African Greys as Pets

African Greys are beautiful, intelligent parrots, that would make a wonderful addition to any family who fully understands their capabilities and provides them with a stimulating, interactive environment. Building a relationship takes lots of love, time and patience.

Congo African Greys and Timnehs share many personality traits, although the Timnehs are said to begin speaking earlier than Congos, and are often said to be less nervous around strangers and new situations. Timnehs are often more social than Congo African Greys who may bond more to one person. Individual personality differences do exist — and much of it may depend on the level of socialization an African Grey got during its early stages of development as well as continued socialization throughout its life.

Due to their highly intelligent nature, the African Grey can become easily bored and inactivity may quickly lead to behavioural problems such as feather picking. African Greys that are bored have a tendency to chews things and consistent training and a diligent owner are a must for this vivacious bird.

These intelligent birds are best suited to people who have experience with pet birds and are familiar with their ongoing care requirements.

If you fulfill his or her needs, you will have a lifelong friend – as the lifespan of an African Grey is up to 60 years. A big commitment, however, if you are a true parrot lover you will appreciate having a true friend for life.

African grey parrots are particularly noted for their exceptional talking and cognitive abilities. Irene Pepperberg’s extensively published research with captive African greys, including Alex, has shown that these parrots are capable of associating human words with their meanings.They also mimick sounds and voices quite accurately. (This Chart lists other good and bad talkers, and respective care requirement.)

African Greys as Pets

Training and Behavioral Guidance:

African Greys are amongst the easier parrots to keep. This being said, they do present challenges, such as excessive chewing – especially at certain stages in their life. They do discover their beaks as method of “disciplining us” once they are out of the “baby stage” and they can generally be somewhat naughty, and it really is important to learn to understand them and to guide their behavior before an undesirable behavior has been established. Undisciplined parrots will chew on electric wiring potentially causing house fires. They regard anything in your home as a “toy” that can be explored and chewed on; destroying items that you may hold dear or are simply valuable. Even a young bird that has not been neglected and abused requires proper guidance; this becomes even more challenging when it involves a rescued bird that may require rehabilitation.