"Grey People", why would you have another breed?

[CLB]

As some of you know, I recently rehomed an 8 year old CAG named Shadow. She is my first parrot but our love for her has made me consider another. I have noticed that many of you have a variety of birds. As a "Grey person" what made you choose an alternate breed? What might be the pros and/or cons of choosing another Grey vs an alternate breed? I tend to over think most things but am very interested to see what you all think. Thanks for your help!

[thenabrd]

as far as birds, i tried a parakeet and a couple of finches when i first moved out into the "adult" world. i'd always had a dog growing up, but couldn't have a dog at the apartment i was in. i knew absolutely nothing about birds, but thought they were beautiful and the finches made cool calls. i eventually gave them to my gramma, she'd had canaries and was birdless at that time. many years and several dogs later, i was able to try having a bird again. i started with athena 8 years ago. she's a peach front conure. i didn't know much and she and i have learned alot together. i'd wanted a grey, but couldn't really afford one. if i was going to do it, i wanted it to be done correctly and properly, not half way. i mentioned my interest in greys at athena's vet and they took my name in case a rehome situation came up. well, that's how we got kallie.

 

athena and kallie are as different as night and day. athena believes she's the biggest bird that's EVER existed, even though she's smaller than a cockatiel, she's very brave with a few exceptions. she's a bundle of energy, vocally funny and quite a character. she loves her bells and shredding paper. she's a picky eater and would be a total junk food junky if it were up to her. she's also our live alarm bird, if she doesn't like what she sees out the window, then she's belting out her "alert" call.

 

kallie is more quiet, vocally funny, quite a character, more cautious, yet brave when i least expect it, like around "new" people or toys. she likes to attack her toys several times a day, mimic athena's every word, (so sometimes i have 2 athena's going at once, lol), more open to trying new foods, and just generally "watchful" and thoughtful about things.

 

they are each very unique individuals from each other and from what i've read about others within their species. athena is not the "comical clown" you read about conures being. kallie isn't as fearful, cautious or picky as what i'd always heard about greys either. we love them just the way they are!

Edited November 8, 2011 by thenabrd

[Luvparrots]

I have three parrots. A TAG and CAG and an Blue Front Amazon. I have always been fascinated by parrots because of their ability to talk and after my children were all grown up, I finally got my first. I wanted a grey because they are fantastic talkers. I chose the TAG as my first parrot because they are smaller than CAGs and from my readings more confident than their counterparts the Congo. I still hold that belief after being owned by both. The zon is because of the threads and information given by the first moderator of the Amazon Room, Jay, who posted and spoke of his zon and did some nice threads about the different amazons there are and I just had to have one. I was not disappointed. I have the parrots I need now, the three kinds that I totally adore.

[brianlinkles]

Great question! I had a roomate with an amazon many years ago. She told/taught me many things about parrots. I was fascinated, I decided that some day I would have a bird! Well many years later I still remembered something that shetold me over and over again. She told me how difficult greys are. She went on and on about what great talkers they were and how intelligient they were but always followed with the difficult personality comments. Since I never knew any better I believed her. I truly wanted one however I was scared to death that I didn't know enough! Well many years later I had a friend that worked at a wonderful aviary/breeder. We went in to visit her and I knew it was a matter of time before getting my bird! Meanwhile, I wandered into a rescue (if you could call this place a rescue, it is filthy and horrible.) While I was there I saw a lilac crown amazon that had just been brought in there. She was 15, living in a cockateil (rusty, filthy) cage. I could not leave her there. She also had a lump on her neck and had not been to the vet (nor do I think they had any intention of vetting her) I knew that I was about to get a hahns baby ( remember I wanted the grey but couldn't get my old roomates words out of my mind. ) I didn't think I knew enough to get my dream bird! I decided that I needed to rescue this amazon, I could not leave her there! That is how I got our lca Kiwi, I know I am making this a very long post sorry. I will try and sum it up, Kiwi was very sweet at the rescue however once home she turned into a very grumpy girl! I could no longer get her out of her cage. She bit me many times in my clumsy attempts to interact with her. I then went on a mission to learn all I could about rehoming birds (well just birds in general) I then began working very hard to build Kiwi's trust. I followed everything my vet and very nice breeder (with the aviary) told me to do. We moved her into a nice big cage, fed her healthy food, read to her, talked to her, sang to her etc. Well after what seemed like a long time (not really) Kiwi is now a happy bird (most of the time, she still has her grumpy days, but don't we all) In helping Kiwi, Kiwi helped me become more confident of my abilities with parrots. She taught me to be patient & brave! She showed me what it takes to really try and work with a bird, they call the shots! This said, I mentioned to my vet that I always wanted a grey, he

encouraged me, thinking that it would also be good for Kiwi to watch another bird play with toys (she never moved from her perch!) I went to my breeder, he also told me that a baby cag would be much easier than a 15 year old "testy" amazon.

LOL! So I put down a deposit and waited for my new little girl to grow up a little! I now have my "dream" bird Dorothy (cag) as well as my unexpected "love" Kiwi! They both bring something very different to my life, however I must say that I owe alot to my lca Kiwi. She has shown me alot of Grace after all my fumbling around at the beginning! (sorry for such a long post)

[CAGRico]

I have only my one CAG. As a kid, I had a large outdoor cage with about 30+ parakeets so I have always liked birds. Rico was not planned. He was the result of visiting a very good shop a few times only to find Rico always the one to come see me. He was six months old when he adopted me and he has now owned me for a little over a year with no regrets. He has considered getting me a friend but like me, he is waiting for the right one to come along. It may be a CAG, TAG or some sort of Amazon. I'm sure when the right one comes along, it'll let us know.

 

Good luck with whatever type of bird chooses you...

[Ray P]

In the past I have had keets, love birds, finchs and doves. I have had cockatiels for 40 years and still have them. I also have Corky my CAG and she will be eleven on Dec. 5 and we have had her from a baby and than there is Cricket my blue front amazon a rehome and she is about 15 years old or so and she has been with us for 3 years.

Each of the birds has been a joy to have and I have a love and respect for each and every bird I have ever had. You can learn something from each.

[CLB]

Thanks for sharing your stories! I have been trying very hard, probably too hard, to come to terms with my desire for an additional bird. Of course the decision as to what bird remains unanswered.

 

~Luvparrots, which bird was your second bird and why?

 

Please keep your stories coming. I am considering TAGS and CAGS of course but also, Pionus, Poicephalus and perhaps Panama Amazon. This forum is such a great place to learn about so many different experiences. I am looking forward to hearing more.

[Luvparrots]

My second parrot was actually a re-homed older male eclectus parrot. He and Ana Grey, my TAG did not get along. Ana Grey was very jealous and the older ekkie, very nervous around Ana Grey, she would dive bomb him and peck at Sully all the time. I rehomed Sully with a young man who lives next door. Sully is happy and well loved. He is more happy as an only bird. So of the three I have now, my Amazon was my next parrot. A rehomed Blue Front zon. He is three the same age as Ana Grey. They have a mutual understanding of each other and do fight but I am comfortable with them together. My CAG is only 8 months old and twice as large as either of my other parrots. Sterling holds his own with the other two and they can all tolerate each other but I am very watchful of them all together.

[Talon]

I never intended on EVER getting a bird, never mind 5! (2 parakeets, a cag, a tag, and an amazon) I am a cat lover as everyone in my family knows, they expected me to have cats running all over my house one day, not birds!!!!!!

[CLB]

I never intended on EVER getting a bird, never mind 5! (2 parakeets, a cag, a tag, and an amazon) I am a cat lover as everyone in my family knows, they expected me to have cats running all over my house one day, not birds!!!!!!

 

Well, Talon.....how did that happen? I am an animal person and recently a chicken person. But I never thought I would have Exotics either. And now I want another? Can you tell me the order you got your birds and why?

[birdhouse]

I was fascinated w/fids by the time I was about 2 feet tall. lol We had budgies. My grandfather raised barnyard fowl; geese, doves, peacocks, etc. My grandmother raised budgies & canaries.

 

She also rescued & released any kind of wild critter on a regular basis. That included a few chicks that she "& I" reared. So, it was all her fault I got the gene.

 

One chick who survived some permanent damage from his fall couldn't be released. So he became part of the flock. Living mostly on canned cat food & grapes he grew into the biggest Robin I've ever seen. He was also the first truly great bird love of my life.

 

As an adult, my critters started to find me. My own first bird was a budgie who a friend just arrived w/one night. He told me the guy who had him was going to flush him down the toilet. So he'd said he'd take him because he knew I'd take Buzzard in.

 

A couple of budgies later, some tiels happened, then a green cheek. They were my first experience w/something more parrot-like. I got a whole new perspective & thought maybe I'd like the big parrots.

 

I honestly could have fallen for every one I met when I started to learn about them. But none of them ever followed me home. Until the nameless Grey w/all his baggage just got to me on sight.

 

Silly me, I really thought he'd be the only one. But there were foster fids. Characters who got great homes but were so hard to say good bye to that I finally just wanted another one. But I still had to find a good fit for Phenix & the teils.

 

I actually got my Quaker, Charm because of her outrageous personality. OK ...and she's cute, too. Definitely the party girl & just so much fun to have around.

 

And then there was Kura, the She Devil hell spawn that no one could handle. The other bird who got to me on sight. I've never seen a bird turn so completely around or so easily. But she's my sweetest, most sociable beauty w/a very special mind set that's all her own.

 

I'd also been an Eclectus fan from early on. So she's a bit dream bird from that angle, too.

[Talon]

Okay, so my story is this.......when my eldest son was 14 years old, he wanted an African grey for Xmas. I asked him why, and he says cause they talk, I said don't birds live like 40 years or more, and he said yup. I said, who 's going to take are of it, he said, he would.......( ya right, i was thinking) He had 2 parakeets when he was around 6 years old until they grew old. How he ended up with them is a story in itself. One cold winter snowy day in the middle of January, my older sister showed up on my doorstep with her 2 parakeets and said," these birds are wild, they don't talk, you can't touch them and if you dont take them, I will let them go, I don't want them anymore!" I was horrified, and said OMG! Of course i'll take them. So we now had 2 parakeets. I quickly went to the store, bought a book on how to care for them and a bigger cage. So, back to when he was 14, needless to say, he didn't get a bird that Xmas, I figured it was a passing fancy, he would soon forget about it. Well, he asked every Xmas since that one. When he was 17, he asked again, I again asked why....he said it would be his only friend.....that comment tugged on my heart strings. So we researched greys together, talked about how long they lived and what that would mean to them if he ever did get one, etc. I said they too much money and live too long.

I began looking for one in secret, didn't even tell my husband, found one in FL from a breeder there, not really knowing much about them, long story short, I had the bird shipped to me for Xmas and surprised my son with her, she was 8 1/2 weeks old and weaned.....so I was told. I fed her the food they were feeding her. She cried for 2 weeks and imwould try to comfort her after my son had exhausted all efforts.

She is the sweetest bird ever and I fell in love with her. Well, a year later I divorced my husband, bought a house, and moved out. My son decided to stay with his father and thought it best I take Talon as I spent much of the time caring for her. All was well, I was quite happy with one parrot. During the time previous to this, my 2 younger sons wanted a bird of their own, so we got them each a parakeet and when we moved they brought them with us, so now we had 3 birds.

As I was enjoying my time here on the forum, I saw post by a brand new member who had just bought an African grey Congo 5 weeks ago, who came here to ask how to keep it quiet cause it was too noisy!!! Well, I was disgusted they hadn't done their research before buying this bird and made a nasty comment to them about that and saying I would take the bird. Little did I knw, they lived about 2 hours by car from me......so, they pm'd me and asked if I would take the bird, of course I reluctantly said yes! They drove her to my house 2 days late, cried as they said good bye to Rikki, and she instantly took to me. Thus my 2nd grey!

Next, we took a 2 dY trip to the Bird of Paradise store in NJ for a shopping spree of toys and a tree stand for my 2 greys. I strictly told my kids NO MORE BIRDS! Well, they spent the entire trip trying to entice me with different birds........all were told NO! They kept coming to me with this amazon parrot, telling me how sweet she was and she didn't bite......I kept saying NO! I had enough pets at home! They made one last attempt, so I leaned over to that amazon and made a sound of rolling my tongue, kind of like a brrrrrrggghhhhh sound. She copied me with the exact sound back. I did it 2 more times. She copied me 2 more times......I said, SOLD! she's ours! Thus bird number 5!

 

I can't tell you all how much joy and happiness these birds have brought to me. Yes, they are a lot of work, expense and have totally destroyed my house and everything we own, BUT I wouldn't trade them in for anything! They are a part of our family, good and bad and I love them to pieces!

 

Sorry form the long story, but it was fun to share, and thank you for starting this thread, it's a very enjoyable one to read!!!!

Edited November 8, 2011 by Talon

[CLB]

A big thanks to everyone for sharing your story. I am so happy that this thread has become so entertaining and informative too. Please keep the stories coming!

[Cheshire Cat]

The only other birds we've kept besides Tui were two cockatiels who sadly died about 8 years ago. I've never really looked into any other breed of parrot to keep as I've always had my eye on Greys. I'd obviously have to do my homework before getting another, but I do like the look of cockatoos and I've read a lot of good things about them. Another parrot for me though is quite a few years off, I think. Lol.

[ZephyrDarkwolf]

I'm with Talon, I never really intended to get Oscar. I'd been thinking about the 'tiels I had when I was a kid as I was walking into a pet store and absolutely melted when Oscar came up to the bars in his cage for scratches. That was it for me! My love for all things feathered and loud rekindled on the spot and I'm so happy it did! Oscar really fills a place in our life that we never knew existed! My fiance, who's parents have an 'tiel that they don't handle, has fallen in love with birds. We are putting a deposit on a Hyacinth Macaw for 2013 and are so excited!! Once you have one bird, its so easy to want another!

[judygram]

My son and his wife gave me a pair of finches one year for Christmas about 10 years ago or more and they produced babies that I shared with family, they were a delight to have but you cannot handle finches much and I wanted a bird I could hold and play with so I did my research and decided to get a conure, larger than finches but not the big birds that macaws are. I settled on a sun conure and found some babies I could pick from and took her home when she was fully weaned. I went for a while with just her then I decided that one more wouldn't be any more trouble and in the meantime I had joined a bird club and saw other kind of birds and decided I wanted a grey, certainly the prospect that it could talk weighed heavily in the decision but if she didn't talk at all then I would love her just the same.

A grey is lots different from a conure but I wanted something different and something about the greys is what draws me to them and I have never regretted a day since I brought her into my home and my heart, she is loved and talks up a storm.

Now in the meantime I had been thinking a lot of getting another bird but what kind is the question at the time, well lo and behold one just showed up in my backyard last summer, a cockatiel and I couldn't find her owner so I kept her, so the decision was made for me but she is a wonderful bird, very quiet compared to my conure but she is loved all the same and they each have their own cage but occupy a corner section of my family room and they join in the goings on as flock members should.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

We got our sunconure first. A rescue. He fell in love with my son at daycare, hated everyone else. Then came Kiki, our orangewinged Amazon. He picked my other son. I felt left out, got Sophie our grey at age two. They all are unique in their own way. They seem to " balance", the entire avian family. Kiki is the " tester", for all new fruits and veggies. Noone will try anything, until she approves. She is the best flyer.... they all only attempt to fly when they see her do it first. Kiki test all new toys first as well. If she likes it... they all like it! Even though it sounds like she should be the leader, Sophie my grey is. Sunny the conure and Kiki, are in love, so they are together alot. When Sophie got her new cage and hated it... they let her come live with them! Oh brother.... three birds in one cage is crazy! Other cages are there... they just gather dust. I think two greys, unless they are a bonded pair, can develop a " war", struggling for control. I am lucky the three different species temperment, interests, balanced out. Nancy

[sandra902]

because they needed us.

when merlin came home, aunty bonnie said i had room for 3 birds in the aviary.

so that is what came to us!

all of our 3 are rescues

Peetey the cockatiel (when in doubt, the answer is 'no')

Milly the conure ('rowdy clown' is right!)

and of course Bird #1 Merlin

[lovethatgrey]

Emma african grey is truly my dream african grey. She's my heart bird and I never imagined that my dream parrot would end up being like her. She's AMAZING.

 

With that said, I would not add another african grey. The dust is a huge factor and I don't want any more.

 

I used to think that I didn't like macaws, but I can tell you that I truly adore my severe macaw Mabel. She is incredibly expressive, VERY tactile, and so different than an african grey. Nobody is more suprised than I am to learn this about myself. I enjoy her SO much and have learned that after african greys, I am definitely a Macaw person. I really appreciate so much about them and there's truly nothing like being adored by a Severe Macaw. Here's my Mabellina!

 

 

[DawL]

I have several birds, all of them parrots. There is something truly special about every single one of them. For instance, my Tiels.... they are my grumpy old men I love the way they act, and it is so rewarding when they let me give them some loving. Then Charlie, my Sun Conure is absolutely FULL of personality. She is so incredibly silly, makes the sound of me cracking my knuckles, and waves her head around and stuff like my little Stevie Wonder bird. I have a parrotlet named Sage. He is awesome. He is sooooo tiny, it almost looks odd for him to have a hookbill He gets in my hair, swings around, and will stay there all night and day if I let him. He loves to preen my "long feathers" as my husband calls it LOL! Then I have an English Budgie, sweet little guy, and my kids LOVE him. They have adopted him as their bird, and they feed him, give him his water, and clean his cage. He has helped me teach them responsibility. Next is my Quaker, Kiwi... I have to say...if you have never had a Quaker, you are missing out. I love her so much. They are just so full of life, and have a BIG personality. She is very protective of me, and if I give any other bird attention without giving her some first, she gets very jealous. She is also a fantastic talker. Then, there is Barnaby, my Umbrella Cockatoo. I absolutely LOVE TOO'S. I swear you can be talking to them, and it is like something snaps in their brain, and they have freak out episodes. Very, very silly birds. It is almost like they have Tourettes Syndrome. Will keep you laughing all day long...not to mention the fact that they are so incredibly intelligent, and lovey dovey.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is, I am a bird person in general. There is something special about every breed of bird in my eyes. I wish I could have a lot more to be honest, but I am not going to. I am at my bird limit. I would love to have a Hyacinth Macaw, or a Palm Cockatoo... but that won't be happening for many years more than likely. My husband wants an IRN, and honestly, that will be a possibility. I might be at my bird limit, but he really wants one, and we are going to an Expo next month.... I told him I didn't plan on buying a bird of any kind, and he said "Well...you never know what will happen" LOL...guess we will see

 

My advice, do lot's of research. Watch lot's of videos of different kinds of birds and see what speaks to you. There are SO MANY great birds out there!

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Within our family, they picked us! Sunny our rescue sunconure, was out of " forever" homes. He was actually being taken care of in a rescue home, that happened to be our babysitter! Noone could care for this " bird", until my son came along. He was nine. This bird would attack everyones jugular. Ryan came along.... Sunny immediately fell in love with him. My babysitter talked to me about adopting him. I wasn't into it. She explained he was going to be euthanized.... out of forever homes. Noone could control him. Only Ryan. Took him home. Twelve years later.... still loves Ryan! LOL Nancy

[Ray P]

It just takes that one special person and that one special bird to make that one special match.

Nice going Ryan.

[animalINSPIRED]

My bird story-

My freshmen year of high school my mom checked "Alex and Me" out from the library. An avid reader and animal lover I finished the book in a matter of hours. I immediately researched African Greys, and much to my disappointment found out that they wouldn't fit into my busy lifestyle. A couple months later, my family and I happened into a pet store. They had an older Grey who completely took to me. She climbed all over me and wouldn't let anyone else pick her up. I was smitted and even talked with the owner about working there to pay her off. But as much as I wanted her, I knew I really didn't have the time she deserved.

 

That summer a lot of things changed. I felt that I was wasting seven hours/day in school, so I chose to take my classes online, freeing up a lot of my time. I ironically found a breeder less then ten minutes from my house on this forum, while trying to locate an avian vet. My parents were convinced after a year of me researching that I was dedicated. I visited Beaker's Aviary and picked my little Averi out at four weeks old. She is a great bird and I love her so very much. She has taught me so much in the past two years and she means the world to me. I am grateful for her every single day.

 

Around the time Averi was ten months old, we left her at the breeder while we went on a cruise. When I came to pick her up, she was ecstatic to see me and I took her home. But, she seemed depressed over the next couple days and often called to the other birds. It broke my heart to think she was lonely. My vet had recommened keeping at least two birds in the same home to prevent loneliness but this was the first time I had experienced it. I talked to my parents and they were excited about the idea of a second bird.

 

I did some research on other species, but I just kept coming back to the greys. I love their personality and they just really mesh with my lifestyle. I came across Tilda's ebay classifieds ad, as I had 100s of other Grey ads looking for new homes. I had decided almost a year early to add another. For some reason her ad really caught my eye. I emailed her owner, and promptly attempted to forget about it. I couldn't forgot about the sweet little picture of her, but I felt I was probably setting myself up for disappointment. When I got the e-mail back from her owner, I had butterflies in my stomach. I just knew she was going to be mine. Four months later, we had ironed out all the details, and drove five hours to meet her.

 

She was so cute with her oversized feet and sweet cooing noises. I was sitting talking to her owner, hoping she'd warm up, when she voluntarily reached her foot out to step-up. I took her home that night.

 

I'm lucky in that both my girls are young and friendly toward each other. They are sweet and curious about each other. They are always supervised.

 

I must say that I love having two. They entertain each other and me with their endless chatter. Averi seems so happy and relaxed, even if she has to sepnd an abnormal day in the cage. They make me smile every time I see them playing with the same toy on a stand or eating out of the same bowl. They are still cautious towards each other, but they are warming up. I also must that for the forseeable future, two is my limit.

 

If I were ever to pick out another one, it would likely be a Grey. If not a Grey, it would at least be around the same size. I wouldn't want to have to worry about out of cage time becaoming deadly with vastly different size beaks. I do love Hawk head parrots from the ones I have interacted with, and I love the zons, too. But, I'm a Grey girl at heart.