Hello Grey Owners

[CountCaffeine]

Hello All,

 

My name is Brad and I will soon be joining your ranks as a proud African Grey owner. Soon in my terms is within the next few months. I personally like to have all my ducks in a row before I do anything, that way I am prepared for anything. So I hope you do not mind but I would like to ask a few questions here. I apologize if this is not the proper area for questions.

 

I have read countless articles on the proper care of an African Grey and I want to clear a few things up.

 

First off; Diet. Now I have read many articles talking about calcium but there seems to been conflicting ideas on how to provide adequate calcium for your bird. The biggest one I have found is grit, or groud up egg shells and what not. Some articles say it is a good idea other say it is bad for the bird. Please tell me how you give your bird calcium.

 

Second, I have not found much on temperature restrictions for the African Grey. I would love to get the parrot harness and talk my little guy out on my morning walk with my dogs so he can see the sights and get a little added mental stimulation. Would this be a good or bad idea, and if it is a good idea when would it be too hot or too cold to take him along?

 

Third, cage location. Now I do not intend to keep my bird in a cage while I am around during the day. I plan on putting my bird to bed when I go to work in the evenings, and when I wake up near sunrise I plan on having him out and about with me. About the only time I am not around during the day is when I take my mother to her chemotherapy. So when I am gone what is a good place for the cage? I had thought that I would put it near a big window so he could see what was going on outside but I have read that being near a window is a bad idea. Why is this? The window I had in mind is adequately shaded throughout the day and is not subject to major temperatrue changes. I plan on keeping the cage in one spot and not moving it and I want to make sure it is a good spot.

 

Forth, I know with all animals the key to their happiness it adequate mental stimulation. While taking care of my mother I have a lot of time on my hands. I think I have the most well trained Jack Russel terrier alive. Now I know I will learn to read my birds body language but I was wondering, what would be too much? When my bird is ready for training would 20 minutes every three hours be good? Or should I try more or less?

 

And finally, I am in Southern Oregon, can anyone recommend a good breeder?

 

Thank you for your time and I appreciate any feedback I can get.<br><br>Post edited by: CountCaffeine, at: 2009/02/12 20:58

[judygram]

Hello Brad and welcome to the family, so glad you could join us and we look forward to hearing more about you and your grey to be.

 

You are doing all the right things in finding out everything you can before you actually get the bird, so many don't and that is why they either have a lot of problems or the bird winds up in a rescue situation.

 

You will find a lot of the answers to your questions in our many threads so do read thru them at your leisure and ask all the questions you may have and we will help you in any way we can.

 

Diet needs and calcuim requirements will be found in the bird food room and you may find a lot of helpful info in the nursery room as well.

 

I can tell you that the cage should be in the room where the family spends the most time, they like to be with the flock and I do not think that placing the cage in front of a window is best as they are more likely to see predators and will be scared of them even though there is a glass between.

 

Two more rooms you will find helpful are the toy making room and the training room, so browse thru them all, that should be enough to keep you busy for a while.

[Luvparrots]

Hi Brad, kudos to you to wanting to learn all you can about greys before you commit to getting one. There are a lot of great threads of information here and Judy has given you some great places to look to get your feet wet. Look around and keep us posted on your progress. Welcome to the family.

[she]

Hi and welcome Brad.I am always happy when someone does some ground work before getting a grey or indeed any pet.You will find the answers to most of the questions you have in the verious rooms hear,ie food, training, nursery.If you dont find what you need please ask.

[Twosteph]

Welcome:)

 

I'm getting my Grey Saturday, and like you, I made sure everything was in place before hand. What really helped me was the book Parrots for dummies:laugh:

 

It explains EVERYTHING in detail, and its a good reference to have on hand.

[danmcq]

Welcome Brad!!

 

It's nice having you here. You are certainly doing good research and asking all the right questions before you decide to bring a Grey home.

 

The Calcium needs can be handled through a proper diet and exposure to direct sunlight, avian lighting and also pelleted diets that include vitamin D3. There is a ton of information in the food room and health room.

 

One note on keeping your Grey around your Grandmother. If she has allergies or breathing problems, please know that Greys shed dander that does cause some sensitive people to have respiratory problems.

 

Looking forward to hearing more from you. :-)

[Lyric]

Hello Brad, welcome here. You are to be commended for doing your research before rushing into getting your first grey.

I'd recommend the book "For the Love of Greys" by Bobbi Brinker. It's one of the best I've read on them and I just love her philosophies of dealing with greys.

As far as calcium goes, I'd recommend a diet of mainly a high quality pellet, supplemented with plenty of fresh vegetables and some fruits, seeds and nuts. You can provide leafy greens that are high in calcium and also occasionally, well cooked eggs- you can even leave the shells in with the eggs, just wash them well and crumble them in.

As far as temperature goes, if you are comfortable outside without a jacket, your bird should be comfortable as well. Taking the bird with you on walks is a great idea, just harness train the bird and it will then be safe with you outside.

For the cage, put it where the bird will be with the family- they want to be part of the flock and know what's going on. I move my birds cages around so they get used to change in their environment. Sometimes I put my TAG's cage partially in front of a window and he's never had a problem with it. I think he likes to look outside and see what's going on. If your bird does seem scared of things outside you may have to judge this one for yourself.

An African grey should have lots of time out of the cage everyday. Generally at least 4 hours is considered a good amount of out of cage time. If you are doing specific training, keep the sessions short and stop when the bird seems distracted or uninterested in what you are working on.

You can check out Avian Biotech online for local breeders in your area.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Keep us updated on your search for a new companion!

[jasperk]

Twosteph wrote:

 

What really helped me was the book Parrots for dummies:laugh:

 

It explains EVERYTHING in detail, and its a good reference to have on hand.

i agree this book is really helpfull

[jasperk]

also the only breeder in oregon that i have found so fan is in colton or. heres their url www.africangreybreeders.com