Stan

I don't think an experience level is a good idea. Even though I've had my African Grey for 25 years doesn't make me any expert. I believe I've been very lucky that my Congo has stayed healthy this long. Congo has only visited a vet once since I've had him and that was when he was only 2 years old, hasn't seen one since(knock, knock on wood). I've read many posts here and I can tell you theirs a lot of people on here that are probably more knowledgeable about African Greys than I am.

In case you run out of options try contacting the Long Island Parrot Society. http://liparrots.co/parrot_placement They have helped many find homes for many parrots over the years.

BlackOpal, as mentioned above I wouldn't condone buying an African Grey that has been stolen from it's family in the wild. You have a totally different situation whereas you have no breeders anywhere to buy from. I'm pretty sure after reading the above posts you would opt for a breeder if you could. You are willing to give this special parrot a loving and better home than possibly living it's life out in the pet store or someone's home that might not take care of it and abuse it. So I wish you the best when you receive your new life long friend. I can say from the pic the African Grey is probably at least a year old by looking at the eye. As for the darker feathers could it be possible the shop sprayed the parrot with some spray water before you got their? When I spray my Congo his back and wing feathers will look darker for at least an hour. His feathers won't feel wet. If the parrot wasn't sprayed I wouldn't worry about the color. The parrot will molt and adult feathers come in and could change lighter,darker or stay the same.

On many occasions my Congo says Quiet, Shut Up or Bad Dogs when all 3 dogs start barking all at once. He won't say those words at all when it's quiet in the house. Here's a funny story from the past with Congo. My wife and I were going away on a 2 week vacation so we left Congo with my mom and dad. I told my parents be careful of what they say around him cause he picks up things quickly. Since Congo was in unfamiliar territory he clammed up as most African Greys do in new places. He was put in the front room where plenty of people walk by everyday to go to and from work. My mom has these see thru drapes that you can see out but it's hard to see in. So my dad decides to whistle and the whistle sound taught Congo is the one most young guys would do when a pretty girl walks by, you know what I mean. Well Congo picked that whistle up real fast. Now Congo was whistling at just about everyone walking by the house which is on a busy walking street. My dad is 60 years old. Can you imagine what people were thinking walking by the house and being whistled at by someone behind the drapes? LMAO I warned my dad to watch out what he teaches Congo and he didn't know how to keep him quiet after that.

I have changed cages 4 times and moved Congo to different locations over the past 25 years. I usually fill up 1 of his food dishes with lots of fresh veggies and goodies to eat to relieve his stress and it works. Usually within a few hours he adapt to the new surroundings. As for your 12 year old. Let her be the "only 1" to feed Storm his favorite treats everyday. She needs to talk soothingly to Storm while giving him his treats. Storm will associate her with receiving his favorite treats and after 3 or more weeks will start to accept her. Eventually she will be able to slowly pet Storm yet she will still have to be aware of what mood Storm is in. Now with dogs African Greys can be very funny. My Congo has outlived 2 of my dogs, I have 3 dogs now ranging from 50lb to a 2 year old Newfoundland that's 125lbs and still growing. When Congo was younger he would open the door to his cage and would purposely drop some food on the floor. When he noticed the dogs would eat whatever he dropped. Congo would do 1 of 2 things, sometimes Congo would wait outside the cage and try to grab the dogs hair as they raised their heads. I know my dogs are friendly and wouldn't bite Congo. They see Congo as a food giver and are always looking for treats from him. I wouldn't allow this if the dog had short hair or are unsure of how the dog would react. My dogs caught onto Congo quickly so they would back out without lifting their heads so Congo changed his tactics. Now after spilling some food on the floor he would rush back into his cage grab his water dish and would carry it to the front door flip it over on top of the dogs. It was just so funny to watch how intelligent Congo was and how he could trick the dogs into doing what he wanted. Eventually the dogs caught onto that and as soon as they hear Congo's water dish making noise they are out of their. I also have to laugh when Congo calls the dogs by name with either my voice or my wife's and they come running in looking at us then realizing that crazy bird is causing trouble again. Sometimes when I'm eating crackers with peanut butter (Congo's favorite) my 3 dogs are all sitting in front of me to get some. Congo comes out of his cage walks in between the dogs climbs up on me and waits for his piece. Yes, I give them all a little then when I'm finished they go back to whatever they were doing before. Enjoy Storm eventually you will have many stories to tell.

I have a 12 year old daughter. It wasn't easy keeping her away from Congo when she was younger but we had dogs she could play with. I told her just to talk to him but not touch. I would give my daughter special treats Congo loved the most, crackers with peanut butter. After a few times of giving him the treat Congo started getting used to her as we worked our way down to grapes another of his favorites. At first my daughter would give him the grapes in his dish then would hand feed him. At this point I told my daughter to start petting him on his back slowly while he was enjoying his grapes. Congo showed no aggression towards her and soon after lets her pet him on his head. This was always supervised and now she knows when she can pet him and when Congo is just not in the mood. With more interaction, my daughter knew when Congo was in a good mood or bad mood.

Thanks for the welcome! Yes, I have many stories to tell as Congo is always up to something. He gets along with all the dogs (outlived 2) I've had as he tries to establish his dominance over them. The things he has done to the dogs over the years is actually very comical. I have plenty of crazy stories I will share as I post. Will post some pics of Congo soon but for now that's him as my avatar.

HI, I am the proud owner of Congo the African Grey parrot. He's been with me since he was 3 months old and now he's 25 years old.:cool:

I give my Congo peanut butter on crackers for treats plenty of times. Every time he see's it his eyes get big. If he see's me eating it while I'm sitting on the couch he will come out of his cage, walk over to me and wants some for himself. I've had my African Grey for 25 years so I must be doing something right.