African Grey Parrot?

[clair]

Hi I have an African grey.He is wonderful but they do need a lot of company and stimulation to prevent boredom.
They are very much one person birds tend to go for one sex over another.
Mine likes women and tolerates men.
We are his second home and although he took time to trust us he is now very much one of the family. It is true that so many are passed on because they are noisy or the owner is bored which is sad considering the bond they build with their owners.
They can be noisy although mine is well behaved and when he is covered for the night he is quiet.
You do need to make sure you research lots before going ahead and getting one and make sure you have the time to spend with them to allow them freedom from the cage.Mine is out with us most of the day.
Here is a piccy of him

[Pussygalore]

beautifull birds I.d love one but can,t afford it unfortunatley, one day,

[piglet]

Clair thats a beautiful Congo grey and good advise given too.

D

[kaz9t9]

wow hes gorgeous clair

[autumnique]

He is beautiful Clair-gorgeous colour

[Ajay]

Wow thanks guys!

Yes, Toni, I'm thinking of getting one. It wont be for a while but I thought I'd ask before I end up looking for sugar gliders or armadillos to rescue!! it's a standing joke in our family that Ajay 'doesn't do birds' because my surname is 'Cockerill' *sigh*

I knew there would be someone on here who could tell me about them. Everyone I've met who has a bird keeps them in a minute cage in the living room and pretty much ignores them. Needless to say they're not friends (or I'd be overrun with rehomed birds by now!). Is there a reason people don't keep them in an aviary outside for the nice weather? I always assumed they'd appreciate the space, unless their too sociable..? Would they appreciate other birds for company or are they as picky as love birds? Anything you can tell me really guys! lol

They're just another animal I'd love to learn about

[piglet]

Ajay an outdoor enclosure aviary wise is an excellent choice for any bird rather than cooked up in a living room.
My Amazon lives outdoors 24/7 and she is far happier that way, but she isn't an imprinted bird being original wild caught and housed in a cage in a living room in her previous home for 15yr before we took her on ,
The Grey was perhaps still is going to live outdoors possibly sharing the same accommodation as the Amazon, but so far he is extremely aggressive toward people and not at all interested in other birds , he is definitely a hand reared imprinted bird who loves human company but for some reason can't abide being touched at all, perhaps he has been made to untrust people in one of his other homes.

I hate birds locked in cages and both areindoor parrots Jasper the grey and Billy the ring-neck has liberty to move about the house at will, Jasper of course is supervised as he is aggressive but starting to warm to me a little but a very slow process that may never me 100% trustworthy.
In general hand reared parrots prefer to be in your company and fret terribly if denied the contact they desire so by housing outdoors you are distancing your self from the bird, perhaps an aviary for summer day time play area would be good as the bird can exercise at will and chew as it pleases without annoying you by destroying your furniture
D

[Ajay]

lol stuff the furniture! (*hopes Andrew doesn't read that* lol)

Thanks for the great advice guys. While I'd love the bird to be friendly towards us I wouldn't want it to stress if we left it alone, thus the aviary questions. I'd much rather it was happy than dependent!!

Can anyone recommend a good site for information or, the old fashioned way, a good book? lol If they exist, I mean. I know most books re animal care give you all sorts of rubbish advice..

[clair]

http://www.perfectparrots.co.uk/
This is a friendly forum with great people and great advice