African Greys

[TobDog]

GF and I had one many years ago, had her for about 4 years, great bird, they have the best vocabulary of all the Parrot choices, according to GF(she used to breed animals). They are more messy than cats but less than dogs. Make sure you spend time with them regularly, we did the no no that all new pet owners do when you get a new pet, play with it until it gets old to you, the animals need a consistent amount of attention, we moved Yoshi nest to the garage entrance door in the family room, and it was "Bye Yoshi" in the morning and "Hi Yoshi " in the afternoon, she did kind of lose her playfulness with us after a while. You should enjoy it though.

tobdog

[admiralfluff]

Ugh..

Don't do it. These things were not meant to be pets. It will grow attched to you, probably outlive your committment to it, probably outlive you, and almost certainly do one or the other. These animals are really intelligent, and require a life-time of significant time, energy, and care. Older greys are often tempremental, or exhibit "disturbed" behaviors because they suffer what amounts to emotional abuse and neglect.

Please do some more research. Don't just think about if it will fit in your apartment now. What about 10 years from now? 20? 50? Also keep in mind that this thing will develop an intelligence equivelant to that of a 3-7 year old human child. Greys are a far cry from cats and most other birds. How would you feel about having a chimp as a pet?

[Don_Lapre]

I lived with a girl who had a macaw. As others have said the bird required a lot of attention, more work than a dog IMO. Sadly she gave the macaw away because the attention it needed and the long life span freaked her out. Not trying to talk you out of it but it's a big decision.The bird was great though, talked a lot, very playful and affectionate.

You could always start with something a little easier like a cuckatoo or parakeet?

[paperjam]

I once worked in the Irene Pepperberg research lab with Alex, the most well-known African grey.

[HappyParrot]

Heh, I probably would advise DON'T DO IT! Greys are a lifetime commitment, literally. The are not "cuddly", unlike alot of other popular parrot breeds. The smartest? Yeah, absolutely. The work that Irene Pepperberg does is great. But unless you are willing to work alot (like raising a kid alot)at it its kind of wasted potential.

I have two conures. I probably spend $2.5K/year (good parrot sitting is freaking expensive, so is everything else parrot-related) and still don't have the freedom I'd like. And I'm stuck with them for another 10-15 years. Half the day I love 'em to death. The other half of the day I'd wish they SHUT THE [censored] UP. I AM GOING TO KILL THEM. Oh wait, I love them. Standard/Obv.

This is a great site if you are thinking of getting a parrot (any kind). http://www.mytoos.com/checklist.shtml

[illeagle]

I had a cockatiel when I was a teen and gave it away when I was going to work and college. I knew she was so lonely so I gave her to some people that already had a cockatiel.

If I ever get another bird, I'm getting a couple of canaries.

Another thing, if you live in an apartment and you have a bird that likes to scream its lungs out from the time you leave to the time you return home, all of your neighbors will [censored] despise you.

[Blarg]

LOL. We had a parrot that crowed like a rooster come daybreak. Went on for hours almost non-stop. I'm a night person. I wound up almost hating the thing. And waking up at dawn for years. Watch out if you don't like the idea of the parrot equivalent of [censored]-a-doodle-doo at earsplitting volumes every single goddam sunrise.

[Collude]

I have a sun-conure i'm thinking of sellling because i don't play with him enough.

he's 8 months old and looks like this http://pics.hoobly.com/full/5VXDSO8MFKGSRQXT73.jpg

would only work if ur near miami but overall these birds are really nice friendly and can learn to speak, there loud when u wake up and come home from work.

hope that info helps

[MDoranD]

I thought this was about teh african gheys

[Mi_T_Sharp]

I grew up with birds in my house. We had 5 (4 smaller birds and 1 Yellow Naped Amazon named Buddy). The 4 smaller birds have all passed away over the years, but the Yellow Naped Amazon should outlive my parents, and I will eventually have to take care of her (I don't live with my parents anymore).

The Yellow Naped Amazon is similar to an African Grey, but I am not sure of the exact specific differences. I agree that having a parrot is a lot of work. My mom has always fed Buddy all human food. Although she has seed, Buddy eats mainly fruit, veggies, meat, cheese, and anything else you can imagine (except chocolate and anything harmful of course). Actually, I guarantee the bird eats a healthier diet than I do.

Buddy has become completely attached to my mom. Its not uncommon for a parrot to pick a human "mate." She basically thinks that my mom is her mate. So, the parrot is always on my mom's shoulder, and gets upset when my mom isn't around for long periods of time. My mom loves this parrot like you wouldn't beleive, but I know that sometimes she wishes she could have a little vacation. It's almost like having a small child.

Parrots like Buddy are amazing pets. She is very loving and cuddly with my mom (it sounds like maybe the Grey is not as loving from what other people have said). Basically, I am trying to say that Buddy is the most amazing pet ever, but requires an unbelievable amount of attention and care. Like others have said, you just have to be sure that you are ready for this kind of commitment. It's basically like you will have a child for the rest of your life. However, the companionship and relationship that you can have with your parrot is like no other pet, and is well worth all of the work IMO.