african grey parrots for adoption
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F.M. Browns Wildbird Traditional Parrot Food -50 lbs 41521 $71.99 |
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Parrot Bird Food Medium Parrots – ZuPreem Fruitblend 2# $8.25 |
Another Alien – More proof of invasion by James Minnie
A bit of history of the African Grey invasion, very clever.
There are two subspecies:
The Congo African Grey is larger with light grey feathers, deep red tail and black beak. The Timneh African Grey is smaller in size, have a darker charcoal gray colour, a darker maroon tail and a light horn colour upper mandible. Their lifespan is up to about 50 years (or more) in captivity.
The history of African Grey parrots kept as pets dates back over 4,000 years. Some Egyptian hieroglyphics clearly describe pet parrots. The ancient Greeks also valued parrots as pets and this custom was later adopted by Wealthy Roman families. They were and still are famous for their ability to talk and mimic. King Henry VIII of England also had an African Grey and Portuguese sailors kept them as companions on their long sea voyages.
Today, many are hand reared by breeders for the pet trade and they make wonderful and very affectionate companions. However, because they can be unpredictable at times, they may not be compatible with small children. African Greys are very strong and can inflict injury with their beaks and claws.
They are very intelligent and are generally thought to mimic the best of all parrots. Parrots captured from the wild need time and effort to adapt to human presence. The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has made the sale of all wild caught parrot species illegal.
Greys, like any pet parrot, require commitment and a lot of attention for good mental health. They have the tendency to bond to only one person if they do not interact with different people regularly. Although no friendship with other parrot species exists, they require socialization with other parrots of any species.
Their cage needs to have branches of various thicknesses to exercise their claws and to hang on to perform various acrobatic manoeuvres. They also like to nibble on branches and remove the bark. Although a perception exists that they like toys my experience with them are that they do not like strange things in their cage. Sudden movements or loud noise also scare them, as well as carrying or moving large items like a ladder, chair or couch near them.
For a Grey spending most of its day in the cage the cage size should be minimum of 1 (H) x 0.8 (W) x 0.8 (D) for ease of movement. It should be kept in a bird-safe environment and placed in a busy part of the home, such as the living room, where the bird can occupy itself in watching the household activities. Although they can be quite messy – there are ways around this problem if you really care.
They have special dietary requirements and should be fed with calcium and Vitamin A rich foods such as leafy mustard greens, broccoli etc., almonds or little amounts of cheese. Only give them small quantities of calcium and vitamin supplements. An excess of these added vitamins and minerals can lead to health problems.
Feathers should not be clipped to short since they are heavy birds. Clipping feathers too short can severely impair flight and may lead to injuries when they crash to the ground. Wing feathers also need to be long enough for them to get a grip and pull old feathers out. If very young birds are wing clipped they may never gain full coordination and agility in flight.
Never leave parrots alone for long when they are outside the cage – rather close them when leaving or away for long. Remember – they should be part of the family… enjoy them!
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Electronics Technician married to Elena. Started web design, turned blogger, turned writer.
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