how old do you need to be to buy a congo grey

[space_pup]

hi im new here.i have a question please.how old to buy a congo african grey parrot.

thank you,
elijah

i have a lovebird.only 3 and a half months old.she is a blue Dutch lovebird.it likes to eat flowers,leaves,bird seeds,some chesses and a couple of meats like chicken.

 

[TexDot33]

You need to be old enough to be able to handle the obligation of this type of pet ... aslo, if you are asking this question I am going to assume that you are young and still live at home ... which means you need to be able to allow your parents (or whomever you are living with) to agree to let you get one ...

There is no state or federal statute that delegates the age of pet ownership, but certain stores may restrict who they sell to and that is their prerogative to do that ... actually, that would be a check in the "yes this is a good parrot store" column if they limit sales to certain people ...

 

[Auggie's Dad]

In addition to Tex's points I'd add that your whole family should be involved. If you are living at home with family odds are you will at some point in the future move out whether it be for college or otherwise. At that time you may not be able to bring the parrot and a grey would (should) certainly live quite a bit longer than that.

Getting such a parrot truly is a life long commitment for both you and other family members. If EVERYONE involved is not ready for such a commitment then DO NOT bring one home.

All that said, if everyone is ready to be involved and you have experience interacting with birds already I suspect you'd be old enough.

So short answer: with your parents support there is no age that is too young. Without your parents support (assuming you live with them) there is no age that would be old enough.

 

[wuvzbirdies]

I know A.D. and Tex are the experts but I just wanted to add my 2 cents. This is not a decision to be taken lightly, I have a 6 month old Congo and he is extremely high maintenance. My original choice was a cockatiel, I did extensive research on it and it seemed to be the best breed to suit my family’s lifestyle. Them my husband decides he wants to convince me that we should get a Grey, his friend from work has one, they do all this talking, highly intelligent, will probably outlive me, blah blah blah. It wasn’t hard to convince me since he was soooo on board with getting it. Now that we have one I know now I should have stuck to my guns and got the cockatiel, it’s like literally having a toddler, for the next 50+ YEARS!!!!! What I am trying to say is though I do love him to bits, it is extremely exhausting due to the high maintenance of this breed, they are very intelligent and need constant stimulation. So if you are a young person be prepared for this, although you did mention you have other birds I’m sure you’re experienced just wanted to chime in on your post. I’ll shut up now!

 

[Auggie's Dad]

I know A.D. and Tex are the experts but I just wanted to add my 2 cents

Thanks, but just because we've been on these forums for a while does not make us qualified for anything other than not having a social life. Tex went off an got a family so he hasn't been around as much....

My professional work is in animal behavior, so I hope I have valuable contributions in that area. But other than that we are all learning from each other. I have learned quite a bit from other users on this forum over time, and while I enjoy passing that knowledge on I still want to keep learning especially since we have new experienced members joining daily.

And, I couldn't agree more with those cautions. I often find myself being the nay-sayer and consciously try to curb that tendency. Parrots are a wonderful addition to the family, but they are MUCH harder work than any other pet - an African Grey is MUCH harder work than most other parrots: certainly harder than my conure, or a pair of love birds.

 

[RKZX2]

please don't buy one. adopt one. there are so many unwanted parrots. look for local parrot rescues in your area.

 

[TexDot33]

I know A.D. and Tex are the experts ...

Someone needs to inform these newer members that our EGOs inflate very easily, and when they do they are a ***** to deflate ...

I have to agree with AD's response ... we are by no means experts. We happen to have a lot of knowledge in the areas of taking care of parrots because we care about ours. We have read books, we have listened to people who have more knowledge than ourselves, and we have taken a little time to make sure that we understand the needs of the pets that we have agreed to take the best care of possible; we, have done nothing more than you all could do.

(AD, just because I got a family, does not mean that I got a life ... *lol* I know that I still don't have a social life ... )

We can all learn a lot from each other ... we all have our strengths and our weaknesses ...

 

[space_pup]

thanks everyone.can you please tell me the age when is should buy a congo grey.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

I mourn for our education system.

 

[AlaskanRose]

This makes me wonder if the op really wanted an answer....or has another agenda? Or is even English-speaking?

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Definitely something fishy, especially considering his posts elsewhere.

I'm getting an itchy trigger finger. Posters that sound this foolish almost inevitably turn out to be spammers or attention seeking trouble makers... or they have brothers and sisters who log onto their account - *cough* SHMEXAY *cough*

 

[TexDot33]

TROLLS ... TROLLS .... TROLLS ...

Please don't feed the trolls ...

 

[Missi]

Or I think they may not know English very well & are asking what age the parrot should be at time of purchase? That is the way I read it, at least.

 

[Missi]

Oh wait...however, if we go by the subject line...I'm totally wrong. Sorry!! I like to TRY to give people the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Spiritbird]

Everyone even considering any companion bird should first read the Parrots Bill of Rights.

 

[amberinga]

Are we sure that space pup isn't asking about the appropriate age of the parrot to purchase and not the age the owner should be?