Popsicle

Hi everyone, I was talking in another thread and some people raised a concern. My husband and I are really keen to buy a Grey soon. But we plan on having our first child in 2-3 years. Has anyone been in this situation before (having a newborn in the house along with 1 parrot)? How was it? Did it work? I see so many people having dogs and cats before they have kids. It seems to be fine. I've had both dogs and parrots before and I personally find dogs more hard work. But I'm not sure what I should do. :confused: Please help!

Oh dear... my husband just said he wants the Grey. But now I'm a bit concerned. I will open another thread to find out if anyone in the forum went through the same situation (getting a parrot before having kids). And see what they can share...

I agree Talon made a good point and it's something we should consider. I also like your suggestion of getting a small one for now and then getting a bigger one in the future. I had thought about that before. And will reflect about it some more. See what hubby thinks as well. Thx.

It's a relief to know that it's a myth that AG are a one person bird. And Talon I appreciate your advice. I agree babies/small kids are hard work and therefore I will be busier when they come. But I only want to have 1 or 2 kids so I believe I will still have energy for my other child as well (the parrot).

Haha I knew it would be hard for you to "choose" one of your parrots. Thanks for answering all my questions though. It has been helping a lot. I'm sure we are gonna love and enjoy any type of parrot we get. But I have to admit I'm very much in love with the Greys and very keen to buy one. But I'm trying to be cautious before we actually choose what we are gonna get because I wanna treat my new parrot right! After all is a long term commitment. And I wanna make sure he will be really happy in our family. People say AG are a one person parrot. Do you agree with that? You did say Marcus loves your husband as well. Is he sweet with other people too? I really want a pet that both of us can enjoy, hold, play with.

Your story is very similar to mine. I didn't know anything about parrots when I got my Amazons either. Therefore I didn't deal with them properly. I also feel guilty about it but now I'm far from home I've been talking to my parents and making them buy toys, bigger cages, etc. Trying to keep them happier. Hope it is helping. My husband seems so concerned about the commitment of having a Grey. He worries the bird is gonna annoy the neighbours and he will "rule" the house. lol It's his first parrot and he's scared of what our routine will be like after we get the Grey. I'm sure it will be great fun for us as we don't plan on having kids for 2-3 years. But sometimes I worry he might not cope with noise, etc. I wonder if I should start with a small bird, like you did. I find the Indian Ringnecks absolutely charming. Seen a few videos and seen them here in London, in parks and they are so cute. My husband and I were actually considering buying them in the beginning, before we fell in love with the idea of buying a Grey. I can see you have them. How is your Ringneck? Does he have a good personality? Is he affectionate? Does he speak? Is he noisy? I know this is probably a crazy question as they are so different. And I'm sure you love them all, probably the same. But if you had to choose to buy just one of them, would you buy a Ringneck or a Grey? Thanks for helping!

Hi everyone... I saw this forum is about TAG and decided to ask some things. Sorry my questions have nothing to do with the original post but I'm inclined to buy a Timneh and need to learn more about them. I would like to know from those who have a TAG: 1. What are the good things (and bad things) about them? 2. Are they noisy or quiet? 3. Do they speak well? 4. Are they sweet and friendly? 5. Do they get along with only one person in the house or the whole family? Thanks a lot.

Hi Marcus, Thanks for your advice. All my parrots and parakeets in Brazil were "second hand". hehe But they were not tame and I only managed to tame a little bit the small parakeets. The big ones would bite easily. So this time I am hoping to get a hand reared baby to be sweet and well socialized. Especially because it will be my husband's first parrot and he wants one that he will be able to play with and give love to. He doesn't want to take the risk of having a parrot that will be horrible to him like my Amazons were. However, when we buy our own house (hopefully in a year or two) and have more space I do intend to get another one. And will definitely consider adoption for the second one. I agree there are so many birds out there that have been abandoned and are in need of a loving home. I'm gonna be pleased to help one of them for sure. Is yours adopted?

I'd love to get a job I could take my parrot with me too. hehe

Thank you so much for your replies. It's helping a lot. It's very sweet that you rearranged your life to spend more time with your parrot, Malikah. When I start working I will try to do the same. Another thing I've been trying to figure out is... what should I choose? Timneh or Congo? Is there a significant difference between them, apart from the looks? Is one quieter than the other? I've noticed Timnehs are cheaper. Why is it? Just because they are less popular? Or is there a negative side to them? Which one do you have? Looks like you both got CAG.

Hi Everyone! I'm 29yo, married, no kids. My husband works from 9am to 6pm and I'm not working at the moment but intend to start working soon. I've had 2 Blue Fronted Amazon parrots and 2 parakeets when I was living with my family in Brazil. They were not tame but I really enjoyed them. I had to leave them with my family when I married and relocated to the UK. And now I'd really like to have a parrot again and I'm keen to get a hand reared African Grey. I've been doing a LOT of research, watching videos, reading articles, etc. My main doubts are: 1. As they are very intelligent, they need a lot of stimulation and attention. Whilst I'm not working it will be fine, but what will happen when I start working again? Do any of you have to leave the parrot alone during the day to go to work? What do you do? Do they cope fine? I know the main trick is leaving treats and foraging toys in the cage so they can keep busy. Also they take naps during the day. Any other ideas? How is your experience with it? Please share! 2. I've read AG are quieter than Amazons, for example. Do you think they are reasonably quiet or not? My Amazons were pretty loud! 3. How many hours do you normally let them out and play with them every day? 4. And if you have to go out after work and can't play with them on that day? Do they cope with it as well? How should we deal with them on occasions like these? 5. Even though we are planning on moving to a house asap, we're currently living in a flat. Anyone had problems with Greys in apartments? Thanks a lot! :-)