First, some general information about the African Grey parrot.

The African Grey Parrot is an amazing bird which hails from the rain forests of Africa. Revered for their beauty, personality and intelligence, african greys have come to be a popular addition to any family that wishes to co-exist with them.

Notice I didn’t say “own” a grey as these birds can’t be domesticated.  Due to their long lifespan most greys available for purchase are only a generation or two from the wild.  The very best you can do with an african grey is honor the fact that they are extremely intelligent social creatures who will be happy to share your dwelling and your life, provided you give them the love and the respect they deserve.

There are two popular subspecies of african greys, the congo african grey parrot and the timneh african grey parrot.  Timneh greys are smaller then congos and do not have the vibrant red-tail color of the congo.  Timnehs are also much less expensive then congos, but still make fine companions.

Congo greys are various shades of grey over most of their body (wings being a bit darker grey), with a white leather-like featherless mask around their eyes and a brilliant crimson-red tail that is generally only a few inches long.  They can grow to 12-14 inches in length and weigh around a pound or so.

Young greys will have jet black eyes that turn to a yellowish-cream color when they have reached about 2 yrs of age.  A hand-fed young congo grey will be priced anywhere from $800 to $1200.  These birds are expensive but well worth the investment if you are willing to make a commitment to a pint-sized friend for years to come.

7 wk old congo grey. Photo courtesy of desertpagan66 at Flickr.com

centers because people decided that they were too much to handle or didn’t have the time to properly care for these birds.

First look for a reputable avian breeder or pet store in your area that specializes in baby greys.  We purchased ours from a lady who owned an exotic pet store in Texas and had been raising baby african greys for many years.  She was a wealth of information for us as we decided on our purchase.

There are avian breeders online who will ship and that is a consideration, however I recommend you see your new bird in person before you take the leap to buy because there are several things you will want to look for.

We spent 4 days over as many trips back to the pet store visiting with our potential new babies.  The owner had a batch of 8 babies (from 2 different clutches) and they all were hand fed, weaned and being socialized.

Generally speaking a baby grey will adopt YOU and not the other way around.  We spent several hours just hanging around their play pen observing their behavior, looking for any obvious health issues such as sluggishness, dull eyes, diarrhea, runny noses, broken feathers, body deformities and things of this nature.

We handled each bird and got a ‘feel’ for how they acted with each of us.  Carlie was actually the second baby I picked up as I had my eye on another baby (which didn’t seem to want to have much to do with me) and we immediately connected.  She settled in on my hand and then eventually walked around with me on my shoulder.  I could tell the bond was strong, so obviously she was my pick.  She has been a wonderful, loving bird and is very connected with me.

A similar thing happened with Dylon; he stuck to my wife like glue.  The owner did caution that Dylon

10 wk old congo grey. Photo courtesy of desertpagan66 at Flickr.com

was fairly independent, needing extra attention and that he would still be a good bird if he and my wife could learn early on how to live with each other.  The store owner said that he would more then likely grow up to be a very dominate male, which he has.  Dylon requires much attention, is very curious about everything and wants to be in the thick of things so when he is out we have to really keep an eye on him.  Carlie, on the other hand, is content to just hang out with us taking it all in.

Hand feeding a young parrot requires a lot of time and effort so your best bet is to purchase a baby that has been hand fed AND weaned to solid food.  They will likely be on some mix of fruits, veggies, nuts and a good nutritional parrot food.

So, spend as much time as you can with your prospective new baby before you bring him home.  Interact with him and see how he interacts with you.  You will be able to tell fairly soon if there is a connection between you.  Make sure the baby is weaned and on solid food.  Find out what his diet has been and continue with this as advised by the store owner or breeder.  Look for any obvious health problems or issues.  Further you can find out if the baby has been DNA sexed (to determine sex) and has seen an avian vet for any treatments or injections.

Finally, never purchase a baby that isn’t ‘banded’.  Banding means the baby will have a small metal band on one of it’s legs placed there at birth by the breeder which is inscribed with the breeder number, the babies’ clutch number and date of birth.

Leg bands are regulated by various governmental laws and are required by the USDA for imported birds being released from a quarantine facility.  They also tell you, the purchaser, that the bird is in the country legally and has not been smuggled.

We live with two congo greys, Dylon and Carlie. We purchased these birds when they were 4 months old and they are now 10 years old. They both were hand-fed from about 10 days old and were quite use to human interaction when they came to live with us.

Although we have never had them DNA sexed, it’s very clear to us who is the male and who is the female based on aggressiveness, behavior, size, shape, personality and attitude!

African Greys as adults have an intelligence level of about a 9 year old human child. Needless to say, living with a 9 year old for close to 80 years isn’t for the faint of heart.

If you are considering the purchase of an African Grey Parrot, give much thought to your personal lifestyle since greys do require a lot of attention. If you are working and not at home much, a grey will not be for you.

YOU become their social outlet as they are very social in the wild, and care must be taken to spend at least an hour a day in direct contact with them (playing, etc) and at least 4-5 hours a day of nearby contact (in the same room or area of your house).

Greys left to their device, alone in a cage all day long, will become aggressive, quite loud and more then likely a feather plucker (out of frustration or poor nutrition).

African Greys by nature give off a fine white powder called dander and there is a chance you could be allergic to this. They must be misted with either pure water or a dander-down solution each day to assist with feather hydration and the removal of this dander.  In addition to misting, we also use a couple quality air purifiers in our living room where the birds stay.

When in a bad mood or threatened, a grey can and WILL bite. They do have a vicious bite and care must be taken to avoid any serious wounds (to the human). Once they learn that their beaks aren’t just for cracking foods, it’s best to always approach a grey with respect until you have developed a relationship with the bird.

Think of an African Grey as an intelligent can opener with an attitude!

When we purchased our birds we were living full time in a motor home and traveling. Therefore, these guys learned from a very early age to adjust to different surroundings and sudden changes.

As they learned to talk, they would let us know how they felt about certain little things during our travels such as the time I hit a huge pothole in the road heading to somewhere and they bounced around a bit in their cages. Suddenly Carlie blurted out “WHOA! What was THAT!?”

As a rule though greys do NOT adjust well to change. One must be careful to accept the fact that any small amount of change (such as the introduction of a new toy or moving their cage to a new location) must be done with patience and understanding.

Greys require a cage big enough whereby they can flap their wings without hitting the bars and one that has lots of climbing and playing room. Several high quality bird toys inside the cage are also a must.

Locate your greys cage away from direct sunlight, drafts, air conditioning and any heat source. A corner of the living room is a good place for a grey so long as he can see you during your daily routine.

Talk to your grey and include him in some of your routine. Ours help us get ready in the morning, help with preparing their food cups, play games, cook a meal, etc.

Greys love to be outside of their cages and a play perch or small tree branch shaped perch located nearby will provide your bird with lots of exercise and a place to feel as if they are in their natural environment.

Temperature and humidity are also a consideration. The greys natural environment is a mild temperature with fairly high humidity. Temperatures in the 70’s are fine for a grey, but if you live in a drier climate, you will want to consider a humidifier to add moisture to the surrounding air.

Frequent cage cleaning is a must and it is best to use either a wood chip or corn cob base mix that will absorb the droppings and any excess liquids from foods, etc. I prefer not to use newspaper but in a pinch I have used plain white paper towels as a base in the bottom catch tray.

African Greys in the wild feed on fruits, nuts, leafy materials and an occasional meaty meal.

We feed our greys lots of fruits and veggies, no-salt nut mixtures, cooked chicken and of course their staple diet of a high quality African Grey kibble mixture that we purchase online.

African Greys need a bit more protein and calcium then other exotics and we occasionally give them a Tums to add even a further bit of calcium to their diets. We purchase the fruity flavor Tums and they love them.

They are also very fond of cooked chicken leg bones (they crack the bone and eat the bone marrow), cooked beans, scrambled eggs, oatmeal and low salt crackers.

Generally a grey will eat just about anything you eat, but keep in mind anything that is unhealthy for you will be unhealthy for them. So limit foods high in salt, fats, and preservatives.

CAUTION: Never feed your grey chocolate or avocados. These foods contain a toxic substance that can be fatal to your bird.

Birdie Bread Recipe

Months ago Carla stumbled across a “birdie bread” recipe on the net.  We tried it and our birds LOVED it.  We have modified it a bit to suit our birds and we would like to share the recipe with you.  We feed one ‘cube’ a day per bird, usually right after they get up in the morning.

Ingredients:

2 Packages of Martha White Corn Bread Mix (no sugar)
3 Tablespoons of baking powder
2 eggs with shells (blend together)
5 jars of baby food.  (We use lots of ‘red’ veggies such as sweet potatos, carrots plus a meat mix and fruit mix)
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup peanut butter (low salt)
2 cups baby cereal (find one with the lowest percentage of iron)
1 cup chopped fresh veggies or fruit or both

Mix the dry ingredients seperately then blend with the wet ingredients. The batter will be very firm and thick.  Place the batter in a 9 x 13 cooking pan (spray will cooking spray to avoid sticking) and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the bread is done to a cake like texture.  Cut into 1 inch ‘cube’s and feed once a day.  We seperate out a weeks worth at a time and store in the fridge and freeze the rest.

When parrots were first kept as pets, people thought they only lived a short time. This was in part because most of the soft billed wild birds only lived a few years but also because the parrots they kept died within 10 years or so. This was because the diet these parrots were being fed did not supply the necessary nutrients and the birds basically starved to death very, very slowly. Some succumbed to illness but this was in large part due to the fact that they were malnourished and their bodies couldn’t fight the disease.

Today we know that many of the large parrots can live to be over 100 years of age and even budgies and cockatiels can live to be 20 or more. This is because we now know what to feed our parrots and what to avoid letting them eat.

There are lots of good things to feed your parrot, but there are a few things that you might offer that can kill your beloved feathered friend. The reasons may differ but the results are the same: death.

Foods You Must NEVER Feed Your Parrot

There are only a few things that can actually kill your parrot as far as human food goes. These are:

* Avocado
* Chocolate
* Alcohol
* Seeds of any fruit
* Raw meat
* Uncooked eggs
* Any food that may have mold or may have spoiled (including seeds)

As you can see, this is a very short list.

Foods You Should Limit

This list is a lot longer and contains people foods that won’t kill your parrot quickly. However, over time, these foods will be detrimental to its health. These foods fall into three main categories. Some foods may fall in to several or even all of these categories:

Foods High In Fat

Any food that has a high fat content should be limited. In the wild, parrots eat very little fat; what they do eat is mainly from bugs and other protein sources. Now, this doesn’t mean that you parrot pal can’t have a taste of these foods occasionally. Think of feeding your parrot as if you were feeding a three year old child. You would let a child have a few potato chips even though they are high in fat and salt, but you would limit the quantity. With a parrot, of course, the portions are much, much smaller. If you want to let your parrot have a bite or two of a single potato chip once in a while, there is nothing wrong with this limited quantity. Just do not let it become a habit that every single day the parrot gets potato chips and don’t let the quantity increase over time. Everything in moderation is the practice to be followed for this list.

Examples of these foods are:

* Potato chips
* Vegetables with lots of butter
* Fried foods
* Cream, whipped or liquid
* Cake icing
* Ice cream
* Fatty meat
* Butter sauces and cream soups that contain a lot of butter

Foods High In Salt

Too much salt isn’t good for people or birds. Of course, since parrots are so much smaller, a little bit goes a long way. Some foods can simply be taken out of the food preparation cycle before salt is added to allow the parrot to enjoy a safe serving. If your parrot enjoys cooked veggies and you salt your food, then by all means take some out before adding salt. Crackers can have the salt scraped off before allowing the parrot to have the food. Many foods can be found in unsalted versions that can safely be shared with you parrot. For example, unsalted nuts are fine but eating a lot of salted nuts is not good for your feathered kid.

Some of the foods in this category are:

* Salted potato chips
* Salted corn chips
* Salted nuts
* Salted vegetables or meats
* Many prepared foods such as microwave entrees
* Salted popcorn
* Bacon, ham and other cured meats

Foods High in Sugar

Parrots can become little junk food junkies is allowed. They seem to love sweets and will insist on having a taste. Most foods with sugar are perfectly safe to allow the parrot to have a bite or even two, but limit the quantities to a very small amount and do not allow these foods every day. These are for the rare occasion rather than daily diet.

Examples of these foods include:

* Cakes
* Cookies
* Candy
* Sweetened juices
* Other sweetened drinks
* Sugary cereal
* Ice cream

Everything else that you eat, you can and should share with your parrot. The more different foods your bird eats, the better its health will be, the more vibrant the feather colors and the happier you’ll be. However, use some common sense about feeding people food to parrots.

Fruits and vegetables are very good additions to the diet, preferably raw but if you parrot prefers some things cooked, that is better than not eating the food at all. Eggs, cheese, pasta, rice, potatoes (other than potato chips or French fries), pizza, noodles, bits of meat or fish and other people foods are great for you parrot. Limit the amount of meat to very small amounts because in the wild, parrots do not get a lot of meat-type protein. Some parrots LOVE a bone with bits of meat left on it to chew on and will even eat the marrow out of the bone.

Of course, fruits and vegetables are the best for the parrots and for us. But variety is the spice of life and everyone wants variety including your parrot.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Contributed by Nora Caterino who is a published author for BirdTalk Magazine.

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