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Post by albionlass on May 8, 2011 2:00:27 GMT -5
Here are my two parrots. Raffi the African Grey. He has his own Facebook page, I wonder if any of his friends are members here? Kendi the Senegal.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2011 2:53:36 GMT -5
They are beautiful! I had a nanday conure about ten years ago and I still miss him, parrots and their relatives have such funny personalities....he would follow me around the house bopping along to my music and saying silly little things. With all the carnivores I have running around now, I don't see another bird working out in my near future...it's a good trade though, I love my cats and ferrets too .
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Post by shilohismygirl on May 8, 2011 8:14:04 GMT -5
What beautiful birds you have! They are gorgeous! Someday, I would like to try and keep a parrot or conure, but that is a while in the future. Yours are stunning.
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Post by Sherry on May 8, 2011 9:07:23 GMT -5
They are gorgeous! I understand the african greys in particular are real characters ;D
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Post by albionlass on May 8, 2011 9:19:33 GMT -5
That's true, they have the cognitive abilities of a 3-4 year old child but with a set of pliers/wire cutters attatched to their face. A sometimes awkward combination.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2011 11:05:00 GMT -5
Beautiful babies! I've always wanted a macaw one day
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Post by katt on May 9, 2011 4:42:55 GMT -5
Oh man! I am SO jealous! I want an African Grey sooo badly! I know it would be a terrible idea right now though. lol Have to wait till I am totally done with school and actually have a house... It is hard enough to find apartments with reptiles and ferrets, I can't imagine finding a place that would allow me to rent to such a potential ruccous-maker! I hear they can be quite destructive too! ;D How expensive are they to own on a daily basis? Obviously the initial set up cost is going to be a LOT for cage, bird, toys, etc. But is daily upkeep pretty easy (financially) or super expensive? How prone are they to illnesses and other things that need vet trips? I find it hard to imagine that any animal could need a vet more than ferrets do! (or MY ferret anyways hahaha KODA!) ;D I am green all over I am so jealous! Where's the link to his fb page so I can go stalk his pictures?
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Post by albionlass on May 9, 2011 5:49:38 GMT -5
Greys aren't usually noisy birds, at least not compared to macaws amazons or some conures. They don't scream like amazons and macaws can, most of Raffi's vocalizations are speech or musical whistles. As for cost I can only say what the costs are here in the U.K. An African Grey itself would cost anywhere between £200- £1000 depending on age, method of rearing and where you purchase it from. Cages cost from around £200 up to whatever you want to pay. Other initial accessories could easily run to another £300+ for cage furnishings, toys, a playstand etc. Day to day costs are trickier to work out as much of my parrots food I just buy as part of my groceries as the majority of their diet is veg, fruit and sprouted pulses, grains etc. For my 2 that probably adds up to around £4 per week. Then they have a top quality seed mix in small amounts which costs me around £15 every 4-5 months and supplements in addition which probably cost around £ 15 per year. There are all the hidden occasional small costs that are hard to list, toys need replacing periodically of course and then you may choose to have vet insurance in addition. I also have a bird specific uv light over the cages as Greys need access to uv to metabolize calcium, lack of which can cause severe problems or death. They can be destructive, you have to watch cables, jewellary, tv remotes, things like that which they love to try and get a hold of. This is the link to Raffi's facebook profile. en-gb.facebook.com/people/Raffi-Parrot/100001547460248
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Post by angelfish on May 9, 2011 9:24:35 GMT -5
My brother has an African Grey. Incredibly smart bird and very sweet. I want my own someday. He used to mimic the phone and the green conures. He could see the front door from where his cage was and would say "Bye Bye" whenever someone headed towards the door or picked up their keys.
It's very important to socialize them. My brother isn't the most responsible with animals and once left for a month long trip, leaving the bird with my parents to take care of. Except, no one could change the water or feed him because he'd try to take off your fingers. I ended up going out an buying some books and socializing the bird over a 3 week period just so we could feed him! Come to think of it, I don't even know if my brother ever bothered to figure out if the bird was male or female (and I think the bird only went to the vet once).
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Post by katt on May 12, 2011 4:49:27 GMT -5
Thanks for the info! Raffi is beautiful! One day.... *sigh*
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Post by hails on May 15, 2011 12:46:31 GMT -5
I wonder if you could take an old FN2 and fashion it to make a bird cage. Cause all the nice big-bird cages I see are sooooo expensive around here. I was so close to buying an African Grey who had EVERYTHING included for only $800. Sadly, my parents refused to have another animal in the house and Samson slipped out of my fingers. A few years ago we had to babysit a Grey and he was hilarious. He knew he scared me and would do this thing with his eyes and chuckle evilly. It took a while for me to build up my courage and take him out so we could hang out while I was on the computer. He was a pretty cool bird. What do you plan to do if they end up outliving you? Cause don't they live for like 50+ years or so?
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Post by Sherry on May 15, 2011 14:28:23 GMT -5
You might be able to, but I'd be concerned about the stability of it without that middle floor in there.
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Post by katt on May 15, 2011 17:34:41 GMT -5
Yeah I would want to adopt a parrot simply for the fact that I don't want my pets outliving me. Just because then I have no way on ensuring they get to good homes. Though it would be fun to raise one from a chick...
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2011 18:31:56 GMT -5
They are beautiful and you take wonderful pictures as well, I love how clear they are!
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