Destination African Grey

[Wolfsnaps]

Hello to you. I have been looking for a good parrot forum and from what I have seen so far, this site looks nice.

Hello to Michael and KILI, I have seen you on youtube.

A little about me: I am married, no kids, three dogs, and I live in a trailor with no nearby neighbors. I HAD a brown headed parrot (poichephalus [sp] family) for 7 years. I recently lost her and it has been very painful to lose her so young. I have decided to get the bird I have wanted since I first saw one...A congo african grey.

I have decided to give myself some time (about a year or so) to research the heck out of my decision. I can be impulsive and I dont want this to be an impulse buy. This also will give me time to save up money to purchase not only the bird, but everything it will need and then some. I do not have a lot of money, but I need a bird in my life. ( I recently won 10,000 in a lottery and I COULD get the bird now but I would rather save up for it). I have had many different types of pets and I can say that I am definitely a dog/parrot person. I am not taking this decision lightly, and when I tell people this, they usually think I am crazy, and its just a bird. But I understand the responsibilty of owning such a sensitive, demanding, intelligent animal.


I had done SOME research on birds when I got my brown headed parrot, but now I am doing INTENSIVE research and I am seeing all the things I did wrong with her. Yup, I was the one who let her pick my teeth and eat my food. You live, you learn.


So I will be creeping around and maybe picking your brains. I also will be ordering those Good Bird Inc dvds, and picking up some books...any suggestions?


So hello and I will see you around

[lzver]

Welcome to the board. I'm certain you'll get a lot of information from people on this board.

I'm in research mode myself. I have 2 birds at the monent (Red Belly and Senegal) and want to get one more. I'm seriously considering an Amazon, but also considering a Hans Macaw. Like you I'm taking my time and want to make an informed decision.

Good luck with your research.

[Michael]

Check out this discussion about the cost of parrot ownership. You are definitely being responsible about not using your lottery winnings (congrats btw) to make a spontaneous purchase. I think the issue of long term cost/maintenance for a parrot is far more important than the price of the bird itself. According to my calculations, you can expect to spend the price of your bird every year for its life on supplies. For a $500 parrot, expect to spend $500 a year. African Grey is bigger and requires more stuff. African Greys run around $1,000 and change so expect to spend about that much every year. The cage will run around $500 and the rest of accessories about $500 as well. Basically the cost of getting an African Grey is about $3,000 in the first year and $1,000 a year thereafter. So be sure to secure about $100 a month allocated strictly toward parrot expenses and have some reserve for unexpected vet bills or emergency fund. You never know when the cage might just collapse or all the food get spoiled. When people look starry eyed when they hear that the bird costs $1,000, little do they know that over its life span you may end up spending as much as $50,000!!! Thank God parrots don't go to college, right?

[Natacha]

Hi and welcome to the board!

[MandyG]

Welcome!