Advice on getting a Parrot

MarkyMark22

Hi All,

just wondering if anyone could recommend where to buy an african grey parrot in Dublin or Leinster?

Preferably from a breeder.

Cheers.

JustAThought

Have you called the Kinsealy Pet shop? They have a very good rep for treatment if animals & breed some unusual ones ; they have a beautiful grey which they've had for years ( he's not for sale thou ) ; should be well worth speaking to them if for nothing else other than let care & advise. They've ALWAYS had him.

MarkyMark22

Hi All,

does anyone know of any african grey breeders?

preferably in Dublin or Leinster?

Cheers!

star-pants

MarkyMark22 - I've merged your threads, they're both the same query so you don't need multiples.

Irishchick

Ive told you ---> www.parrots.ie Loads of breeders on there

MarkyMark22

Irishchick wrote: »

Ive told you ---> www.parrots.ie Loads of breeders on there

only one breeders of African Grey there and he doesnt seem to be the best

MarkyMark22

After some recommendations from some folk on here i've done some reading up on Amazon Parrots!

and now im unsure which i would prefer to have as a pet! haha.

which would people recommend? some of the amazon breeds seem to have equal enough talking ability to the african grey but with different personalities?

i know each individual parrot would have different personalities regardless,but are african greys more one person birds then amazons?

i read an article which claimed african greys would be the college graduate of the parrot world but amazon parrots are the streetwise socializer?

are amazon parrots harder to come by in ireland/dublin?

where would i go about taking a look at some if so?

thanks for any advice!

To be honest i think African Greys have more talking ability and understanding then the Amazons. the only thing about African Greys, they can be moody at times. They will let you know about it.

belongtojazz

My only experience is with a grey and he is brilliant!
He is the boss in our house as far as he is concerned and is forever either giving out to the dogs or barking like them to get them in trouble

He is very much my dads bird and will not let anyone else touch him, although he will now take food from my hand.
He is extremely affectionate with my dad, but like dre has mentioned he can be moody and will draw blood if this is not recognised and acknowledged.
Our Chico is very intelligent, he says good morning and good night at the appropriate times and will continue at that until you respond to him.
He knows all the dogs by name ( we have 4) and knows which one to give out to. So for instance when jazz barks you get a " jazz cut that out" in my dads voice in stereo :eek:

Personally I can recommend the grey but ensure you have an Ongoing care plan as they have a very long life span and I don't know how Chico will take it when the horrible day comes and my Dad passes on

Irishchick

African greys have the better talking ability but amazons can have a nice personality too.

Remember though that amazons are loud, very very loud. An african grey is considered to be quiet compared to an amazon.

They are also harder to find here and will probably cost you more.

Sigma Force

Just be careful where you get the bird, and ensure you have suitable housing etc. set up beforehand. African Greys are better talkers and hugely clever but it all depends on what you want in a bird they're all a handful lol.

MarkyMark22

Sigma Force wrote: »

Just be careful where you get the bird, and ensure you have suitable housing etc. set up beforehand. African Greys are better talkers and hugely clever but it all depends on what you want in a bird they're all a handful lol.

where would you recommend getting the bird?

star-pants

I've merged your parrot threads together and changed the title to a more generic 'advice about parrots' as your queries are similar and it's helpful for other posters to see any previous advice or recommendations you've already had.

MarkyMark22

thanks!

baords dyslexic

Irishchick wrote: »

African greys have the better talking ability but amazons can have a nice personality too.

Remember though that amazons are loud, very very loud. An african grey is considered to be quiet compared to an amazon.

They are also harder to find here and will probably cost you more.

Thats how we came by our Amazon, he was a cherished family pet untill one member of that family became ill and was in bed all the time and couldn't stand the noise the bird made. We love it and encourage it by playing music for him for a couple of hours a day, he virtually sings along and has a definite preference for female vocalists - although it could be he's trying to shout Celine Dion down

B0jangles

I have an congolese african grey hen - she's twelve now and I've had her since she was 4 months old.

I love her dearly; she's an absolute pudden.

However I do think a lot of the behavioral improvements we have seen over the years have been related to my family being a lot better at reading her - she is definitely a lot less bitey than she was when she was young anyway, but I know for a fact that my whole immediate family are now really good at reading her mood from her posture, feather shape and expression.

Which brings me to my major point - do you live in a situation where there will be parrot-friendly people around for most of the day?

I live at home and while I am her "best person", she loves other members of my family to a lesser degree and happily hangs out with them while I am at work. I do not think she would be the mellow bird she is if she had to sit around for the whole day alone, waiting for me to get home.

Lifespan: you are talking about taking on a pet who could easily live for 40 years and quite possibly up to 65; is this a commitment you are willing to make? Rescues are full of 5 year old parrots whose owners gave up on them when they were a bit difficult during bird puberty (which is a real thing)

The talking thing: My bird Pookie is not a great talker, she calls me by name, she says her own name and she has a huge range of ways of saying Hi/hello, depending on her mood. This does not bother me because she expresses her personality in a lot of other ways - she really is very funny. She understands what I am saying a lot of the time - as in, I can ask her if she wants a cup of (camomile) tea and know by her behaviour if she does or not. If she is being very bold I can say to her that I will get "The Scary Brush" (red-handled sweeping brush that she hates) and she gets a really worried look and stops whatever boldness she is currently up to.

Will you be disappointed if your bird does not have an amazing vocabulary?

I'm not trying to be horribly negative here; I just want to point out that keeping a big parrot is a major, long-term commitment. I got into it as an ill-informed person but was lucky enough to have a mellow bird and supportive family.

Remember; parrots are not like dogs, they have not adapted to domestic living, they are genetically identical to wild parrots so they have special needs and are, of course extraordinarily intelligent.

Also a good person to talk to about getting a parrot is Eddie Drew in Kilmacanogue in Wicklow - dude knows everything there is to be known.

chris139ryan

belongtojazz wrote: »

My only experience is with a grey and he is brilliant!
He is the boss in our house as far as he is concerned and is forever either giving out to the dogs or barking like them to get them in trouble

He is very much my dads bird and will not let anyone else touch him, although he will now take food from my hand.
He is extremely affectionate with my dad, but like dre has mentioned he can be moody and will draw blood if this is not recognised and acknowledged.
Our Chico is very intelligent, he says good morning and good night at the appropriate times and will continue at that until you respond to him.
He knows all the dogs by name ( we have 4) and knows which one to give out to. So for instance when jazz barks you get a " jazz cut that out" in my dads voice in stereo :eek:

Personally I can recommend the grey but ensure you have an Ongoing care plan as they have a very long life span and I don't know how Chico will take it when the horrible day comes and my Dad passes on

your parrot sounds hilarious

bfocusd

I have A Congolese grey too, my uncle used to breed them and we rared her from a chick, she's quite temperamental, although she's not my pet, I am the only one who can handle her, my mam can feed her, but when shes full she will bite.

For me she's gotten more timid, right as I type this on my phone she's sitting on my shoulder, she's very intelligent and can say easily over a hundred words, I couldn't count her sounds, she torments the life out of the dog too.

I would recommend one, but they take up an awful lot of time and patience, if you don't give it the attention it wants it will remember and will be cranky with you if you just try and pick it up.

From my experience they are like children, if they don't want to play or be handled they will let you know. You can't be afraid either, mines bitten (not hard) a fair few people and the first thing they do is close the cage, I keep at her and be playful but now they can't touch her because she knows how to hurt them.

Your going yo be bitten, thats pretty much a given, it night not draw blood but it's a certainty.

But as I said above, they are like children, yesterday mine fell asleep on my lap for half an hour and right now she's getting sleepy, if you give them affection they will return it.

Just one note is be careful with children, putting fingers in the cage and all that, they could really hurt a kid.