African grey,get a chick?

[od94]

Hey guys!
Since last week I am seriously looking into getting an african grey congo parrot,and my only objective is to have a lovely tamed one.

So what first came to my mind is taking a chick that needs handfeeding and continue the handfeeding. So that to have chances on my side to have a super tamed and a bird that is not afraid of humans.

But I live in Lebanon,
and all pet stores who import african grey chick are wild unfortunately,and there is usually a high mortality rate of these ones..
If I want to take one,I am surely going to check for any sign of disease before buying him and going to take him to a veterinary check up and everything.What do you think? Are these birds
that sensitive? I have another choice is to get one between 3-6months that can eat by its own.My guess is that at this age they should be more hardy.Will getting the older ones(3-6months old) going to make the taming process much more difficult than the handfed ones?
I am a serious raiser,and I know that it is a big responsability and I am doing a lot of readings.
What do African Grey parrots think? I don't know these parrots well I am doing lots of reading
Thank you guys!
I appreciate all your help

[ParrotsForLife]

Hey guys!
Since last week I am seriously looking into getting an african grey congo parrot,and my only objective is to have a lovely tamed one.

So what first came to my mind is taking a chick that needs handfeeding and continue the handfeeding. So that to have chances on my side to have a super tamed and a bird that is not afraid of humans.

But I live in Lebanon,
and all pet stores who import african grey chick are wild unfortunately,and there is usually a high mortality rate of these ones..
If I want to take one,I am surely going to check for any sign of disease before buying him and going to take him to a veterinary check up and everything.What do you think? Are these birds
that sensitive? I have another choice is to get one between 3-6months that can eat by its own.My guess is that at this age they should be more hardy.Will getting the older ones(3-6months old) going to make the taming process much more difficult than the handfed ones?
I am a serious raiser,and I know that it is a big responsability and I am doing a lot of readings.
What do African Grey parrots think? I don't know these parrots well I am doing lots of reading
Thank you guys!
I appreciate all your help

I would never buy from a wild importer.Thats first of all illegal and these African greys are being taken from the wild and are an endangered species I never actually thought this would happen to the "Common" African greys.I could say a lot more about African greys as pets but I really recommend you check out wingznpaws youtube channel theres is so much you can learn from him and his African grey.

[od94]

I know and this is unfortunate! But in my country there is no farm bred bird importer! That's because my country lack a -bit- of responsibility.. I have no other choices...
thanks for the tips I will read and search for it,but as people who do have an african grey.
Will a handfed one bring me an advantage or a slightly older one? between 4-6months old?

Thanks guys!

[Wolf]

Grey parrots hold a very special place in my heart and a big reason for this is due to their sensitivity. They are not birds that like to be touched overmuch but they still require that you spend a huge amount of personal one on one time with them as they are extremely loyal and loving birds. They also require a lot of mental stimulation as they are very intelligent.

I understand the predicament that you are in about being able to find captive bred and raised Greys vs wild caught ones, The death rate for wild caught Greys is very, very high and I do not approve of the wild bird trade at all as it is cruel and is responsible for the extinction of the Grey parrot in much of its natural range.

If you are going to get a Grey, I do believe that you would be better off getting the older bird. This does not mean that it will be any easier to hand tame as it probably will not be, but it is still just a baby bird at the ages that you mention and although it will be able to eat on its own it will still need to be fed soft foods several times a day, but would still be safer than syringe or gavage feeding the bird. Regardless of the age of the parrot you will not know who it might actually bond with until after it goes through puberty and reaches adulthood.

Since I am so against the wild bird trade and what it does to these and every othe species of parrot that is touched by it, I would not support it even if it meant that I could not have this bird. I would keep looking for a Grey that someone else has that no longer wants it and try to get that bird and resocialize it. You could get one that is really very good with humans or one that has a lot of issues to work through, and although it might not be easy it bets supporting the wild bird trade, in my opinion.

By the way what happened with the other birds that you have written asking for help with. We have not heard much from you about them and I am curious about them and how they are doing.

[Pajarita]

I would never recommend or support in any way anybody buying a bird poached from the wild. And, when it comes to African Grays, the wild-caught trade is actually killing off the entire species so nobody who loves birds would even consider buying a poached one - it's a simple as that. I am sorry that I am so harsh in my reply but I don't know how else to put it...

[od94]

I know but i searched all sources and importers here in my countries everyone get wild no one get farm raised one,seem they are too expensive..
I have another choice as indian ringneck handfeeding also,farm raised not wild. What do you think?
I am going to read more about the ringnecks..

[ParrotsForLife]

I know but i searched all sources and importers here in my countries everyone get wild no one get farm raised one,seem they are too expensive..
I have another choice as indian ringneck handfeeding also,farm raised not wild. What do you think?
I am going to read more about the ringnecks..

You also need to know that the price of a Parrot expensive or not is nothing compared to the amount of money you will be spending in just 1 year that would be a lot more money than the bird was worth on food, Vet visits and toys mainly.Indian Ringnecks are great Parrots and have nice personalities and thats what I think but for you I would do more research on the species and other species too.

[Wolf]

I am still interested in the other birds that you have asked us about in the past year since you joined. how are they doing? Or what happened with them? do you still have them and how are they doing?

[od94]

Hello Wolf!
Sorry forgot to reply about penny and the lovebirds... I am finding difficulties to find young birds or impossible to find other than wild caught african grey..

Penny?! Is doing more than great i am going to post some pics tonight about her. I am
Sure not matter what bird i am going to have it won't be as cute and as cuddly as my Penny!. As for the lovebirds they are doing great, i was able to breed them and hand raise the chicks and found new responsible home for them, i was surprised how tame they became and still ! I will also post some pics tonight once home

[od94]

I know but i searched all sources and importers here in my countries everyone get wild no one get farm raised one,seem they are too expensive..
I have another choice as indian ringneck handfeeding also,farm raised not wild. What do you think?
I am going to read more about the ringnecks..

You also need to know that the price of a Parrot expensive or not is nothing compared to the amount of money you will be spending in just 1 year that would be a lot more money than the bird was worth on food, Vet visits and toys mainly.Indian Ringnecks are great Parrots and have nice personalities and thats what I think but for you I would do more research on the species and other species too.

It won't be my first bird, i am sure that i have a lot to spend after paying the price of the parrot. I am a responsible person and prior to have a new bird i do all the responsabilites calculations!