The African Grey Parrot
 

Mine is Jake and he is 1 1/2 yrs old
Just wanting some input on these
Parrots.....Mine has been bitting!!!!!

:helpme :helpme

A girlfriend of mine has a few. Gorgeous to look at, but they have got to be the nastiest, dirtiest, smelliest, most foul creatures to keep as pets.

Last night the little fucker kept trying to eat my kneecaps.

mine just bit my pinky finger and it stings...
they can be messy, I clean up after him all
the time...I heard they perfer women over
men, it has something to do with the voice
I think???:Buck: :Buck:

I used to have one. They are the most intelligent birds in the world, but they need a lot of attention or they lose it. They are also very destructive and will demolish anything they get their beaks on. You have to be firm with them or they will take advantage of you. You can't hit them or they'll go crazy on you, since they're so sensitive. Really, they're a lot of work.

:2 cents: We used to have Love Birds that tend to grow wild if they do not have a lot of human interaction. In the case of those, from a very young age we just made it a point to handle them alot, the greater the amount of handling seemed to help them adjust better. When we did get a biter we would gently but firmly flick its beak.

Good luck with your African Grey, they are great birds with long life spans.:thumbsup

Thanks for the info. I'm learning!
It makes me mad when he bites
I take good care of him and then
he bites!

:mad:

My family has an African Grey. You have to be firm with the bird or else it will run all over you. Maybe get a glove to help with the biting. It will get attached to one person and hate everyone else. The one we have loves my father, but hates me. I have been bit a few times and it is not fun. Be patient and as long as you feed it regularly, it will come around.:glugglug

i love my grey, shes awsome. shes just over 2 years old. super smart.

there is a good live journal community for greys
http://www.livejournal.com/community/africangreyland/

Too bad you didn't bother to do 10 minutes of research before you got the bird.

The employee's gave us the information,
this bird was in pet co for 1 1/2 yrs.........
they normally sell in 3 months, there was
noway he was staying there anymore!!!
I love him big time, and just wanted some
imput on these bird's, I don't care how long
it takes....I will work with him like crazy he
is our baby!

:) :)

Thank you for the link, it is real
interesting! I do love him and he
talks like crazy. They are very smart
it is amazing.
:winkwink:

I have a cockatiel.. he doesn't let me touch him either. he sings the songs he hears on TV and whistles all the time... he also masturbates on the top of the cage. :1orglaugh
I tried every possible thing to make him fly on my arm and stuff like this... nothing


http://wedesignxxx.com/kitty/a.jpg

Be careful... his intelligence may surpass yours in no time.

Is he a Timneh or a Congo? The differences are subtle but it's been my experience the Congos are a little better talkers and a touch more gentle...

They will do that... mine is about 2 now.. I hand fed her when she was a baby so the biting is not that much... You need to handle your bird often and it will get use to you.. mine only bites when she is scared.

My sister just bought hers... he is beautifull.. hes almost a year old and can talk abit usely it takes 2 years before they can say a word... this one is a bright bird... its so cool he mimics noises anything he ears...

subtle? There is a big difference between the two... BIG difference.

Congos are lighter gray and bigger....

here's a quick, easy & delicious solution to your problem!

http://khmerkromrecipes.com/photo_re...icechicken.jpg

Actually, 1 year before the start talking... according to all the books I read before I got mine... but she was talking at 6 months so it really depends on the bird.

I just wish she would leave her damn feathers alone... she is a feather picker... God I hate that... she looks ugly, but she is still the sweetest bird I have ever seen.

yours picks her fethers .. my sisters birds... bites men LMAp.. really that bird does not like men... MAyby the other owner was bad with him... here he is .... yessss your bird is cute as well !!!

http://www.sexroadtrip.com/~angel/temp/New%20Image.JPG

Looks like mine with feathers... lol

No, I have had her since she was weened... She loves me and tries to feed me every time I take her out of her cage... sweet but gross...

I had an african grey for a couple years awhile ago and he was great at mimicking voices. You could not even tell it was actually the bird. He did alot of friends voices and you could not tell it was the bird. Also the phone would ring and you would pick it up to find out it was actually the bird making the noise. He loved doing that and then he would say hello, uh huh, uh huh, ok thanks love you bye and then do even the beep when you turned off the phone. He was really moody though and hard to deal with alot of times. I was the only one that could touch him most of the time.

Mark

congos are cool I dont like the timneh as much

Tries to feeed you lololol... You most have fun with this birds.... they are nice pet.....
Me I have only a smal peroquet.... about 15 words she is able to say thast all..

No argument there, but to the lay person they are subtle. I just got a Triton and my friend is getting a Galerita Galerita. Most people would just look at both of the birds and say they were both Cockatoos. But to me the differences bewteen the two are very pornounced.

Yesss acaxly...... they ahve amazing skills.... they mimic my kids voice.... while they were visiting my sister my kids had a blast with the bird...

They do tend to be one person birds.....BTW, did you realize that they live to be about 70 years old. I hope you have kids that you can leave the bird to!:thumbsup

Greys are smart enough to know that they should be mating,
flying free and ripping up trees. They do get pissed that you wont let them. You have 6-8 more years of them being aggressive, possessive, and destructive, and then they might relax.
Ohh if you don't give them any attention they will self mutilate.
Too smart, and wild to be good cage pets.
http://sassyassproductions.com/junk/bird.jpg

Yea, I have a lot of fun with her.. She is a great talker... picks thinks up soooo fast... She yells at the dogs when they act up... she calls the cats by name and then says here kitty kitty... She has picked up my foul mouth, which was funny till my mother in law visited... she was not amused...

I make jokes and tell my friends that the reason she is plucking her feathers is because she wants to be the star of my next porn site lol...

Damn Missy

I always thought you were pretty cool (until now)
Did you want Mike too? Maybe it's because your
stuck in the adult.com world.....Call me if you ever
need a make-over!

:thumbsup

Thanks everyone one the Info.
Mine is a Congo! Awesome pics.
of the birds on here!!!!

Have a great day all.

:cool-as-a

We plan on having kids!!!!
Maybe sooner than I thought!
Hope are kids enjoy him as much
as we do.....Kids are GREAT!!!!!!!
Something to live for.

kisses
Lexi

I have a Hahn's Macaw. It's a little messy, but it loves to be handled and talked to. Friendliest bird i've ever seen.

Guess how I got him to like me? Mcdonald's french fries. My bird loves french fries, but only from Mcdonalds. Give your bird a french fry or some other treat every time you go around him, and he will become your best friend real fast.

Sounds like a good idea. I was thinking of maybe getting a severe macaw any input on those?

Thanks,
Mark

You know what our birds like, cheetos. They go crazy for them

I dunno about cheetos, Jake goes figgin nuts over grapes, toothpicks and Keyboards (loves to rip the keys out)

As soon as I pick him up he says "Hi buddy"....

It so adorable you just wanna hug him, but he don't like that to much....

We fight all the time.... he usually wins...
He's learned to growl when we play fight, so I know he's not upset. When he's mad he scwacks so loud it hurts your ears.. play time over.. lol


He is a blast.... but you gatta watch them, they will rip apart anything just for fun and amusment.

Thing you have to remember is they are not PETS they are wild animals that live with you in your house. They are not domesticated like cats and dogs. You can not force your self on them, you have to try and become there friend. It takes time and effort for this to happen. If you become their friend they are the coolest, funniest roommate ever............

here are pictures of my timmneh when i frist got her http://myneid.gothcafe.com/pets/duchiu/

i cant find the current pictures of her

The key is time and patience, especially with a petstore bird that's been there as long as yours.

This is Kara... my timneh. She was 2 in April. Here latest trick is mimicking my son when he's on the phone. She'll go.. "hello...yeah... uh huh....okay.." the whole time he's on the phone.

http://209.81.0.2/pktemp/kara_5x7.jpg

Thank you so much for the pics. and info.
All of the bird's are SOOOO CUTE............
Love the GFY bird!!!

:)

mine is a pain in the ass.. but soooooooo cool he has around a 200 word vocal and around a 40 song's he know.... and from one of his bites i ended up in the hospital but this was a very 1 in million thing that happenedhttp://www.vampirewear.com/birds03.jpg

what I would do for a parrot @ home :thumbsup

I've got a rainbow lorikeet (australian bird). My grandfather used to have an African Grey. This bird was totally insane. He sounded just like my grandfather when he talked, so he'd always be calling people, and he'd actually laugh when he knew he'd tricked someone.

When i was about 5, or 6 years old. I used to cry a lot. The bird would call me "Wah Wah" instead of my name. It called everyone else by their name. I'd walk in the room and he'd be like "WAH WAH WAH WAH!!"

He'd wolf whistle everytime a woman came into the room where his cage was. That bird had a huge vocab. Unbelieveable. I've always wanted one, but they require so much attention, and i just don't think i'd be able to care for one properly.

In the hospital? Damn.. what happened? Mine has yet to break the skin on me... came close a time or two.. but never has... yet anyway :)

If I ever get another bird (not likely since Kara should outlive me), it would be an eclectus. The aviary where I got Kara has a few there from time to time for boarding. They are smart as a whip. Not great talkers, but certainly characters in their own right..


Female is the red, male is the green...

http://www.eclectus.com/images/nielsen_si.jpg

LOL check out www.BirdBoard.com

Meet Salvador,he's a cinnamon tiel*6 months*. When we first got him he was a little nippy but he got used to us and he's doing very well now.
Your grey could be bitting for a number of reasons. How long have you had him? Check out some of the bird forums and get some advice.
Sal LOVES taking a shower with me ! He doesn't talk yet but he laughes and whistles and adores his skritches.
We plan on getting an african grey in the next few months.They're just beautiful birds. Anyone here who ownes on do you have kids and how does your grey behave with them?
http://twistedbydesigns.com/sal1.jpg

http://www.twistedbydesigns.com/sal2.jpg

http://www.twistedbydesigns.com/sal3.jpg

http://www.twistedbydesigns.com/sal4.jpg

http://www.twistedbydesigns.com/sal5.jpg

Close run in with the dog.
http://www.twistedbydesigns.com/sal6.jpg
Sal enjoying his morning skritches

Sorry for the crappy web cam pics.

Well first off, good luck, you have a lifetime commitment ahead of you. Last african grey I met was 50 years old, had a terrible pottymouth, but otherwisehe was a nice fellow. I haven't done much research into bird training, so I am sorry I can't help you, but I'm sure that there are some websites out there that can give you some advice.

The last Grey I knew of was a friend of mine's, and she had three kids.. She kept the kids away from him for the most part, but like I say he was 50 and he wasn't brought up around the little ones. If they're young and you raise them around kids, I would assume they would be ok, like any animal. Good luck, Greys can live a century! :)

i always wanted to get a parrot.Do you have to let the parrot out of its cage or can you keep it in the cage all the time?