Bingo my Yellow nape was very possessive of me.
He would attack family members if they got to close and sometimes Bingo would bite ME if someone came to close.

But Bella was/is something special.
We weren’t looking for a bird at the time but just went to the pet store for supplies.
She was being rehoused because (this is what we were told) the original owners bought a dog that upset Bella. And she started to pluck.
But I just KNEW we could heal her .
As it was I had to wait a few weeks before the pet shop was willing to sell her to make sure she wasn’t sick.
Here’s a picture of first time we saw her.

 

[Vincent_V20]

Bingo my Yellow nape was very possessive of me.
He would attack family members if they got to close and sometimes Bingo would bite ME if someone came to close.

But Bella was/is something special.
We weren’t looking for a bird at the time but just went to the pet store for supplies.
She was being rehoused because (this is what we were told) the original owners bought a dog that upset Bella. And she started to pluck.
But I just KNEW we could heal her .
As it was I had to wait a few weeks before the pet shop was willing to sell her to make sure she wasn’t sick.
Here’s a picture of first time we saw her.
View attachment 85790

Ahh yea I heard amazons can be that way, which frightens me. Their beaks can really do some damage! Also wow that's a huge change from the previous picture. You really did heal her! But oof, since we have the cat I think it would upset a grey if they are sensitive to that.. If we for some reason do not have a medium sized bird (or too many) by the time he's gone who knows though.

 

[osklvste53]

It's the personality that determines the behavior. Nameliss isn't upset by my daughter's three cats. Care is taken to ensure they are kept far apart. She mimicked cats fighting very well, including furniture crashes. I made my daughter neuter the culprits. Fighting didn't stop. Guess who? She calls cats coaxing. They look to see where voice is coming from. I have to keep close watch because she's got no fear or common sense!

 

[Vincent_V20]

It's the personality that determines the behavior. Nameliss isn't upset by my daughter's three cats. Care is taken to ensure they are kept far apart. She mimicked cats fighting very well, including furniture crashes. I made my daughter neuter the culprits. Fighting didn't stop. Guess who? She calls cats coaxing. They look to see where voice is coming from. I have to keep close watch because she's got no fear or common sense!

Oh wow three? And it all went well? Do they share the space if it learned to mimic the cats? Assuming the cage is in another room and all for sleeping. Just wondering about the day-to-day layout and what's considered high risk. We would have our cat in different rooms or outside with a GPS tracker to rotate the bird with downstairs time.

 

[osklvste53]

Oh wow three? And it all went well? Do they share the space if it learned to mimic the cats? Assuming the cage is in another room and all for sleeping. Just wondering about the day-to-day layout and what's considered high risk. We would have our cat in different rooms or outside with a GPS tracker to rotate the bird with downstairs time.

Cats are in another room. She's an expert mimic. The sound seemed to come through 2 walls and 2 doors. High risk is in her room for out of cage time. Be in a hurry, "I'll be right back", under the couch, on chest freezer, on chair making auto trash container open and close, at front door, knocking and saying come in. Tearing up saved cardboard boxes for reuse. Looking for her before a cat escapes. Sometimes it's impossible if she's playing peek a boo.

 

[Vincent_V20]

Cats are in another room. She's an expert mimic. The sound seemed to come through 2 walls and 2 doors. High risk is in her room for out of cage time. Be in a hurry, "I'll be right back", under the couch, on chest freezer, on chair making auto trash container open and close, at front door, knocking and saying come in. Tearing up saved cardboard boxes for reuse. Looking for her before a cat escapes. Sometimes it's impossible if she's playing peek a boo.

She sounds really funny though, extremely interactive and curious!

 

[Vincent_V20]

Update! I called a parrot breeder that also imports specialty feed, they have about 600+ parrots & birds and asked us to come visit them when we felt ready. He was really direct on the phone, asking about our living situation and he said "You've been thinking a lot, you got a lot right but also a lot wrong. You create restrictions for yourself, and have a tendency to overthink. As of right now, I wouldn't even sell you a budgie until you know what you want & what you know you can give the bird. Think less about the bird type, and more about if you can properly care for it." He was really friendly, but very direct. He doesn't sell parrots to just anyone, and has told off possible clients because they wanted a cockatoo after watching funny youtube videos.

So he wanted us to take a day to travel to his site of business so we could actually hear 600 parrots. He then said he'd be more than happy to point out birds to us that would fit not only our needs, but also the bird's. So that's exciting! We will have to travel by ferry, train & plane to get there but we're going to do so sometime next year, then we see what happens... As for right now, he told me to not think about bird species and what "might work for us" because it really depends on the bird itself (however there are differences between a lovebird and a moluccan cockatoo of course hhaa--.) So for now I'll take it easy and just browse for regular care and be prepared financially.

 

[osklvste53]

Excellent. I was wondering how things were going. Now you can sit back relax. Give your brain a rest.

 

[Vincent_V20]

Excellent. I was wondering how things were going. Now you can sit back relax. Give your brain a rest.

It really put things into perspective for me, and let my brain go into resting mode! Now I just work up to that bird saving's account and take it easy until then.

 

[Illigers2]

Your idea of a bird sounds a bit too romantic to my idea. How do you envision it ecactly? Parrots are very intelligent, but they are not children. They oprate from their biological systems, hence why pair bonding is so prevalent. You have to think from their point of view, adopt your environment to them, a wild animal.
Like opening mail togetger. A bird does not know what mail is. They may learn, ie if they get to shred the paper everytime, or if you often recieve supplies for them which they like but most parrots are more excited about the box..>nesting area. I see a lot of people think(not in here but in my real life) their parrot is cute, when in truth, the bird wants to mate/nest/expressing hormonal behabiour. So yeah. A parrot that loves you as its person, unhealthy because there is likely a pair bond thing going there, will try and defend you, and will want to spend all its hours with you, depending on their biological background. African greys in the wild dont stick to their partner like say macaws do, they stay in their flock, keep their mate close, but dont need to touch them, cuddle them. In captivity you see the same things.

Parrots are flock animals, choosing to keep one completely alone is something that is thankfully slowly changing, and being seen as cruel. In germany it has been forbidden for years. I thought it was in norway too but I must misremember. Even a parrot that has been kept alone for decades, can heal and start to see himself as a bird again, dependinf on the bird this is feasible or a years long progress. But in my mind, always worth it.

You have predators as pets. Keeping a single parrot is in my opinion cruel especially in this way. You cannot possibly provide enough to all of them, you are going to have to lock some of them up. Why would you choose that? If I had predator pets, I'd choose a pair or flock of birds, give them a huge aviary and interect when I can. That way they don't suffer when you are not paying attention.
Having a parrot alone in a bird room is not as good as you may think right now. For humans, the isolation cells are a very high form of punishment....just saying. I have bird rooms but a flock lives there of 6 bird's, my more human oriented parrots have aviaries in the living room, and are of course out most of the day. If you do a bird room at all, Id put am aviary in there, or make it bird safe which depending on the parrot is fairly okay, or more harder. I would make the 7 hour travel to the rescue, just for the experience. Maybe make it a weekend holiday. See if they have any training courses available, some basic knowledge of behaviour will come in useful. Before I got my larger parrots I read a lot about behavioural modification, and the wild lives of parrots, which is very useful. Susan friedman for example has a webiste with some great content

 

[Illigers2]

Update! I called a parrot breeder that also imports specialty feed, they have about 600+ parrots & birds and asked us to come visit them when we felt ready. He was really direct on the phone, asking about our living situation and he said "You've been thinking a lot, you got a lot right but also a lot wrong. You create restrictions for yourself, and have a tendency to overthink. As of right now, I wouldn't even sell you a budgie until you know what you want & what you know you can give the bird. Think less about the bird type, and more about if you can properly care for it." He was really friendly, but very direct. He doesn't sell parrots to just anyone, and has told off possible clients because they wanted a cockatoo after watching funny youtube videos.

So he wanted us to take a day to travel to his site of business so we could actually hear 600 parrots. He then said he'd be more than happy to point out birds to us that would fit not only our needs, but also the bird's. So that's exciting! We will have to travel by ferry, train & plane to get there but we're going to do so sometime next year, then we see what happens... As for right now, he told me to not think about bird species and what "might work for us" because it really depends on the bird itself (however there are differences between a lovebird and a moluccan cockatoo of course hhaa--.) So for now I'll take it easy and just browse for regular care and be prepared financially.

That sounds promising, but a breeder remains a breeder. I have dealt with good breeders but I would absolutelt not rely on their advice. Especially not a big one like that, not saying they have 0 valuable knowledge, I love talking to breeders actually. But theirs is only one side of the coin. They often lack experience with parrots growing up. There are some great people out there but they are very rare. Greenwings are often advertised as gentle giants. Yeah..they can be. Especially when a baby. But I can give you dozens of example's of adult greenwings that do not fit that stereotype. Does not mean they are bad birds, they are awesome, but you need to understand them.
And please, if you are getting a baby, consider getting two. It is so much healthier. I work a parrot behaviourist sometimes(got certs but I dont want to do it as my job, too much misery) and nothing sadder rhan seeing a human imprinted parrot who 99% of the time is not understood completely.
Keep in mind how much flying room is available in your house. Parrots need to exersice. It is better to get a smaller bird and be able to give them actual room than get a macaw and then the bird can never really fly except for a tiny distance.
Something I usually use to see someone's attitude/skill in my opnion is how they ask a bird to step up. Do they ask, holding their hand at a slight distance for tje bird to make a choice, or do they demand and push, or somewhere in between. I would look for someone who respects the birds and knows no force is needed.

 

[Vampiric_Conure53]

I'm coming to the African Grey convo a bit late, LOL. Yvons is my grey. He's a rescue and 18 years old. He's probably not what I expected in a Grey. He's a silly boy who does like to bite (nip HARD), but I wouldn't call him neurotic at all. My white-capped Pionus, Vortex, is more chaotic. Mind you, I've only had him for a year and a bit, so things will change in a while

 

[Vincent_V20]

That sounds promising, but a breeder remains a breeder. I have dealt with good breeders but I would absolutelt not rely on their advice. Especially not a big one like that, not saying they have 0 valuable knowledge, I love talking to breeders actually. But theirs is only one side of the coin. They often lack experience with parrots growing up. There are some great people out there but they are very rare. Greenwings are often advertised as gentle giants. Yeah..they can be. Especially when a baby. But I can give you dozens of example's of adult greenwings that do not fit that stereotype. Does not mean they are bad birds, they are awesome, but you need to understand them.
And please, if you are getting a baby, consider getting two. It is so much healthier. I work a parrot behaviourist sometimes(got certs but I dont want to do it as my job, too much misery) and nothing sadder rhan seeing a human imprinted parrot who 99% of the time is not understood completely.
Keep in mind how much flying room is available in your house. Parrots need to exersice. It is better to get a smaller bird and be able to give them actual room than get a macaw and then the bird can never really fly except for a tiny distance.
Something I usually use to see someone's attitude/skill in my opnion is how they ask a bird to step up. Do they ask, holding their hand at a slight distance for tje bird to make a choice, or do they demand and push, or somewhere in between. I would look for someone who respects the birds and knows no force is needed.

Hello! Thank you for your insight, we have been discussing our plans a bit since talking to the breeder. We've moved from the idea of a bird room, to possibly having them in the livingroom with us at all times, and the cat can have his activity room upstairs. He already prefers sleeping in the spare bedroom, so moving his toys up there won't be a problem. We must however separate the livingroom from the cat when the birds are out of the cage. Right now we don't know if we're getting babies, but if we are we might go for two since he mentioned they will thrive better with a flock.

There's also a bird show happening next month where I can talk & connect with multiple breeders. The one we've talked to so far runs Frø Import AS (Norway) who has dealt with parrots since he was 13, he's 47 now so I guess that's a bit of experience at least. He also told me numbers to other more local breeders which we can contact, it's at least much easier to drive there if they're somewhat local (7 hours one way is a bit of a killer lol)

We're still very early in the -idea- of a parrot, it's still a year or so away if anything. We need to pay off the car for starters and get our finances going for a bird account, then we'll quickly see what we can care for once we have an idea of what it'll be. For all we know it might be 2 cockatiels, which would also be great! I do have quite the romanticized expectation of a parrot, and getting things put into perspective early is important. I've learned quite a bit just since posting this thread!

 

[Vincent_V20]

I'm coming to the African Grey convo a bit late, LOL. Yvons is my grey. He's a rescue and 18 years old. He's probably not what I expected in a Grey. He's a silly boy who does like to bite (nip HARD), but I wouldn't call him neurotic at all. My white-capped Pionus, Vortex, is more chaotic. Mind you, I've only had him for a year and a bit, so things will change in a while

View attachment 85837

Honestly if the breeder would for whatever reason recommend an african grey for us and said it would -really- match with us, I wouldn't be opposed to the idea immediately haha. They do seem fun, but scary smart!

 

[osklvste53]

I am sorry but I am pro CAG 100%. My first one picked me. It's been love ever since. Yes scary smart. But I've seen others that are smarter and more cooperative! Do you know what it is like to have your CAG blowing kisses and wolf whistles at young men? I have to point in her carrier. She'll tell me to take the dogs out side. Then say I want to go outside. I check the weather. If rain I just show it. If anything else in harness or carrier to sit on front step watching neighbors. She loves mass transit over car rides. If nice weather we ride the bus. I've read the Alex studies. It makes too much sense about her. I've watched her study something. Then disassemble it. Yes she can be contrary. She's very manipulative. She knows bitting means being ignored TV or whatever off 5 minutes. One word of advice that anyone who owns parrots can give. They love removing the covers from your keyboard keys. Mine can do it perfectly so you can pop them back on. The problem is chasing her to get that last one!

 

[Vincent_V20]

I am sorry but I am pro CAG 100%. My first one picked me. It's been love ever since. Yes scary smart. But I've seen others that are smarter and more cooperative! Do you know what it is like to have your CAG blowing kisses and wolf whistles at young men? I have to point in her carrier. She'll tell me to take the dogs out side. Then say I want to go outside. I check the weather. If rain I just show it. If anything else in harness or carrier to sit on front step watching neighbors. She loves mass transit over car rides. If nice weather we ride the bus. I've read the Alex studies. It makes too much sense about her. I've watched her study something. Then disassemble it. Yes she can be contrary. She's very manipulative. She knows bitting means being ignored TV or whatever off 5 minutes. One word of advice that anyone who owns parrots can give. They love removing the covers from your keyboard keys. Mine can do it perfectly so you can pop them back on. The problem is chasing her to get that last one!

Haha I can tell! How are they with other birds? If we for example got one species, then a different one later, or does it depend on the size? Are they fine with being the sole bird in the household? So many things I don't know yet, some say it depends on the size, the bond, the species, lots of information but no definite answer. In a sense that's a bird in itself, such an individual you don't really know.

 

[Illigers2]

Haha I can tell! How are they with other birds? If we for example got one species, then a different one later, or does it depend on the size? Are they fine with being the sole bird in the household? So many things I don't know yet, some say it depends on the size, the bond, the species, lots of information but no definite answer. In a sense that's a bird in itself, such an individual you don't really know.

African greys flock only with greys in the wild, unlike say pionus who flock with amazons, minimacaws, small conures etc. They are rarely very sociable with other species, a good deal of them are agressive and try to get other birds away from their terrotiry. A good deal of them ignores other species. Very few socialise with other species. If not other options they may, but it is not very likely. Learn about your species in the wild and how about animals learn and how you can teach them proper behaviour, that will help. But nothing can get the wild out of them. I personally would never keep a grey alone, id even be more inclined to keep an amazon alone. Greys even when in small cages for 40+ years often very quickly adapt to having a same species friend, and it has little influence on their relationship with humans, whereas with amazons you would more likely than not deal with agression from the male of a pair. Greys are not very close with their partners, keeping a small distance instead of sticking wing by wing.
It really helps to think about them in their natural setting. A territorial species of a single flock species will likely have issues when placed in a household with multiple species in close proximity. I have 6 mini macaws but they have enough space. My species live in small family flocks, basically mate+offspring, it is stressful for them to have another pair close. Larger macaws actually flock more, as do severas, than the primolius minis for example.