An African Grey at work! Advice needed

[djw2000]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about getting an African Grey parrot to keep at work. It will go in our staff room. There are people working 7 days a week from 7am until 10pm so he/she would get lots of attention. I think it would be nice for all the staff to have a pet as such to talk to and spend time with and would make for interesting conversations when we have suppliers in for meetings etc.

 

Can anybody tell me which type/sex I should be looking at getting and what to watch out for please?

[DawL]

My big question here is, will the grey be getting out of cage time?

[CLB]

I do not mean to offend, but keeping a parrot is much different than keeping fish.

[Luvparrots]

djw200, are you familiar with greys and their traits, phobias and idiosyncrasies? They are very smart and some are one person birds. Please do some research before you jump into getting one. There are many different threads in the various rooms here so read, read, read.

[forkeeps]

JMO, I'm not a fan of parrots in a busy place of employment, I found a problem that most people may be interested in the bird and others without supervision can cause harm mental/physical without meaning to because they don't know the proper way to care for the parrots. Also, a parrot can become a liability if people come into the business and get bit. My 1st CAG that I owned came from a person that had an small accounting business, she moved him to her office from her house once she got married because her husband didn't like him and one of her clients got bit by sticking his finger in the cage and after that incident Tango was put in a secluded corner and only fed and everytime someone went by his cage if he even put is beak by the bars the cage would get hit and he lost his free time outside of the cage. He started to become aggressive when his original owner would go to change his food water dishes (old style cage that you had to put your hands in to remove the bowls) and would go to bite her and the owner couldn't understand why. I was asked if I wanted him because he turned "Bad", it took me almost 6mths to regain his trust and he became a great part of the family.

[judygram]

I am afraid I have to echo the other's concerns about the bird being in a workplace all day, sure it may get lots of attention but would it get some out of cage time and most greys will bond to just one person or several people and the person or persons picked might not share that status with the grey. Then you have people who do not understand about birds and would stick their fingers in the cage and get bitten or they end up tormenting the bird, a grey deserves better treatment than that and I think you will find that out on your own if you do any research, please rethink this idea of yours.

[Barbara2]

Some other things to consider: I know my grey has at least two very talkative periods a day. He talks, whistles and just generally has a great time with his voice. He doesn't care if I'm on the phone. I have to go in the other room if I want to be able to hear the person on the other end. Another concern would be what happens after 10 when everyone goes home. If there were to be a fire or some other emergency situation, nobody would be there to save him/her. My third concern is whether or not others in the workplace would be sensitive to the special considerations of owning a grey. I'm thinking things like perfumes and cleaning supplies. I'm not trying to be a "Debbie Downer" but I have to add my vote for "this is not a good idea". Kudos to you for asking for advice before jumping in and getting the bird!!

[Barbara2]

Sorry. I thought of one more concern. Greys (all birds) are flock animals. The people in the workplace would become "the flock". If the grey attaches to someone and then they leave to go work elsewhere, that would be bad. (It's hard enough for some of us in families when one of the "flock" goes off to college or moves out.)

Edited January 4, 2012 by Barbara2

[DawL]

Have you considered getting some lovely little birds that do not attach themselves to one person? Male canaries for instance? If you house a couple males together they will sing their little heart away, and it is very lovely.

[Acappella]

Sorry, I'm another person on the 'not a good idea' train. I just don't think most parrots do well in this type of setting, and i think greys are specifically not well suited for this type of environment. You would have to train every person in the office how to interact with the bird, and not all people are willing to adjust their behaviour for an animal. Because a bird is a flock animal it doesn't respond well to the 'dominace' type of animal training that most people who have had mostly dogs, or even cats, believe in. All it takes is one person who isn't on board with the program to create a nervous, distrustful bird. Then the bird is labelled a problem and is isolated, given no out of cage time, which in turn makes it behave (in the eyes of humans) worse.

 

 

Did you know that greys, and other birds, produce a Huge amount of dust, in addition to feathers, that flies everywhere, and that many people are allergic to this dust the same way people are allergic to animal dander. What if someone at your job is bird phobic, or you want to hire someone who is? Having had many different people in and out of the house over the past few months, I have to warn you that mnay people have this fear. Also, would the company that clean your office agree not to use industrial cleaners in the birds environment? Some janitorial companies are starting to use more environmentally friendly cleaners, but most are still using the strong scented, noxious chemically based cleaners that can quickly cause breathing problems in a bird if inhaled, or other health issues if they 'beak' a surface or office item that still has chemical cleaner residue on it. Remember, there's a good reason they used canaries in mines to warn people the air was becoming toxic!

 

Please don't think we're just a group of over-anxious hyper bird people here. These are very real concerns. After all, this is a place where many owners end up asking questions after things have gone wrong. We've seen it all! Really glad you'e taking the time out to research things. I think pets in the workplace can be a great idea, but maybe a policy allowing people to bring their own pets in, or an animal that is less high-maintenance would be the way to go.