My new Congo

[emad]

Hello!
I am new to this and i need some advices on how shall i take care of my new Congo. I had very bad experience before when i bought a congo which died in 1 week where i did not understand the signs that she was ill. So now i need to know everything about them and how to take good care of them.

My previous one was a wild one and 7 months old which was very annoying and unfriendly and unfortunately I was inexperienced with no knowledge that when their stool/ feces become very liquidish this means that they are either having cold or diarrhea and they die from it.

Now I bought a new one but this one is not a wild one, it is a 4 months old I guess.

So what I need is

What is the best food for them?

What shall I keep as “first aid” for them at home? Antibiotic for example?

Shall I keep the water bucket all time at their cage? How shall I feed them best?

When shall I know that the parrot is ill?

Shall I take the parrot to the vet periodically? Is there any recommended vaccination if any?

What is their best toys?

At the moment, my bird does not make any sounds except sometimes it does whistle or scream but unpredictable, is this normal? I however, tought my bird to play with me where I daily open the cage for them to fly around the house and when I call it comes to land at my forearm or my head. It also does make a tiny sound when I cuddle it. It also gives me the head for me to scratch it and it seems that she/he loves it madly!

When shall I start teaching them to learn to speak?

How can I know the gender?

What should I know more about them if you have further information.

I have attached picture of it.

Best

Emad

 

[Spiritbird]

Wow you have so many questions. I will try to answer some of them. Did you do any reading on AG? I have two suggestions for you. One is the book Parrots for Dummies. The book gave me a big start in understanding parrots and their care. the second is the web site to read each and every article: Welcome to Africangreys.com


Best food - volkmans hookbill seed as a treat only, Harrisons High Potency pellets, fresh foods and veggies, nuts, grains and so on.

Dr. foster/smith sells a bird first aid kit or you can make u your own.

I hope your cage has food dishes that you can keep water in. A bird could drown in a bucket.

You need to study how to know if parrot is ill. It will sit on bottom of cage with feathers all fluffed out and not want to interact with anyone. Need to know what the normal droppings look like.

Birds should be going to an avian vet once per year or if you are concerned about something. there are no vaccines. the vet can do a DNA test to see if your bird is M or F.

Your bird will learn to talk better if you repeat phrases each time you do something. Example: every time I gave my Rosie a fresh bowl of water I would say do you want some water. Now she says that over and over again. Good idea to teach words before whistling. You can learn to make your own toys by watching Youtube. Just key in making parrot toys.

Most of all please be sure your home is bird safe. There are many things in a home that can kill a bird. See the link below for a good list to print out.
http://www.boaf.com/article_3.htm

 

[emad]

Thank you very much for these valuable details.

 

[mtdoramike]

Awwwww, he is so cute and your soooo lucky.

 

[eajspdier]

Hi
I saw that you had a new parrot and that you were living in Jeddah. I have been looking for a baby parrot for a long time and would be really interested in where you bought yours from. Did you get your parrot here in Saudi Arabia and do you have any advice on where i could get a healthy baby parrot from here in the Kingdom.
Thanks Emma

 

[Hochimama]

You have got a very nice bird over there .. I must said he's very handsome ~~
But no offence .. in my opinion..
I think you should do your research before getting the bird .. not after you got it .. haven't you learn anything from the previous lesson ?

African Grey makes great pet .. all the best with this one ~~ keep us posted as it grows ~~

 

[ebohacek]

Congratulations on your new Baby Bird. African Grey and fascinating birds and you will truly enjoy his company. I will try to reply to some of your questions but under no circumstances I am a professional, I only had birds for 0ver 30 years. J


I am sorry you had such a terrible experience with your 1t bird. Unfortunately still the smuggling of parroted exists and I wild caught bird is very scared of humans and can carry a lot of sicknesses which will trigger by stress.

Find an Avian Veterinarian, a regular Vet can not help your bird in case you have an emergency. Which usually it is not often, Greys a very hardy birds.

Your bird may be shy for now, Grey are very very cautious parrots. Spend a lot of time with him. Include him in your daily activities. Mine watches movies with me and he understands what is going on.

I feed mine beans, garbanzo, veggies, rice, pasta, pellets, best quality of parrot, fruits. Go to the internet and find what (NOT to feed your parrot)
In the morning I repair a nice veggie mix with pasta mixture and their main food is pellets and seeds in the evening, plus a little of what I am eating.

First Aid again not a usual thing that will happen but if it does have in hand :
Saline solution to flush the eyes
Forests in case the bir brakes a blood feather. You need to pull that bledin feather out
You Need a Coagulant to stop bleeding.
Baby aspirin. I have to mention I spend 12 years in the Middle east and I took with me my Macaws. No Avian Vet where I was the solution was to give the bird baby aspirin in the water.

No water buckets, only water dishes cleaned and changed every day, they can get bad bacteria from the dirty water. The water will get dirty with in hours sometimes; by next day the water can even smell bad. Fresh clean water at all times.

Here are books that will explain what the bird is all about Why does my bir do that? By Julie Rach Mancini
Well Behaved Parrot
For the love of the Grays.
Go to the internet and look at pictures of Grays that look sick.

Find the Avian Vet. And yes take him every year for a well check up and if you think your baby is not as active, not eating as he use to, sleeping too much, losing balance, closing his eyes, take him very fast to the vet don’t wait a second.

Toys , yes they love wood toys, paper toys , bells, introduce the toys carefully as I mentioned earlier they are cautious and they may get scared of the toys.

Keep him inside the house , never outdoor for long periods and keep him away from the draft. You bird loves you and is acting normal. You can teach him to speak as soon as possible, but many Greys will not talk until they are 1 year old. But he will understand a lot more than what you think.

Get him used to showers to keep his feathers in great condition and the dust to minimum. The gender can only be known by DNA testing.

This is very controversial, but after loosing one bird because he panicked and took off, I keep the wings clipped. Not to short but enough not to let them take height.
Another thing you need to be careful with your grey is if he falls, his head is heavy and they can break the beak.

Get the books I mentioned above from Amazon.com the closest to you.
Let us know if you need more help.

Enjoy your Baby Bird.

 

[Lokums]

This is all good advice. I would recommend a bigger cage if you can (presuming the one in the picture is its cage).

Google can answer all your questions as well. "Toxic foods for parrots." is a good place to start.

 

[Abzeez]

I hope you are looking to get a bigger cage. The one your bird is sitting on is to small for even a keet. Unless that is just a travel cage.

 

[Mira]

Wow, Emad you're truly one lucky fellow to have such a great, knowledgeable and caring, group of parrot-lovers (with tons of patience) willing to help you out!

Anyways, I'm going to bite my tongue on everything else, except for one thing- PLEASE get your bird a much larger cage! I don't know how to stress it enough. Although many people suggest 36" long x 36" wide x 40" high, I strongly believe in and am hoping you will buy the largest cage you can afford (meaning, 36" long x 36" wide x 40" high or more).

There are many brand-new/gently used AFFORDABLE cages available for sale on Kijiji, Craigslist, eBay, etc. Remember, spending a little extra on a large, good quality cage will make a happy bird!

An other thing: make sure you take into consideration the location of the cage. You want an area where he can see and interact with your family but also an area where he can have some quiet time. Also, important is a place with good lighting!

I hope you stick around the forum, reading as much as you can and asking many questions.

Good luck!

 

[kerry]

This is a very good website for researching parrot information:

https://companionparrotonline.com/site_map.html

It is called Sally Blanchard's Companion Parrot Online Magazine & Website.
It probably has answers to all your questions, but you will need to do the research to find them.

 

[critterman]

Wow well congradulations on your new Congo Grey. I would first say that you should immediately make a Avian Vet appointment as soon as possible so you can make sure your new bird is healthy. That would give you a idea of where to go from and also a opportunity to ask the vet all your questions. Keep a pad of paper and write them all down so when u go u won't forget them. I suggest you go to www.welcometoafricangreys.com and read as much as you can on the internet their are alot of wonderful sites with lots of helpful advice. Also please make sure the cage is big enough for your Grey as they need lots of room to get exercise and lots of time out of their cage with you to bond and get exercise that way also, they need at least several 3-4 or more hours a day out of their cage. Please make sure you house is parrot proof with no electrical wires where they can chew them or tight spots they can be in like under or behind furniture or the refrigerator and so on. I have 2 Greys and I feed them Harrison's high potency course pellets and they love it and it is full of all the vitamins and minerals and things for your parrot. Please no seed! Give it the Harrison's and lots of fresh fruit and veggies daily mixed with nuts, greens, and legumes. NO AVACODO, NO CAFFEINE, NO ALCOHOL, NO PITS OR SEEDS FROM APPLES OR FRUITS, AND NO CHOCOLATE, NO SALTY FOODS. Don't want to overwhelm you so take your time and read all these suggestions and remember GET ON THE INTERNET AND READ ALL YOU CAN ON CONGO AFRICAN GREY CARE. Good Luck and remember we are here for you with any questions you might have. Critterman

 

[mtdoramike]

Wow you have so many questions. I will try to answer some of them. Did you do any reading on AG? I have two suggestions for you. One is the book Parrots for Dummies. The book gave me a big start in understanding parrots and their care. the second is the web site to read each and every article: Welcome to Africangreys.com


Best food - volkmans hookbill seed as a treat only, Harrisons High Potency pellets, fresh foods and veggies, nuts, grains and so on.

Dr. foster/smith sells a bird first aid kit or you can make u your own.

I hope your cage has food dishes that you can keep water in. A bird could drown in a bucket.

You need to study how to know if parrot is ill. It will sit on bottom of cage with feathers all fluffed out and not want to interact with anyone. Need to know what the normal droppings look like.

Birds should be going to an avian vet once per year or if you are concerned about something. there are no vaccines. the vet can do a DNA test to see if your bird is M or F.

Your bird will learn to talk better if you repeat phrases each time you do something. Example: every time I gave my Rosie a fresh bowl of water I would say do you want some water. Now she says that over and over again. Good idea to teach words before whistling. You can learn to make your own toys by watching Youtube. Just key in making parrot toys.

Most of all please be sure your home is bird safe. There are many things in a home that can kill a bird. See the link below for a good list to print out.
Parrots Die From...

I have only had my Ekkie a month and he has picked up the phrases from me "want some fresh water", "there you go buddy" "Are you OK".

Your bird could be a closet talker, meaning he talks when no one is around. Try placing a voice activated (tape) recorder or any recorder and see if he talks when you are gone. I did that with Mac the first few days we had him and each time I came back, a 60 minute tape was full. (yes, I still own a cassette tape recorder). I tell people all the time that he talks up a storm, but they don't believe me because he sits on his cage not making a sound when they are around. But as soon as they leave, the chattering begins.