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African grey adoption or purchase

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African grey adoption or purchase

Postby Lefteye22 » Thu Nov 02, 2017 2:23 pm

I have been researching African Greys for two years and I am ready to adopt or purchase one. I am very nervous about purchasing one online. Lots of scams out there. I’m looking for a reputable breeder. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
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Re: African grey adoption or purchase

Postby liz » Fri Nov 03, 2017 7:55 am

We prefer adopting rather than buying a baby bird. http://www.rescueme.com will send you updates for Greys in your area who need homes. They usually come from the birds human and the human can give you info on the birds personality. No two are alike. This is the safest way since you can email back and forth before going for the little bird. You also have contact with the human afterwards if you have questions.

It has been a while but I got a few of my birdy babies from Craigs List. This can be tramatic. I have a few who were supposedly rehomed but I know they came from flippers. They come with a lot of baggage but some come to me ready to unpack their bags and let me love them. I would not suggest this way unless you know birds. Adopting two at a time makes it easier on them. They feel they have a buddy to watch their backs.

The best way is to volunteer or even just visit an Avian shelter. There you can spend time with the birds and learn their personalities. Like I said, each one is different. I have two Amazons who are opposite in personality.

Read Navre's threads.
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Re: African grey adoption or purchase

Postby Pajarita » Fri Nov 03, 2017 12:09 pm

I second Liz's comments. We don't encourage buying a baby, we always recommend adoption. Especially a gray because they tend to 'turn on' their humans when they go through puberty ]at two years of age, more or less] and especially for a newbie [you did not say what kind of experience you have in parrot keeping, you just mentioned research which, to be honest with you, doesn't really help much and anybody who has years of experience with parrots will tell you this!]. Grays are not easy birds to keep happy and healthy. They don't always talk but they are always picky eaters, bad bathers, super needy of constant company and never do well in a busy household, changes or left alone for hours.
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Re: African grey adoption or purchase

Postby Michael » Fri Nov 03, 2017 9:39 pm

Why do you want a Grey, or any parrot for that matter? What are you looking to give and to get out of the experience?
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Michael
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Re: African grey adoption or purchase

Postby Navre » Sat Nov 04, 2017 6:53 am

Not to pile on here, but when getting an adult bird. No matter where you get it, it’s much more what-you-see-is-what-you-get. Baby birds love everyone. It’s the rare adult bird who loves everyone. You didn’t say how old you are, but remember how long a well-cared-for baby Grey will be around. If you’re old enough to remeber President Reagan, you need an adult bird. Hell, I voted for the guy so I don’t even buy green bananas.

You’ve researched and waited a long time. Take a bit more time and go to visit a bunch of adult birds, if you can. You may find one who certainly and definitively picks you. It’s really wonderful when you see a “difficult” bird melt like butter in a certain person’s hands.
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Re: African grey adoption or purchase

Postby liz » Sat Nov 04, 2017 9:24 am

LOL. "don't even buy green bananas".
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liz
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Re: African grey adoption or purchase

Postby Michael » Sat Nov 04, 2017 9:45 am

Navre wrote:Baby birds love everyone.


I disagree with this. I think this misconception is one of the greatest fuels for the baby parrot myth. Baby birds don't love anyone. They are just a naive, helpless creature that eats and poops. The fact that some (not even the case with a lot of poorly raised ones) don't bite does not mean that they love anyone. So many buyers get fooled into thinking that baby bird likes them just cause they were able to get their hands all over it at the store. NO!

Agreed that you cannot touch or pick up most adult parrots (at rescues, homes, etc). That is the true nature of wild parrots. Just by chance some of them bond to people and allow this and others can be taught by training. However, that naive helpless baby sitting in a tank at a store isn't deciding that it will comply because it likes you. Heck, it's probably not thinking of anything besides being hungry for the next feeding. That baby doesn't walk over and step up onto your hand by itself of its own will. It just stands at the bottom of the tank doing nothing. Yet humans walk in and scoop it up with their hands and the helpless naive baby does not even know or think to resist. It doesn't bite you like most older parrots would out of self defense in the same case.

This lack of resistance isn't love. It's the human misinterpreting helplessness and lack of resistance for rational complainance. We know it's a lie because most of those babys grow up to bite the same humans that thought the bird loved them when they first saw it as a baby.

I can't necessarily confirm the relationship my parrots have to me to be love but what I can say is that they will all deliberately make a voluntary uncoerced effort to put themselves onto me. If I stick my hand into one of their cages, they will make the effort to climb down from wherever they are to put themselves onto my hand. Or from out of the cage they will fly over to me. Sometimes they will bow their head to be scratched and sometimes for nothing else than to hang out.

The baby in the store does none of this. It is like a stuffed animal. It just stands there, allowing the human to do to it what he wants and be under the illusion that this is reciprocated love. The human will even go so far as to think the bird chose him. Silly, isn't it? To take the inexperienced lack of resistance of a 3 month baby and interpret all these things for it?

When the baby grows up and actually develops a mind of its own, people don't know what to do with the wild animal that it is and either neglect it or dump it at a rescue. I guess that baby love did not mean anything after all. You cannot expect such a helpless, undeveloped, inexperienced child to be mentally capable of making a life choice such as "choosing you." Certainly you can choose the bird but the bird isn't mature enough or equipped to make a binding long term choice itself. It can easily change its mind the next day. It's like a toddler changing his mind about his favorite color from time to time. It's not something you would expect to necessarily stick for life.

The relationship with a parrot is what you make it. This is why it doesn't make so big a difference whether you get it as a baby or an adult. It's going to be a heck of a lot of work and a journey in either case. The only difference is whether there will be a naive one year window where the bird allows you to secure a good relationship for the adulthood or screw it all up.
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Michael
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Re: African grey adoption or purchase

Postby Navre » Sat Nov 04, 2017 10:15 am

Maybe not love, but they’re not difficult with anyone. And if hand-raised, they’ll want to be with you, or anyone, really, for contact and comfort. A creature who would rarely be alone in the wild will want the comfort of another creature.
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Re: African grey adoption or purchase

Postby Pajarita » Sat Nov 04, 2017 10:54 am

I agree completely and wholeheartedly with Michael - but I also understand where John [Navre] is coming from when he says that babies love everybody. It's the short and easy way of telling people that babies are almost always handeable - which [granted!] most people normally confuse with love AND most people do think that this love is eternal -which, even if it was true love, is most certainly NOT unconditional and eternal!
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Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
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Re: African grey adoption or purchase

Postby liz » Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:24 am

I believe that animals can feel love and respond with love. While resting in bed and watching TV, Rainbow will climb my quilt and come to me to take her nap on my chest. She is not asking anything of me but to be with me.

Phoenix and Gimpy were two of my last rescued Cockatiels. Both have been mutilated. I thought we would never have contact but I could give them happiness in a flock. Even though they have food and water at all times they have come to me. I still cannot touch them but they touch me.
Phoenix will run to me to sit on my shoe. Gimpy will do a landing between my feet. Jackie came to me as a family of 4. She is the last of her family and stayed mixed in the flock for comfort even though she was well cared for in her last home. They just could not continue to care for her.
Jackie lands on my back and with each landing gets closer to my shoulder.

It is so very rewarding to take in these little refugees and give them happiness.
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liz
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Location: Hernando FL
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BF Amazon Myrtle
Cockatiels: Shadow Tammy Flutter Phoenix Jackie
Andy Impy Louise Twila Leroy
Flight: Yes

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