African Grey

As the name suggests the African Grey is primarily ... grey in colour and commonly found in the primary and secondary rainforest of West and Central Africa . They are considered to be one of, if not the best talking parrot. They are extremely intelligent and can learn a variety of words, phrases, voices and even languages. Tests have shown that African Greys can even identify colours and objects! It is little wonder that they are such popular pets.

However, owning an African Grey is not for everyone. They like most pet parrots, are very high-maintenance pets, as they require a great deal of personal attention. You must have the time and resources to give these highly intelligent birds a stimulating and healthy environment. They require plenty of stimulating toys to keep them from becoming bored and possibly even restless while confined to their cage. These toys need to be rotated and switched out regularly in order to maintain the bird's interest. An under stimulated and bored African Grey can  quickly become depressed and self destructive. African Greys must not be kept in their cages for extra long periods of time. Your bird will pluck his or her feathers if bored........... so daily play, stimulation and freedom is a must.

The life expectancy of African Greys are up to 65 years, so owning them as a pet is a long term commitment and the bird tends to bond to one person. You can not simply buy one and grow bored of it after a year or two. They can grow up to 14 Inches in size, so the cage size should be a minimum 35" H x 35" L x 35" W, so that the bird can easily stretch its wings, make sure that wingspan are not touching the cage's sides and its head and tail are not touching the cage's top and bottom. They also do not like smoke or strong smells, so do not smoke cigarettes near them and refrain from using perfumes or air fresheners.

African Greys have special dietary requirements, which should be fulfilled by pelleted diet, leafy vegetables, fruits, almonds, nuts and plenty of fresh pure spring or distilled water. Carefully calculated quantities of calcium and vitamin supplements should also be given to them, but an excess of these added vitamins and minerals can also lead to your pet's health problems.