buying a grey parrot in ireland

micber

I,m thinking of buying an African grey parrott as a pet, and am wondering where is the best place in Ireland to buy. (pet shop, breeder, online?)

If anyone has any tips on African Greys I would be grateful.


Thanks

MoonDancer256

micber wrote: »

If anyone has any tips on African Greys I would be grateful.
Thanks

I wouldn't have any advise on where to get one, but please be VERY VERY sure before you get one of these birds. I was bought one as a teenager by my parent, and in hindsight would not do it again:

1) Strong birds
2) Nasty bite if they feel so inclined
3) Can be neurotic, temperamental
4) Need a CRAZY amount of attention to stay entertained and happy.
5) If they get annoyed or bored they are unbelievably loud; shrieking and yelling.
6) African greys are known for bonding to only one gender, and you can't accurately sex one without a DNA test. So when we bought a "male" African grey baby, and he turned out to be female 3 or 4 years later, he had by then decided that he/she HATED all women, and was even pretty picky with men. So instead of staying as my parrot for life, my Dad had to keep him.
7) If you get a new pet, child, boyfriend/girlfriend who shares your attention, a bonded parrot can get very jealous, and become aggressive. When the parrot was bonded to me, he DIVE BOMBED my boyfriend if they were in the same room. Now he bites my Dad's wife given half a chance.
8) Vet treatment is expensive, and hard to find a decent vet who has enough experience with them.

They can be very sweet with their bonded person; he was lovely to me for the first couple of years of his life, before slowly changing his mind. For my Dad he will do tricks and regurgitate his food (a sign of love, believe it or not!). He's intelligent and can talk, and whistle short tunes and do cool stuff like that.

But over all it's a crazy amount of work, and a lot of stress and problems. I would think very seriously before you make a 50+ year commitment to an animal that will need hours of out of cage time every day and could still end up hating you.

If you have never owned a parrot before, and really want a bird, I would recommend going for something smaller like a cockatiel first. I'd succesfully had cockatiels and budgies before, and even those didn't prepare me for an African Grey.

micber

thanks for advice will have a good think about it

Interceptor

I have to agree with MoonDancer - I came in here to advise you to find a breeder and spend a few hours in the company of African Greys before committing to buy one. We had one for 35 years and it would only let my mother near it. It bit everyone else who went near and I still have the scars on my fingers thirty years on - serious bites.

They are lovely birds to look at, spend time with and to watch. Ours would call the dog by whistling in the same way father did and then when it got close it would bite the dog. It was able to call all our names so at teatime it called everyone in and when the phone rang it would yell 'hellooooo'. All great fun but the constant attention is like having a baby around. There are lots of 'gentle, hand reared' AG's advertised in Donedeal and places - I'd recommend going and checking them out. Keep an open mind!

My best alternative advice is to get a pair of ordinary hens. They will never bite you, you can cuddle them while you watch telly and you get a pair of eggs every day for your breakfast. Even my dog doesn't contribute that much to my happiness...

*EDIT* I re-read your post; ALWAYS buy from a speciaist breeder so you can get proper advice, a bird that has been tamed and is disease free. NEVER buy rare, expensive or unusual pets from petshops unless they are very obviously experts at caring for them. Too many petshops are run by unscrupulous cowboys.

'cptr

Dusty87

dont buy from pet shops, they nearly double the price number one and number two they rarely are tame. ive seen birds in a petshop that were very tame, and within a few weeks yhere like avairy birds. Our local shop has one for the past year nearly. At first there was a sign on the cage, " my name is ****, im 6 months old, im hand reared and love to be petted". Now the sign has changed to "Careful, i bite". Buy from a good breeder.

micber

thanks for advice will try and find a good breeder

Dusty87

There is a Ger fella in limerick i was meant to buy one off. Nice man and his birds are very tame. Silly tame is the term. He advertises off the donedeal i think. Not sure

micber

thanks for the advice someone told me there was a good breeder in
Tullamore ?

Sigma Force

Whatever you do if you are buying from a breeder just check the conditions first with a view to buying so that you can ensure the bird comes from a clean, safe, healthy environment. They need a large cage which can nearly be as expensive as the bird esp. when you include playstands toys etc.and most of the time out. Think of it as having a 3 year old with feathers and a strong beak that never grows up.
They are hard work and even going on holidays can be tough esp. if the bird is very clingy.

micber

many thanks for the advice

I never had the bonding problem myself. My guy is great with everybody. Very good talker. Does have his bad days but he is not too bad. i think i am very lucky with mine .

I did buy from a petshop but when i did buy him he was sick . I didnt know. I nearly lost him . Another person i know bought one from the same shop and he died.

I would choose a breeder .

Interceptor

Hi micber,

Theres a 'Thanks' button over there

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>
It'll save you lots of typing in the long run!!

'c

MoonDancer256

Deleted User wrote: »

I never had the bonding problem myself. My guy is great with everybody.

You would be a minority though; African Greys are renowned for being one person or one gender birds. You do of course get some that are fine with all/most people, but you shouldn't expect this as a new owner of an African Grey parrot.

I think a lot of people who end up with these birds just think they're cool ("hurr they can talk!!1!!) and don't realise how many hours of out of cage time and attention they need, even if they don't have behavioural problems which are common.

micber

thanks

marko_eire

Just to reiterate what some of the guys already said they are extremely costly to keep i spend about 27 euro a week on fresh veg and exotic fruits etc not to mention the 50+ euro on Harrisons pellet diet that ALL mature greys should be on. They definitly are one person birds mine wont let anyone near him but me, and i still get the odd nip.

There is a great vet in Bray who specializes in exotic birds. I've brought mine over a couple of times due to feather picking. Again its a big commitment and to me its like having a kid as they need alot of attention and care. Yes they do make you laugh and have great loyalty to their carers. seriously think about it a get as much info on the net prior to buying one. Best of Luck

micber

thank you marko eire will give a lot of thought to it before i buy , I was speaking to a breeder he told me he wont have any till march so that will give me plenty of time.

marko_eire

micber wrote: »

thank you marko eire will give a lot of thought to it before i buy , I was speaking to a breeder he told me he wont have any till march so that will give me plenty of time.

Thats great a good book i got of amazon was Parrots for Dummies it contains alot of info about all different types of parrots and their behavioural problems how to prepare the home for a new arrival (see even sounds like your bringing a baby home !) I think i paid about 18 pounds for it worth a read if your seriously thinking of buying one. All the best.

Sigma Force

marko_eire wrote: »

Just to reiterate what some of the guys already said they are extremely costly to keep i spend about 27 euro a week on fresh veg and exotic fruits etc not to mention the 50+ euro on Harrisons pellet diet that ALL mature greys should be on. They definitly are one person birds mine wont let anyone near him but me, and i still get the odd nip.

There is a great vet in Bray who specializes in exotic birds. I've brought mine over a couple of times due to feather picking. Again its a big commitment and to me its like having a kid as they need alot of attention and care. Yes they do make you laugh and have great loyalty to their carers. seriously think about it a get as much info on the net prior to buying one. Best of Luck

Where do you get the Harrisons from? I tried it before with my tiel (got it online uk shop) but he refused to touch it even tried mixing it in with the old. Tried for weeks then tried just feeding him that so he'd be hungry enough to eat it but he refused. He's terribly fussy.

OP Harrisons is a great food though so if you do get a Grey then if possible start him on that, those 'for dummies' books are great. I have the cockatiels for dummies one, tis a good book.

micber

thanks marko I might look at a cockatiel?also as this is my first parrot

Sigma Force

Good idea too. Cockatiels make a brilliant first bird. They are easier to handle than a budgie, not as fast and easier to treat if having to give meds etc.

They do crave attention so it will give you a good idea of how it would be like with a larger parrot eg noise levels etc. but also are happy to have some time out as well so you don't feel too guilty leaving them for a couple of hours.

They thrive on routine as well but now and then subtle changes so they don't freak out at anything new.

I highly recommend zooplus.co.uk for cockatiel cages, I saved 40 quid by ordering from the uk site plus is was much cheaper than in any shops here.
The cage I got is great it can be wheeled from room to room and there's sections you can open so the bird can fly in and out etc. The sand is handy for storage as well.

Tiels are real clowns as well and can be so sweet but can be moody but they don't tend to bite hard ensuring they get their 12 hours of sleep makes a difference.

Here's links to two handy sites.
Just checked the cage we have and it's even cheaper now!
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/birds/bird_cages_and_accessories/large_parakeet_cages/40967

http://www.24parrot.com/

micber

thanks guinepigrescue one of the shops has a .ie address

marko_eire

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

Where do you get the Harrisons from? I tried it before with my tiel (got it online uk shop) but he refused to touch it even tried mixing it in with the old. Tried for weeks then tried just feeding him that so he'd be hungry enough to eat it but he refused. He's terribly fussy.

OP Harrisons is a great food though so if you do get a Grey then if possible start him on that, those 'for dummies' books are great. I have the cockatiels for dummies one, tis a good book.

First of all i agree with your comment regarding the cockatiels definately a good idea for a first bird, i unfortunately jumped straight in at the deep end and got a grey...but it worked out ok 4 years later and lots of money spent !! I had exactly the same problem when trying to convert to harrison's high poetency diet it was a nightmare he was so stuburn and would starve until i put seeds in his bowl. i spoke with the vet in Bray who advised me what to do and within Two weeks he was muching away i couldn't believe the difference in his feathers and how healthy he looked after two weeks on harrisons.

All birds are different but the way i got mine on the diet was...to slowly introduce the pellets into his diet he threw most of them back at me the first week and would bite me when i'd put them in his bowl... i also moved him from one area of the house to a bigger room that he would walk into when out of the cage. apparently changing the environment stimulates them to try new things. Make note that some parrots can react badly to a big change so dont move his cage in yet. if you have a T stand or something that you train your parrot on use this as a way of familiarising the parrot with the room and reward with the harrisons. Also crush the pellets up at the start and sprinkle over food etc he/she will soon get the taste for the pellets they absoulutely love them.

After intorducing the pellets start to phase out the seeds asap reduce the amount daily until all he will eat is pellets. Also note that pellet diet is more filling as it contains alot more nutrition a small amount will suffice for the day 1-2 tablespoons or you can check the packaging for the amount to suit your parrot. I cant strees enough how important the diet is for a parrot and converting your parrots diet to pellets will be the best thing you could do.I purchase mine from the vet in bray and from harrisons bird food uk its a bit cheaper. hope this helps let me know how you get on.

micber

how much should pay for a cockatiel? and what should I look out for

Sigma Force

Thanks for the tips, never thought of crushing the pellets he seems to like things in crumbs. I must buy some asap and start slowly and see how we go.

micber when looking for a tiel ensure the place they are kept is clean and comfortable etc. and whoever has the tiel knows them well I don't know of any breeders there are plenty out there but I wouldn't know who to recommend but I'm sure someone could point you in the right direction.

In general things to look out for are, clear bright eyes, good feather condition, healthy looking beak, cere and legs (scaley face/legs is common esp. in some pet shops) an alert bird, not aggressive when handled, takes an interest when you come up to the cage listens to you.

micber

thank you guineapigrescue If anybody knows a good breeder mabe you could let me know

Boomtastic

The things you learn here eh.......

Are these traits limited to African Greys or do all parrots make difficult pets?

micber

all parrots need a lot of tlc and time

MoonDancer256

All parrots are very high maintenance, but African Greys certainly come with their own set of challenges.

I would never recommend a large breed parrot to someone who had never had a parrot before.

Something like a cockatiel is an ideal starter bird though

harrins

There is lots of information about different breeds of parrots and the ins and outs of keeping them on www.parrots.ie

The forum there also has links to sources for food and toys in Ireland. Its a great resource for Irish parrot owners.

micber

thanks a lot for the help on parrots I took the advice and bought a cockatiel hope everything will go allright feeding ect.

timber19

Dusty87 wrote: »

There is a Ger fella in limerick i was meant to buy one off. Nice man and his birds are very tame. Silly tame is the term. He advertises off the donedeal i think. Not sure

I bought an african grey baby from Ger Noonan in Limerick , his african greys are silly hand tame and he wont let you go away with the grey unless you both take to each orther, if you dont take to the grey or the grey dosent take to you he wount let you take the bird, also if you havn't had a grey before he will tell you to get a cockatiel for a year and come back to him if you are still interested, he is very good and Id highly recomment him, his phone no is 0863153646, even if you are not buying from him give him a buzz he gives you very good advice and will chat to you about greys