Adopting an African Grey Parrot

petluvr

AC Members
Jun 5, 2008
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Podunk, Va.
Real Name
Larry
Just got a call from someone who is in need of rehoming their African Grey, of course I am now the proud owner, I will be picking him up Monday. I am confident in my abilities to take care of him but would like some first hand experience from some of you guys. So tell me about your African Grey's their likes, dislikes, what your like to eat, anything that may be helpful.
 
I had a small parrot long time ago. They love to eat all kinds of fruit. One thindg is very important clip the wings!
 
Congrats! We have an African Grey too and a Blue/Gold Macaw.

As for feeding, choose a high quality seed mix or pellet form that is always available. But the same things apply with birds as we've learned it does keeping fish. You want to give a varied diet of other healthy items they just won't get from commercial food alone.

Birds naturally lose and replace a lot of feathers. Since those regrow all the time in between molts, birds need a good amount of protein and calcium. So keep that in mind when it comes to treats.

On a daily basis, our birds get a serving of lots of things, depends on what we have in the fridge this week.... 3 or so kinds of raw green veggies (cucumber, broccoli, bell pepper, brussel sprouts) -- 1 or 2 yellow/orange veggies (squash, carrots) -- some kind of raw fruit (apple, orange, strawberry, banana, mango, peaches, whatever). Keep in mind that cherry pits and apricot pits contain toxins and they may crack that open. They also get some kind of lean meat, or cheese, or maybe a hard boiled egg or scrambled eggs. Peanuts and other nuts are always a treat. There's lots of other things you can give them like Puppy Chow (contains extra calcium) or other doggie biscuits.... whole grain or vitamin enriched breakfast cereals. Mine seem to like Cheerios, Crispex, Granola types, and Chex.

They really like cooked foods too... particularly something still warm. So I pretty much eliminate grease and salt as much as possible and let the birds have a dollop of whatever we're eating that day..... mashed potatoes, pasta, and so on. You'll want to stay away from the obvious no-nos like chocolate, sugar, salt, grease, caffeine...
 
That is awesome news, Pet! I always wanted one of those. They are said to have the clearest "words" of the bird family, second is the Lori.... I'll betcha he is gonna be awesome for ya!
 
Congats on the grey. He will love chicken.

Be careful about whistling around him The previous owner taught ours the marine hymm.

And never teach a parrot to play peek a boo. You will regret it. :duh:
 
Congrats! We have an African Grey too and a Blue/Gold Macaw.

As for feeding, choose a high quality seed mix or pellet form that is always available. But the same things apply with birds as we've learned it does keeping fish. You want to give a varied diet of other healthy items they just won't get from commercial food alone.

Birds naturally lose and replace a lot of feathers. Since those regrow all the time in between molts, birds need a good amount of protein and calcium. So keep that in mind when it comes to treats.

On a daily basis, our birds get a serving of lots of things, depends on what we have in the fridge this week.... 3 or so kinds of raw green veggies (cucumber, broccoli, bell pepper, brussel sprouts) -- 1 or 2 yellow/orange veggies (squash, carrots) -- some kind of raw fruit (apple, orange, strawberry, banana, mango, peaches, whatever). Keep in mind that cherry pits and apricot pits contain toxins and they may crack that open. They also get some kind of lean meat, or cheese, or maybe a hard boiled egg or scrambled eggs. Peanuts and other nuts are always a treat. There's lots of other things you can give them like Puppy Chow (contains extra calcium) or other doggie biscuits.... whole grain or vitamin enriched breakfast cereals. Mine seem to like Cheerios, Crispex, Granola types, and Chex.

They really like cooked foods too... particularly something still warm. So I pretty much eliminate grease and salt as much as possible and let the birds have a dollop of whatever we're eating that day..... mashed potatoes, pasta, and so on. You'll want to stay away from the obvious no-nos like chocolate, sugar, salt, grease, caffeine...
Thanks that is some great info. The pelleted food is something I am wondering about though, can you suggest a brand.

That is awesome news, Pet! I always wanted one of those. They are said to have the clearest "words" of the bird family, second is the Lori.... I'll betcha he is gonna be awesome for ya!
This one is 14 years old, I will be receiving his birth certificate, and does speak somewhat but the current owner says he just does not have the time any longer to work with him. I am SO excited about getting this guy as I have wanted a larger bird for quite some time now.
 
Pet, I used to have a Lory and his vocabulary skills were incredible. If they are the 2nd best, I am imagining the Grey's are doubly incredible. It used to take my Lory about a week to learn something new and spending 3 spans of just minutes during each day. Man I miss that bird!

Funny story about how I came to know all of this as far as the capabilities is when I first got the Lory, I didn't even know he would be a talker until my sister visited one day. She walked up to his cage and said hello, and he said it back... I nearly fell off my seat :)

Again Pet... my best of luck to you. I am sure you will both appreciate each other :)

(you better post pictures!!)
 
Congrats! They are amazing birds, we had one that was 20 years old when I was born and was like a older sibling to me lol. He talked A LOT, and even meowed like a cat (we had rescued over 35 cats at the time), he would also mimic us kids and if we yelled "MOMMM!" he would say "WHAAAAAAAT??!!" or sometimes he would be the one to yell "MOMM!!!" and he sounded just like us! Anyway's, he really really REALLY enjoyed peanuts, and if we left his cage door open we would often find him in the kitchen scavenging out of the trash and looking for goodies on the counter, we also came home to find him with an entire slice of pizza in his cage that he was happily picking away at. When I get my own home, I will be getting another-They are amazing.
 
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