Gaevren Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Heya, I'm new to the forums I've been researching birds for a few years and decided that African Grays were the bird for me. I found this site and I'm hoping it'll be a great resource for more information! It'll be a couple of years yet before I can get a bird so I want to put the time to good use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Hello Gaevren and welcome to the family, so glad you decided to join us and we look forward to hearing more about you and your quest for a grey. You have made a wise decision to research thoroughly and gather and read all you can before you do actually get your grey. They are unlike a lot of the other parrots and you need to understand what all is involved in owning one. It is a lifetime committment that is not be be taken lightly. Please read thru the many threads for lots of useful and helpful information and do not hesitate to ask questions you may have, we will do our best to get you some answers and help you in any way we can. Do you have any birds at this time, I am assuming you don't since you said you are researching birds but thought I would ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaevren Posted April 30, 2008 Author Share Posted April 30, 2008 We have one parakeet that belongs to my daughter. She's 10 years old and has had this parakeet for about a year and a half. She was begging me for a pet "of her own" so I told her yes under certain conditions. She had to take care of our other animals every day (dog and a cat at that time, the cat is no longer with us) without me reminding her, and she had to earn the money to buy the bird and all its accessories herself, and would have to earn the money to buy her bird's food, toys, upkeep, etc. as well as care for her bird (training, feeding, and so on). I said if she did all that, I would pay for any vet care. Well she earned her money and bought her bird and I have not had to remind her to take care of it once. It's very shy, I think a large reason is because of the cat we had who liked to "stalk" her. We tried to keep the cat away from her cage but of course she kept going up. We found the cat another home, partly due to the keet but mostly my other daughter turned out to be allergic...and are now working on step-up training with the keet. She's still very very nervous so we're just taking it slow and easy right now. I bought "The African Grey Parrot Handbook" a couple weeks ago and devoured it. Lots of excellent information there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 You have raised a very responsible daughter and you should be very proud of her as most kids would have forgotten about their promise as soon as the pet came home. I am sure in time the keet will get over the nervousness and cooperate with the training. That book is an excellent source of information on greys, one of my favorite ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Hi Gaevren & Welcome to the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Gaevren, welcome here Two years is enough time to get totally prepared (especially if you keep on reading here) B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaevren Posted May 1, 2008 Author Share Posted May 1, 2008 Well not only do I need to prepare myself but I need to make sure my husband and kids are prepared as well! My girls will be no problem I am sure...they love birds and will devour any information about them, like me. My husband I wasn't so sure about. I'd talked before about getting an African Grey at some point but not recently since I knew it would be several years before I'd really be able to (right now I'm in college and I just couldn't devote the necessary time and attention, not with school *and* 3 kids!) I talked to him about it yesterday however and he definitely liked the idea. I said something about "companion birds" which made him think of "companion dogs" vs "working dogs". It gave him a mental image of a "working bird"...he said the image in his mind was of a bomb-sniffing parrot squawking "You're screwed! You're screwed!" I was drinking some water at the time and I almost snorted water out of my nose lol. Now it's time to start doing my research on local breeders and getting to know them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Well your grey will be squawking some words all right but it is up to you and your family to make sure you don't use the words you don't want repeated, LOL thats funny but true. I wish more potential grey owners would follow your example of researching well in advance of purchase, we would have a lot less of them in rescue and rehoming situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Welcome Gaevren!!! It seems you and hubby have a great sense of humor, we love that!! :-) Looking forward to hearing more updates on your bomb sniffing parrot, once you get him ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaevren Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 From the little I've learned of these birds, I don't think you could survive living with them if you didn't have a sense of humor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Gaevren, I have found that a sense of humor is required for just surviving our daily lives with or without our greys, it certainly gets me thru a lot of days:laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaevren Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 Too true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyric Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Hi Gaevren- welcome here. We're all glad you are doing your homework and learning what you need to before you get your bird. They are a big commitment but so well worth the effort. Working with your daughter's bird will give you a small idea of the patience and gentleness you'll need to work with a grey. It's wonderful you've given her a chance to prove to you how mature and responsible she is. Keep us updated as you get closer to getting your own grey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MazyAK Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Gaevren: A grey definitely changes life but for most it is for the better. Doing the research this far ahead is a smart thing and really look at the commitment being made, cuz it will be for the rest of your life. Bruce & Mazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now