How to get a Grey?

[hash]

I was wondering how you Grey owners got your birds. I had a Quaker for 15 years who passed last year. Got him from a bird focused pet shop. No longer in business.

I miss not having a bird and I find Greys amazing. But finding a baby Grey in my area(Se Wi) is not easy. I do not want to use the mail to have one shipped in, seems trumatizing.

So looking for local breeders (within 3+ hour drive) but the picking be slim. Is it I am in a breeding null in this part of the country, or do I need to expand my search Radius?

Where did you guys get your birds? Pet stores, breeders, shelters...etc.

Thanks
Ralph

 

[Phlox]

There's plenty of grey breeders in Wisconsin...all will be a bit of a drive, but I don't see that 3 hours is that big of a deal...Otherwise there are also two major rescues, one in Oshkosh and one in Huburtus.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Hi Hash, There are some Rescues in WI, but I don't know how near they are to you. Perhaps they can help you find a birdy.

 

[NiRD]

I've had several of my birds shipped in cargo from out of state, never had a problem. They came happy, healthy, and free of stress.

 

[hash]

Thanks Wannabe and Phlox, got any names or links to Breeders? I found the rescues.

Interesting to hear about the mail order option NiRD. I was under the impression the bird usually "choose you" the adopter. So a face-2-face was required. Care to share the name of the breeder that you used that ships? This might be an option if no locals pan out.
Thanks
Ralph

 

[Phlox]

There's several facebook pages to find smaller breeders, Wisconsin Birds Needing Homes and Midwest Bird I think. Also check Bird Breeder Search - BirdBreeders.com - Avian Directory of Available Birds and Bird Breeders to search.

 

[Timothy]

Well i sure can't give you any advice as far as finding a breeder in WI. But i sure can wish you luck in finding a new companion If you haven't owned a bird in a while, and if this will be your first other than a Quaker, i advise you do A LOT of research on greys. they are very highly intelligent, need a ton of care, and need to be handled quite a bit. they are definitely pluckers if they aren't getting the proper care and attention.

I'm not telling you not to get one, im just saying do research

Grey's are amazing animals. I really like the Congo's as opposed to the Timneh's. But they're cool too! They are super super intelligent, and their emotional capacity is just as high.

Not only can Grey's learn a massive amount of human words, they can learn to use them in context, to communicate with their human companions. This takes a lot of time and dedication, but it is extremely rewarding. Dr. Irene Pepperberg did alot of research with her grey Alex, which i believe Alex was an acronym for something. but anyway, Alex learned to identify colors, shapes, sounds, actions, on and on and on. Dr. Irene Pepperberg concluded that the grey she was working with had the mental and emotional capacity of a 5 year old human child

And that was just one grey. Who's to say that grey was your average grey and not one of these super kids we see these days. I failed 6th grade math. Heh there were kids in my class who were doing high school math. Everyone's different, Every grey is different. But one thing is for sure, they are ALL Highly intelligent, fun, creative, loving, and need a ton of attention, out of cage time every day, several times a day, lots of love, and PUZZLES. they need alot of things to work their brains or they could possibly pluck. You can go online and buy different puzzle things they can do for a reward. like open wingnuts in a certain order to get the almond, etc..

When i worked at Todd Marcus Birds Exotic, our store bird was Sammy, a Congo Grey, he had a large stand in the middle of the store, with a rope perch that went to the ceiling in a spiral so if he didn't want to be bothered with customers he could go up. but he was usually down, interacting with kids and other customers. We would take him to his cage to sleep at night, but he was out and doing things all day 7 days a week.

Good Luck!!

 

[Darci]

I had an 11 year Quaker who passed unexpectedly. That was awfully hard but I got a Grey once I felt I was ready. I'd highly recommend one, she's brought so much into my life in a short month and a half.
As for me, I bought mine from someone off of kijiji. She wasn't friendly with me at all and truth be told they really didn't know what they were doing. It was a bit of a gamble but she's bonded to me amazingly well. We still have more to learn but that's just life with a parrot.

I'd say go for it, mine is a lot of work (especially because I make all of her toys) but the rewards are worth it.

And Alex stood for Animal Language Experiment then Pepperburg changed the name I think. It's all on Wikipedia. I'd love for mine to have a wide vocab like Alex, we will see what she wants to learn

 

[Timothy]

I had an 11 year Quaker who passed unexpectedly. That was awfully hard but I got a Grey once I felt I was ready. I'd highly recommend one, she's brought so much into my life in a short month and a half.
As for me, I bought mine from someone off of kijiji. She wasn't friendly with me at all and truth be told they really didn't know what they were doing. It was a bit of a gamble but she's bonded to me amazingly well. We still have more to learn but that's just life with a parrot.

I'd say go for it, mine is a lot of work (especially because I make all of her toys) but the rewards are worth it.

And Alex stood for Animal Language Experiment then Pepperburg changed the name I think. It's all on Wikipedia. I'd love for mine to have a wide vocab like Alex, we will see what she wants to learn

That's right. Im going to reread everything on Alex

 

[Darci]

That's right. Im going to reread everything on Alex

I wonder if there's a documentary? There are on other spectacularly intelligent animals, both in terms of individuals or species.

Also you mentioned puzzles for Greys. Do you know where I might be able to purchase one?

 

[lilhypnokat]

Unfortunately I don't have advice on this one. We got our Lil Pipsy from one of my coworkers who felt he couldn't provide the attention she needed anymore. My husband and I have been looking to get another... And I've found a few places near by. One rescue and a few parrot shops... That was from doing research online.

Good luck!

 

[Surfincr]

So i'll share how i got my grey, i have to say looking back i was very lucky. i actually put an ad up on Craigslist. Offering a good home to a bird in need. i try to avoid buying animals from breeders and pet stores (aside from fish). in my ad i did explain i was more than happy for the folks to do home inspections, talk on the phone, email etc. i wound up having someone contact me about a grey the no longer had time for since they had 2 other birds and this one didnt like the main caregiver. it turned out Ziggy does not like people who are hyper, talk or move fast. She has turned out to be a great bird.

 

[Birdman666]

My CAG was a gift from Rachel... who raised that bird from an egg.

 

[Anniele27]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet but according to the breeders I got mine from, spring to about September is when they often have babies so maybe you're not having that great of luck because its offseason? I found a lot more options looking this past summer than I am now!

 

[Darci]

I too, had a Quaker that passed. I bought my grey from Kijiji. It was a bit of a gamble but she's happy and healthy and has no behavioral troubles. When I saw she was in a cage with no toys, stuck in a garage I knew I couldn't leave her there like that. If you're willing to take on an older bird you might be able to find on in Kijiji? From what I understand there are some benefits such as if they're a talker you're guaranteed they won't be a non-talker. She was also past lots of training milestones so the transition was smooth. Best of luck to you!!