hi

[gordonsmithe]

I'm Gordon and I live in California, and I am thinking about getting a parrot. I grew up with quakers, and they are great, but I live in California now and they are illegal to keep here. They are nonnative or something like that. I would like to know the upsides of having a grey as well as the downsides.

 

Later,

Gordon

[judygram]

Hello Gordon and welcome to the family, so glad you could join us and we look forward to hearing more about you and your parrot quest.

 

What made you decide to choose a grey out of all the types of birds you could have? Was it their ability to talk? I am not necessarily trying to talk you out of it but I want you to understand what you are dealing with as deciding to get yourself a grey is not just something you wake up one day and choose that option.

 

You should do a lot of reading and research about the grey and decide if one will fit in with your lifestyle, greys need lots of attention and out of cage time. They have a long life, living to 50+ years so it is a lifetime committment and you need to be sure this is what you want so the bird does not have to be rehomed later when you find out it does not.

 

By reading thru the many threads you will find lots of useful information on owning, feeding, housing, toys for and socializing your baby grey.

[Luvparrots]

Hi Gordon, you have come to the right place to find the answers to your questions. Please tell us a little more about you and why you think a grey is right for you. Ask whatever questions you have that will help you decide if a grey is right for you and our experienced members will try to help. Welcome to the family.

[danmcq]

Welcome Gordan!!

 

Welcome I can't think of any downsides of having a Grey. So I won't list all the plus sides. :-)

 

Looking forward to hearing more from you.

[gordonsmithe]

thanks everyone for making me feel welcome. Does anyone know of a good breeder or shelters where i could look at a african grey and to get a better feel for getting one or not. A friend of mine has one that is great, but he does bite. Do they all have a tendancy to bite? His has red mixed in with the grey on the wings. He adopted him from some guy he used to work with who kept him locked up in a closet for four years. I would like one that looks like his I think. So if you know of breeders that have the grey/red combo deal on the wings I would like to get contact information. I am willing to travel anywhere in California to check out a breeder that specializes in these greys.

 

Later, Gordon

[Char]

Hi and welcome to the forum. If you do some reading around the forum you will find that all Greys are not the same and have different personalities.

 

As a rule they are great talkers but some don't. They tend to be shy birds so most of your friends will not even believe they talk.:laugh: Mine will talk some in front of strangers but some others don't.

 

They need a lot of attention and time out of the cage or they can become pluckers and mutilate themselves. Mine only gets 2-3 hrs a day out of the cage and is doing fine but some don't.

 

They need a lot of toys and stimulation to keep from getting bored. I have the t.v on for mine with a timer so it is only morning hrs and lets her rest in the afternoon. I have it tuned to a childrens channel. She seems to enjoy it.

 

If you read through the posts you will find that some owners get bitten and some don't. Mine has never bitten me but some do.

 

You will find that some have Greys that like to cuddle and some don't. Mine is kind of in between. She spends a lot of time on my shoulder demanding head scratches.

 

They are generally a quiet bird when compared to an Amazon or Cockatoo.

 

Like I said they have their own personalities and some of it depends on their environment.

 

Hope this helps some and good luck.<br><br>Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/02/14 01:37