Grey Monthly Cost Break Down

[Quickdood]

Hello,

 

I was wondering, could anyone write up a quick monthly cost break down for owning an African Grey. I specifically mean the cost of food and anything else required to keep a grey healthy in both body and mind.

 

Thanks,

Greg<br><br>Post edited by: Quickdood, at: 2008/08/16 05:00

[TinyTimneh]

hmm.. well...

see there's a lot of variables.

 

food is a biggie, with different brands and such costing different prices.

lets say minimum for pellets is 12 bucks a month (this doesn't include fresh foods or anything)

toys... well... the more the better

I know i can spend at least a hundred dollars in one trip. The cost of toys at the beginning will be monstrous, so you can have a good stock, but after that might be anywhere from 20-100+ dollars a month, probably more.

then there's visits to the groomer/ buying grooming supplies... varies here too, depending on how frequently your grey needs to be seen, usually about 10 dollars every couple of months.

harnesses, playgyms, perches... expect to spend a ton of cash here, though most are onetime purchases, expect to spend a few hundreds, maybe more.

and then, dun dun dun.. the vet this could be as simple as 150$ for a checkup once a year to hundreds or thousands of dollars if your bird gets sick.

 

thus to wrap up.. parrotkeeping, not for the faint of heart or the thin of pocketbook

[spookyhurst]

A monthly breakdown is kind of hard, because it varies widely month to month. For instance, you'll want a yearly well-bird exam which will cost you anywhere from $50-$150 (depends on whether or not you get bloodwork). If you need a vet visit because your bird is sick, I imagine it would cost more than the annual exam (knock on wood that I haven't found out ).

 

If you get someone to groom the nails and wings, that's about $10 to $20. The wings need done once or twice a year, and the nails need done once every few months (depends on how much they get worn down through play and using sandy perches).

 

Toys can be very expensive, unless you make them yourself. I usually buy $100 worth at once (to save on shipping costs), and then dole them out over time. I've found that Nikko is as happy with a cardboard box that came in the mail as she is with an expensive toy though. Play gyms can be expensive, but are long lasting. Nikko is spoiled and has several :whistle:.

 

Food is tough to estimate. Nikko mostly shares stuff that we eat. Things like a single butternut squash (frozen in individual portions) lasts a fair amount of time, and doesn't cost very much. Her pellets aren't particularly expensive, between $5 and $10 for a smallish bag. I spend the most on her almonds in the shell and pine nuts, which are kind of expensive for the small amount you get.

 

If you need to board your bird, it's about $25 a day. Hence, I never go anywhere .

 

There are a lot of one time costs, like the cage (probably $300 minimum), travel carrier, perches, etc. I've bought a lot of other stuff like a shower perch, Misty Mate (for showers), a humidifier, 2 air purifiers, 2 full spectrum lamps, and more.

 

In the 3 years I've had Nikko, I'm sure I've dropped thousands of dollars. I could look at my money manager to find out, but I'd probably keel over from heart failure. Parrots are not inexpensive creatures to keep :pinch:.

[Quickdood]

Thank You both for your detailed information. Just one follow up question, I notice a lot of people say they spend a lot of money on toys. Do the parrots destroy the old toys or do they just get board of them? Do you ever rotate toys in and out so if they get board of one you can re-introduce it in a couple of months?

 

Thanks

[Suzzique]

Toys serve a lot of different play. But you want ones that they can chew up or they will start in on your woodwork.

[BMustee]

I would agree with everyone else on the cost. I am probably spending a bit less then everyone else here because I work at a pet store that has everything you can think of for parrots and I get a 30% discount on everything from food to toys and I also special order toys and get them at cost. Elmo is also a very small CAG...wieghing in a only 385g...so she likes the smaller toys, more like conure toys. 90% of greys though need big bird toys and at my store are anywhere between $12 to $30 bucks a pop. So just 3 or 4 toys can go over $100 easy. The cages we sell that are the size a grey needs are $350 and up. The food we sell that I get for Elmo is $2.79 a pound and I bet I go through 2-3 pounds a month. He gets 3 different kinds of pellots...Zupreem, LaFabers, and Pretty Bird...I know, Elmo is spoiled. Pellots can be $10 bucks a month for so if you buy just one kind. I paid $118 for my well-bird vet visit...including fecal and blood, but I'm not sure if I got the store's discount or not so it could have been a lot more is I did get the discount. The biggest cost of all is the grey itself. At my store Congo greys go for $1,100 and the Timnehs go for $799.

[spookyhurst]

Quickdood wrote:

Thank You both for your detailed information. Just one follow up question, I notice a lot of people say they spend a lot of money on toys. Do the parrots destroy the old toys or do they just get board of them? Do you ever rotate toys in and out so if they get board of one you can re-introduce it in a couple of months?

 

Thanks

 

Both. With non-destructible toys, like ones made of acrylic, the bird will get bored, so you rotate them out. With wood/grass/paper toys, the bird will destroy them. My Nikko loves to chew, so it's a must to keep toys like that around. Her favorite activity after chewing cardboard is playing with a wiffle ball that has a bell inside. They only cost a dollar a piece, and she's only managed to break one, so they're a steal .

[Suzzique]

I most likely spend the least on toys. I make about 95% of my birds toys. So when you brake it down I avrage less than $40 a month. I love the doller store for toy parts! You never know what you are going to find there. But not everyone has the time or creativity to make thier own toys.

[Tycos_mom]

In every way a Grey is like haveing a human they live on love so you find a way to get them the things they need you don't put a cost on your child or add up what you spend on them you go get the things they need because you love them and want them to be happy cost breakdown for me isn't possible because if they need it I go get it. and when I out if I happen to have a few extra bucks that day I'll I will buy them something new. My Grey is reletivly fairly cheap to buy toys for because she doesn't realy like her hanging wood toys she would rather chew on somthing she can hold like a tree branch she loves foot toys so I buy her cheap things from the dollar store she does break them but they only cost a buck I make most big things like playstands and swings I buy 2 inck cotten rope and tie knots in it and hang it from the ceiling and stuff like that I buy very few wooden parrot toys which are so expensive I have a few but I can make the same thing for a dollar or two Ijst can't justifiy the cost when she would rather chew a branch from one of my many bird safe trees the store bought one's she pays very little attention too. I did get her a boing because the birds do love them and they cost a bit for a big one but they last a very long time my biggest cost is her annual vet check up and her food

[Quickdood]

Thanks for all the responses, I am just making sure I can afford one. One thing I have going in my favor is I have a sister in law who can get me 20% off at the pet store she works at. Thanks again for all your responses.

 

PS: If after reading Tycos_mom's last and you started to wonder like me what trees are bird safe i'll save you the search http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml (found this on another post) also this will probably lead to the follow up question what plants are toxic and here is a link for that http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/plntstox.htm (also found on another forum post).