Looking for an AG

[MaraJade]

My fiancee, who has always merely tolerated my birds and who has sworn up and down "no more pets" while we are still in our condo, just came home today and asked me how much African Greys cost. :omg:
Apparently he loved the one that I had with my ex husband and after I showed him the "einstein the parrot" clip from Pet Star a couple weeks ago that sealed the deal.

So.... I'm obviously going to try my local bird store to see if they've heard of any around lately and I'll probably try Birds n' Ways, but I wanted to know if anyone had any leads on an AG.
We're in the "thinking about it" stage right now, but I have a feeling if we found one for a reasonable price he might be more in the "rushing out to buy it" stage.

I made it clear to him this is not going to be MY bird. lol. AG's scare me with those huge beaks. I'll stick to lovies, thanks. But I thought since I'm the "bird lady" with all the connections, I'd check on my friendly neighborhood lovebird board first. Thanks in advance for any info or suggestions! :)

[Mummieeva]

Try www.petfinder.com. I did a search for the state your in and found alot of birds. Not sure excatly were you are but I used Boston as the name and got alot. Good luck on finding a bird for him. It is funny how they change their minds..lol. My husband still talks about the sun conure he saw.



Steph

[MaraJade]

Oh awesome. I totally didn't think of that. Thanks.

[mjm8321]

Jessie,

If you are interested, there are a bunch of avian rescues in Massachusetts; you might find just the right one for you there, plus give a good home to a deserving bird. This one link I can't look at too often, I cry like a baby, but even if they don't have a Grey, they might be able to refer you to someone else or you might want one of their birds.

http://www.fosterparrots.com/index.html

[MaraJade]

Thanks MJ. I actually emailed Marc at foster parrots last night. He doesn't have any right now but I asked him to keep a look out for an AG or also for a hahns macaw, which we are also considering.

Hahns' are hard to find around here. I think I"ve seen one breeder on birds n ways that had them...

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion. :)

[Eliza]

Just a warning about Birds-n-Ways... I'd advise against posting a "Wanted" ad there. I did that once and my e-mail was filled with spam related to the ad for weeks :lol

However, I did find a GREAT lovie breeder via BnW, so I'd still recommend the site for that ;)

I've known of folks who've come by birds just by looking in the classified section of their regular newspaper or by checking out bulletin boards at pet stores.

Best of luck... and keep us posted :)

-e-

[LauraO]

Jessie: I'm glad you guys are just in the thinking stage as African Greys, or any large parrot, are not something to take lightly. I say this as many know I brought Mijo, a 3 1/2 year old grey into our home some three months ago. I thought I did enough research but have found that I still wasn't prepared for how much time, effort and damage a grey can do.

Some things your fiancee might ask himself are

1) Is he ready for a LIFELONG commitment? And it's not just a lifelong committment but one that may include an animal he ends up not liking or one that may not like him. Mijo tolerates my husband but loves me. Also keep in mind that if he does get a grey who bonds with him, it may be aggressive towards you to the point of being dangerous.

2) Are you guys ready for the destruction? Greys have BIG beaks and they do BIG damage. I swear no matter how hard we try to keep Mijo from destroying stuff, his beak does damage. He'll damage anything. Our sheets, the screens, the clothes we're wearing, our bodies. I believe you have a lot of collectibles and stuff you value. What happens after the grey destroys some of your precious things you thought you were watching carefully?

3) Are you ready to care for the bird if something happens to your fiancee or the bird doesn't like him and bonds to you? Just because your fiancee wants a grey doesn't mean the grey will like him. You know birds can be finicky. Just because they get along initially doesn't mean they will get along when the honeymoon is over. The grey may end up bonding with you and you will have to care for it. Plus, things happen and you may end up with the bird somehow and have to care for it then.

4) Are you ready for the ongoing expense? Mijo is expensive and I don't mean he cost a lot to buy. He needs ongoing nail clips, his food is more expensive and he eats more than our other birds. Not only that, but Mijo destroys more toys than all my other birds put together. I just bought Mijo a bunch of toys when I was on the mainland. I know birds destroy toys, but he completely destroyed three toys worth over $20 in an hour or two.

5) Are you ready for the mess? Greys are messy and they have the biggest, nastiest poopers you can imagine. I have like 12 cages for my lovies/meyer's parrots and cleaning all them together doesn't gross me out as much as cleaning out Mijo's cage. Not only that, but the poopers are big and green and stain stuff. I am forever scrubbing Mijo's pooper stains out of our carpet.

6) What if your grey doesn't talk? Not all greys talk and the ones that are rehomed are often those who didn't perform for their owners like "the bird they saw on t.v." Or they do talk but at inappropriate times. Mijo likes to ring and scream when I'm on the phone. I can be sitting in the room with him for hours and not one peep will come out of him til' I pick up the phone then you'd think I was standing in the middle of a petstore with ten screaming parrots.

7) Are you ready for the noise? You've mentioned in the past that you were worried about your birds noise level and living in a condo. While greys are mostly known as being relatively quiet, this is not a hard and steadfast reality. Mijo likes to scream and whistle with the best of them, and he gets loud enough to hear a block or two away.

8) And finally, Are you ready for the bloodshed? All birds bite so it's not a matter of if, just when. Mijo has bloodied my husband and I up a lot and has attacked my face once. Can you and your fiancee deal with this and still have a loving and trusting relationship with your grey.

I'm not saying don't get a grey. I'm just sharing some thoughts and experiences with my Mijo, who I wouldn't trade for the world. And remember, there is no his or your animals when you live together. So you will have to be part of the greys life.

Good luck
:D :D 8o 8o :D :D

[MaraJade]

Hey Laura. Thanks for the great questions. I know they're pretty much just stuff to think about, but I thought I might respond to a few on here. :)


1) Is he ready for a LIFELONG commitment? And it's not just a lifelong committment but one that may include an animal he ends up not liking or one that may not like him. Mijo tolerates my husband but loves me. Also keep in mind that if he does get a grey who bonds with him, it may be aggressive towards you to the point of being dangerous.

Well, Gunther is a 30 year commitment and we're pretty much settled with that. John and I both know how long greys live - upwards of 70 years - so we're prepared for that, yes.
As to the aggressiveness - I know about this all too well. :roll: My ex husband had a timneh and he liked me if he was out of his cage and sitting next to me or something. But he did NOT like me if he was busy on/in his cage or playing with toys. I got some nasty bites from him, which is why if we did get a grey it would be MUCH more for John than me. But I can overcome my fears if the AG ended up liking me and not John. I would never fault the bird for that. Besides, if he liked me I wouldn't be so afraid of him/her. :D


2) Are you guys ready for the destruction?..... What happens after the grey destroys some of your precious things you thought you were watching carefully?

Eh, with Pixel (our dog) chewing every bit of expensive furniture or nicknacks we have and Amelie (the cat) helping her to detroy the couches and stuff, nothing is really precious in this house anymore. ;)


4) Are you ready for the ongoing expense? Mijo is expensive and I don't mean he cost a lot to buy. He needs ongoing nail clips, his food is more expensive and he eats more than our other birds. Not only that, but Mijo destroys more toys than all my other birds put together. I just bought Mijo a bunch of toys when I was on the mainland. I know birds destroy toys, but he completely destroyed three toys worth over $20 in an hour or two.

OH YEA. my ex and I used to buy Bantu toys one day and some more the next. lol. They are BIG chewers.


6) What if your grey doesn't talk? Not all greys talk and the ones that are rehomed are often those who didn't perform for their owners like "the bird they saw on t.v." Or they do talk but at inappropriate times. Mijo likes to ring and scream when I'm on the phone. I can be sitting in the room with him for hours and not one peep will come out of him til' I pick up the phone then you'd think I was standing in the middle of a petstore with ten screaming parrots.

We all know the "don't buy a bird for its talking ability" rule, but there's nothing wrong with getting a bird that is at least likely to talk. That's all we're doing. If he/she doesn't talk - oh well. The lovies don't talk and I love them to pieces. :) I would never return a bird for not talking. And Gunther is notorious for hating when I'm on the phone. ;) We're most likely going to sound proof our spare room for the birds as well. That way we won't have to worry about it.



I'm not saying don't get a grey. I'm just sharing some thoughts and experiences with my Mijo, who I wouldn't trade for the world. And remember, there is no his or your animals when you live together. So you will have to be part of the greys life.

I didn't answer all the questions cuz I think most of them are answered by the fact that I have actually had a grey before. Also, that's only one of the kinds we are discussing. Heck, we went to our bird store yesterday and John saw about three birds there that he kept calling me over to ask what they were. :lol Hence why we're only in the planning stages.

Let's see..... he saw.............
a blue indian ringneck and called me away from watching Button and Justarius get their wing clips to come identify it for him. Then he saw a green indian ringneck talking up a storm with Gunther. They both said exactly the same things. Very cute. There was a timneh there that he wanted to play with but it was a biter. Likes to rope you in with its cuteness. lol. He also ran over to a cockatoo cage and I said a resounding "NO" just as the bird started to scream in his "quiet" voice. Whew, those things are loud. And then I mentioned to one of the employees there whom I always chat with that John was interested in a couple types of birds right now and that I just love the parakeet types so much that I wish he'd get a ringneck. So she suggested we look into moustache parakeets. Whew, that's a lot to think about.

We're in the process of planning our wedding right now so unless we came across a really great deal (maybe an adult bird or something) we are trying to save up money so that's why we're just looking around at breeders in our area and shelters as well.

Like I said, an AG wasn't definite and it's actually not MY top choice. But even though we live together there can be his and hers pets depending on your schedule and who takes care of them. That's not to say I wouldn't be prepared to take care of "his" bird and handle it and such; just that I would try to let it be his. The lovies are mine, Pixel has turned into his (another example of a pet that's supposed to be for one person and turns towards the other), Amelie is mine and we share Gunther although he's kind of bonded to me more than John. It's a complicated balance in our household. ;)

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I will of course take it all into consideration. But I'm not exactly a first time bird owner either. I know birds bite, that they're messy, etc. So I obviously have that in my head already. Well, off to watch some more discovery channel. The Dog Whisperer is on... Now if only I could get Pixel to behave that way. ;)

[Janie]

Laura, you've asked some excellent questions and to tell you the truth, have cured me! :D A Grey has always been my "wish" bird but I know that it's not the bird for me. I'd love it and enjoy it and I don't believe in rehoming unless it's a life or death situation so I know I'd be stuck with one, no matter what.....nope, I'll always like them and continue to look at them but I won't have one. Now, if my hubby walked in one day and said, "let's get a Grey", I'd do it in a heart beat. :lol My three little lovies keep me so busy and I am their primary care giver (Big Boi and SHy don't like anyone in the family but me...their fault, the humans, I mean, since they have not made the effort with the birds and expected them to be just like Oliver) so the only way I would take on a bird that requires what a Grey does would be with the total support and help from everyone living in this house and that ain't gonna happen! :D

Anyway, thanks for your check list. It's a good one and should be very helpful to anyone considering the responsibility of that wonderful but demanding species. :)

[MaraJade]

Also greys can be so much "smarter" about biting than other species because they are like the bird equivalent of the dog breed border collies. Borders are so smart that if you leave them alone too much without stuff to do they will destroy the house.

AGs are kind of the same. They need things to keep them occupied and because of their intelligence they are super sensitive.

You can see why I'm trying to steer John towards an "easier to handle" species. :)

I miss Bantu a lot sometimes but I would never go out and buy myself an AG. It would take motivation from someone else.