Older African Grey

[thomaszambra]

I am thinking of buying an African Grey he is 4 years old and hand tame and talks but am worried that he might be a bit nippy as i have a 5 year old child

[siobha9]

Welcome to this forum. There are lots of threads about older greys which you can read. In summary though, even with a baby Grey there is no guarantee that he will not be nippy, in fact with a 5 year old child I would say any grey will be nippy. A child is unpredictable to a Grey.

 

A Grey is not a family bird, and you will have to keep your child away most likely!

[MisterDavE]

The only way to tell would be to introduce the pair would it not?? i have found in my experience that greys have a vast array of personallities i suppose the only way to tell is to get them together and see how they interact, we got our parrot from a household that had other parrots dogs and children and their other parrot got along fine with the toddlers i think you call them.

Hope this all goes well and you get your grey

[BMustee]

A 5 year old should not really be handling any parrot. Childeren are not as calm and are jerky with their movments. Even the most calm and friendly parrot will bite down on a finger/hand if they feel unsteady or if a hand comes at them in a way they don't like. I would say 99% of bird bites on kids are not because the bird is nippy, it's because of the kid. I work at a pet store and all day long parents hand their kids birds without asking the staff and the kid gets nipped, and all the birds that have bitten kids are sweet and friendly.

[thomaszambra]

Thanks to all for the replies am going to see bird tomorrow and there are chrildren in the house will let u know how I get on.

[judygram]

I look forward to hearing what you think of the bird and please do let us know what you think.

[lovemyGreys]

Good luck,Let us know the outcome

[thomaszambra]

well went to see the Grey named Joey he was very flighty and was a bit of a biter even to his owners so I had to give him a miss,then by chance I was talking to a friend and he told me of a chap who was selling 3 baby grey chicks 14 weeks old I went to see them last night and have now took arrival of our new family member named Rio will post pics at a later date,he is stepping up and very friendly was reared by a good breeder now sitting happy in a new large cage with plenty of toys<br><br>Post edited by: thomaszambra, at: 2008/03/27 16:44

[judygram]

Well glad to hear you now have a grey and a baby at that, sounds like he is very friendly and I do look forward to seeing some photos of Rio when you get the chance.

 

Even though you have a 5 year old child, I would still be careful of letting the child handle the grey and certainly not without your supervision, young children tend to be quick and loud and greys don't take to that very well.

[judygram]

Thomas, why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little more about you and Rio.