Parrots

afterglow

Hi everyone

Hope alright to post a kind of general wondering here.
I am curious to know more about parrots, as I heard an african grey on audioboo last night while browsing the recordings of someone I follow.
Do all parrots have as good talking ability as the african grey, as I hear these are not the nicest/easiest birds to keep, is there one that's nicer/friendlier/gentler but with good intelligence? Also, in general, would parrots work well with other pets? As some of you may know from my ocasional threads here, I have a guide dog, and while I might not keep a parrot in his working life, I presume I would have a working guide or perhaps maybe even a working and retired one if/when a parrot does enter my life.
General info appreciated, and again hope alright to post this general wondering/musing
Thanks

Outkast_IRE

Main things to be aware of are.
1. The larger parrot species have a very long life , for example African greys can have a lifespan of 50-70 years if treated right. Are you ready for this sort of commitment.

2. Parrots are very intelligent, they tend to bond well with one person or another bird, and some can even be aggressive to others. Although many are just fine with other people.

3. If you have never kept parrots before I couldn't recommend it, with the intelligence of the larger parrots comes extra commitment, they need to be interacted with a lot, they will not be content to be ignored all day, they are known to become depressed and pluck their feathers out if their main owner is on holidays or passes on etc etc. They are intelligent enough to figure out how to get out of cages and cause problems if they are so inclined.

4. A large parrot needs a very large enclosure, do some research into this the pet shop enclosures are too small in reality in my opinion, its an expensive pet.

5. If your interested in birds I would recommend something such as trying to get a hand reared cockatiel, these are lovely birds which are known for their ability to whistle tunes, and some do learn to speak. They have reasonable life-spans, are easier to care for.

+ 1 Cockatiel, i started off with them when i was younger. They are great. I have also come to like Conures or even Parrotlets. Find a good breeder though and what ever you do, dont buy from petshops, as they are over priced and only Semi tame or sometimes not even tame at all.