Question by Emma: Help with training African Grey parrot!?
Hi, I have a Congo African Grey parrot that is about 5 years old that I adopted several months ago. I want to train her to come to me when I say “come here”, but when I train her, she keeps getting too distracted. What would be the best way to train her? Thanks.

Best answer:

Answer by joewebb
You have got to do away with whatever is distracting her.No matter what you try to teach her you got to have her mind on you.

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Is The African Grey Parrot The Right Parrot For You?

Originating from Central Africa, the African Grey Parrot is considered one of the most beautiful species of parrots and highly intelligent. The African Grey Parrot is popular because of their extraordinary speaking skills and socialization. However, African parrots can be a challenge to care for

The Congo African Grey and the Timneh African Grey parrots that make up the African Parrot species. The Congo African Grey is the most brightly colored with a red tail and is light grey on the body. A maroon tail with a darker grey color defines the Timneh African Grey. Males will grow up to 14 inches and have a larger head than the females.

It is essential to be very sure that African parrots as pets are really wanted as they can live up to 60 years. This is very important to African parrots. New parrot owners would be better suited to a different kind of parrot than the African parrots because of the behavioral needs. Boredom comes easily to African Grey parrots and they will possibly tear things up in their boredom. When upset, they tend to pull their own feathers out or to self mutilate itself with its claws.

Social interaction is a necessity for African Grey parrots to help with the boredom issue. Kissing and cuddling are forms of expression in the wild for African Grey parrots. Since they would rather be with you outside the cage, allow the African Grey to sit on your shoulder or fly about the room. If left alone for long periods, the African Grey parrot will become agitated and start shrieking, plucking its own feathers and tearing the inside of the cage up.

In spite of this, the African Grey is very easy to train as they are adept at mimicking human behavior as well as having a unique ability to speak quite well and have a large vocabulary. The intelligence of this species is actually quite spectacular to behold.

African Grey parrots are perfect for individuals who truly love a bird as a companion. The African Grey Parrot is a wonderful pet to have. This species will give you years of companionship and joy. If the parrot is cared for correctly, the parrot will be devoted to you and will want and need you on a daily basis.

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Question by D.H: Why does my african grey parrot bite me everytime I try to touch him?
I have an african grey parrot and he is really friendly with me, he steps up when he’s asked, and he whistles and talks and does not have any behavioral problems. He only bites me every time i want to scratch his head or touch him.

I want to know how to train him to stop biting… does spraying him with water every time he bites help?
How can I get him to trust me so I can touch him?

I love him and I really want him to feel safe.

Best answer:

Answer by exbrit69
Probably because he’s scared. If you did not have him since he was very young he probably doesn’t trust you. I have the same thing with an adult Indonesian parrot while the owl that i saved after it fell out of the nest is soft and friendly

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Question by Im AwSoMe: For anyone who was trained an African Grey parrot or any parrot?
I have this African Grey that is 1 year old, which i know is the perfect age to train them, but my dad wanted me to teach him this trick which i have no idea how to do. We have this key board that my dad wants me to teach him to play, any ideas how to do this? i Also want to know how to do voice commands, like when i say cat he meows. he already how to make the sounds but i don’t know how to make him do the sound when i say the names.

Best answer:

Answer by margie k
You have to have a ton of patience, and work with your grey every day for a long time, the more time you spend the more likely your birdy will pick up what you want him to. Also greys ( and most parrots actually) like drama, so if you change your voice or make a big deal out of what you are trying to teach him, he will like it more. And lastly, if he doesn’t pick up the tricks, etc. he is still lovable and wonderful, and will love you to death for spending the time and attention on him !! Because greys are just total suckers for that. Good luck and remember he is going to live for many many years, so if he doesn’t pick something up right away he will eventually. I have had my timneh grey for almost 20 years and she continually surprises me with crazy stuff she just makes up out of her birdy mind to say and do, and has learned all kinds of stuff, not always what I have wanted her to learn but still is just such a joy.

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The African Grey Parrot Makes A Wonderful Pet

Copyright (c) 2010 Kaye Dennan

The African Grey parrot has many endearing qualities and parrot lovers looking for a pet parrot will find that an African Grey Parrot is one of the easiest parrots to keep as a companion. They are very popular with parrot owners and with good reason. Their exceptional talking and cognitive abilities means that they interact well with their owners and are a joy to have as a favorite pet.

Given the time, these parrots will develop a large vocabulary and it has been reported that they communicate well with their owners if given the incentive.

The appearance of the African Grey?

The African Grey would fall into the medium sized category for parrots as he is about 10 to 14 inches fully grown and which makes him an ideal size for a pet. Not surprisingly, the male is larger than the female, but not by much.

Although very similar in appearance, there are two different types of African Grey. One is the Congo African Grey which has a light grey body color, very light grey to white on the side of the head and with a brilliant red tail. The other African Grey parrot, the Timneh, has darker greay feathers on top, a light grey chest with a maroon colored tail. The general body build of both of these parrots is much the same with both sexes, but the female does tend to have a slightly narrower head and a more slender neck than the male.

The African Grey, like many parrots does have a long life span so to take on the care of an African Grey the owner must give a long committment. Many live up to 60 years of age, which is quite a long time for a family pet.

Keep the African Grey parrot happy and healthy.

This parrot is a very intelligent parrot and if he is not kept amused he will become bored and then could suffer from health problems. A bored parrot will develop some bad habits and quite quickly too, which could be hard to reverse. Keep a look out for any of these signs if you think he is bored:

- Feather picking

- Grumpy and unfriendly

- Biting

- Self-mutilating

From the pet parrot’s point of view, one of the habits that will cause him harm is that of feather picking. If you ever notice your parrot pulling out feathers get on to this problem straight away because it is not good for him to have bare patches where he has plucked out his feathers.

Another problem is that they can become very grumpy if they are bored and this will make him an unpleasant friend. He will most likely start biting and be quite nasty to those around him. If really distressed, he will even self-mutilate.

Just like any intelligent animal a pet parrot needs interaction with its owner on a regular basis and needs stimulation to keep it happy. This does not mean that you need to be playing with it for hours a day, but your pet does like to have a certain amount of freedom and play with its owner.

The African Grey do train beautifully so enjoy the process and teach him some tricks that he will love doing and people will love doing with him. Also hang some toys in his cage so that he can play with them when he is on his own.

Be ‘one of the flock’ to your parrot.

In his own environment, the African Grey would fly in a flock of parrots so it is their natural instinct to treat their owner as one of the flock. Because of this the parrot will often enjoy having the side of his head rubbed and a bit of a scratch there too, but he will not enjoy his body being handled. You will often notice with a group of parrots that they tend to smooch around each other’s head. It is a habit of parrots.

If you are going to let your pet parrot ‘kiss’ you, do take care not to let it be around your mouth as human bacteria can be extremely harmful to a parrot.

If being kept by a family, children need to understand the personality of a parrot because if they do get bitten, it does hurt as the parrot’s beak is very hard and sharp and is designed for cracking seeds and nuts. If a child aggravates a parrot they could get bitten, even by a placid parrot.

African Grey parrots will entertain for hours, but only if they are carefully looked after with the right diet, social needs and housing. Enjoy teaching the African Grey to talk, because he is good at and also to perform tricks as they really are natural ‘show offs’.

Difference Between Congo & Timneh African Grey Parrot

Physical diff between Congo & Timneh:

Timneh African Grey is a smaller version of Congo African Grey. Some people are of the view that in a beauty contest between Timneh (TAG) and Congo (CAG), there would surely be two winners. But I have a different view. As far as beauty and looks are concerned, the Congo Grey Parrots are much ahead of their cousins. No doubt that Timnehs is at the same footing when pet potential and talking ability is in issue, infect they are keener to interact with guests and are more playful and affectionate and less shy as compared to Congo Grey. But particularly talking about beauty, I think Congos have got the edge.

BEAK
Timneh Grey Parrots have smoky colored beak on the bottom, and a horn colored upper beak.
Congos have a solid black beak.

EYES:
Both Congo and Timneh have black eyes until the age of 6 months, and after this time a gradual change in eye color begins including gradations of light grey and yellow. The eye colour of the adult grey is light yellow iris.
The eye area of both the species is of bare white skin.

SIZE:
Congo Grey Parrots are larger than Timnehs.
The Congos vary in size from 12-14 inch from beak to tail.
Timneh Grey Parrots vary in size from 9-11 inch from beak to tail, depending on the frame of each bird.

WEIGHT:
Diet is a great factor considering the weight of the Grey Parrots. Normally Captive Parrots have more weight than parrots in wild, as they can have ample food and balanced diet.
Congo Grey Parrots vary in weight between 400-650 grams depending on diet of individual bird.
Timneh vary in weight between 275-400 grams.
Today we can see many African Grey Parrots who are bigger and larger in size than normal. This is most likely the result of improved nutrition practices.

COLOUR:

The Congo Grey Parrots have shades of light grey on their bodies. Their head and neck feathers are delicately edged with white-grey, giving them a lovely and sophisticated look. They have a solid black beak and a beautiful bright red tail. These birds are also known as “Red-Tailed Grey”
The Timneh African Grey Parrots have deeper shades of dark charcoal –gray color on its wings and back. The have the same brushed white feathers on their head and neck. Timnehs have a dull maroon to burgundy colored tail.  The baby’s tail feathers are typically maroon-brown but can be dark grey with no hint of maroon. They have smoky colored beak on the bottom, and a horn colored upper beak.

FEET:

Both Congo and Timneh have black feet. Congo Grey Parrots have a very dignified walk, often take small steps, on the other hand Timneh Grey Parrots normally scoot (walk quickly).

Temperamental difference between Congo and Timneh

There is always a debate over the topic that whether there are temperamental differences between the Congo Grey Parrots and Timneh Grey Parrots. Both Congo and Timneh are shy, cautious birds and can be temperamental. The Timnehs are known for their good temperaments and are often said to be less shy than their larger cousins. But this can not be said to be a fact . There is always a lot of individual variation between the African Grey Parrots of both sub-species. I personally have a Congo Grey Parrot who loves to be a part of family conversation and loves to talk in front of guests, and fears very little in life, on the other hand my 4 years old Timneh Grey Parrot has never spoken a single word in front of guests and is always quiet contended to sit in its cage while strangers are around him.

INTELLIGENCE

As far as intelligence is in issue, both the subspecies are equally intelligent and require a lot of attention from their owners and they usually have a close bond with their caretaker. So if you are planning to own African Grey Parrot of either specie, you must be ready to give quality interaction time for everyday of its 50-65 year lifespan.

TALKING ABILITY

While talking about talking ability of African Grey Parrots, both the subspecies have the potential to speak and inmitate human voices and other household sounds, like telephone ring, microwave oven beeps, door bell etc. Both (Congo and Timneh) can imitate hundreds of human voices and can use then in context. So as far as the vocabulary is concerned both the species are on the same footing, the only difference is the quality of voice.
The Timneh does not have variety in its voice. Whatever it speaks it will be in the same childlike voice. In other words you can say that Timneh can imitate “words” but not the voices.
But on the other hand, Congo is much talented one. It not only imitates the words, but has the capacity to imitate the voice as well.
So you will see Congo saying a single word “Hello” in different voices i.e of a woman, a child or a mature old man.
Congo Grey Parrots and Timneh Grey Parrots appear to have the same talking ability, with the Congo voice slightly louder than Timnehs, as it could be expected from a larger parrot.
Congo African Grey Parrots usually do not start speaking its first word until its first birthday, many may start speaking even earlier than that,  depending on individual bird. On the other hand Timneh generally start talking at the age of 6 months and can string words together at the age of one and half year.
So the Timneh Grey Parrots can start speaking at the age of 6 months, a full six months sooner than the Congo Greys.
I personally had a Timneh Grey Parrot named as “Timi”, who started to say “Hello” at the age of exact 4 months.

HUMAN BONDS

As far as our African Grey Parrots are concerned, we socialize them very well. And most of them can happily go to any person, as by regular interaction and affection this thing has been inculcated in their minds that humans are their best friend.
However according to some experts There is some difference between CAG’s and TAG’s , switching bonds from one human being to another.
A recent survey shows that Congo Grey Parrots have a reputation of changing their human bonds from one person or caretaker to any other family member. And Male Congo Grey Parrots are more known for changing human bonds as compared to Female Congo Grey.
A very few of the Timneh Grey Parrots are reported to change their bond from one human being to another, they often add other members of the family into a multiple bond. But the results of these surveys show mere “trends” and can not be considered as “Proven Facts”.
Timneh African Grey Parrot are typically a more difficult bird to raise, and many owners have a hard time with them. But once they are trained and tamed, they can become our best friend for the whole of their life.

Feather Plucking

It is a fact that African Grey Parrots are notorious feather pluckers. Although many other parrots also pluck their feathers but African Grey Parrots are more known for it.
More Congo Grey Parrots are reported to be prone to feather plucking than their smaller cousins. Timnehs have not much tendency to pluck or bite their feathers. It might be because of the reason that Timneh have a more stable personality than Congo.
It can not be deducted that only Congos have nervous energy, feather plucking depends upon many factors.

BREEDING

Timneh have a lifespan of 40-60 years. They reach sexual maturity around 4-5 years of age. They can breed twice a year if their first clutch is wasted, but usually they breed once a year, but all this depends upon each pair and their compatibility. They lay 2-5 eggs with the interval of a day or two between each egg. The babies are hatched after 28-30 days, and become independent at 12-14 weeks.
Congos have a lifespan of around 60-70 years. They reach sexual maturity at about 5-6 yerars of age, in wild they normally breed once in a year but can breed twice. The hen may lay 5 eggs which will be incubated for 28-30 days.
Both subspecies lay eggs in high tree opening above the ground. The responsibility of the male is to feed the female, and both (male and female) feed the chicks.

CONCLUSION

To conclude I can say that both the subspecies (Congo and Timneh) have the same stable personalities. However there may be some small differences in their temperament which can be justified by the fact that there is a very different natural upbringing between the two subspecies.

Question by lebanese samer: how to train african grey parrot to stop screaming and stop be afraid from people and hold him safely and how?
i bring it new from two weeks ago and i want to train all things i can do

Best answer:

Answer by Blue Nose Lover
Wow, this is a tricky question.
African Grey’s are BIG birds.
Also, they WILL scream; no matter what you do..
Try http://www.google.com I am sure you can find out tons of information.
He probably isn’t afraid of people, he just needs more time to warm up.

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The Importance of Calcium Supplements For Your African Grey Parrots

Feeding the right food is the most important aspect of owning an African Grey parrot. The right diet will determine the health and stress level of your parrot and its ability to be trained to talk and perform bird tricks. Unlike other birds, different African Greys eat different kinds of food. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that they all have the same diet patterns. If you own more than one African Grey parrot, feeding them can prove quite a challenge. Just like humans, African Greys have their own diet preferences. But if you acquire your bird from young, say twelve weeks old, getting them used to feeding a certain kind of food can be fairly advantageous.

Some African Grey parrots will eat soft fruit while others will only eat hard fruits. Some will eat vegetables and others will not. To find out what is best for your parrot, try giving them a variety of fruits and vegetables and see which one they choose, and stick to it. However, do give them a good balance of calcium because a lot of African Grey parrots that fell sick seem to lack calcium in their diet. You can get calcium from hard boiled eggs, watercress, spinach, blackberries or natural yogurt.

If your parrot doesn’t seem to want to eat any of these calcium based food, try giving them calcium supplements three times a week, mixed into their food bowl. Do not mix the calcium supplements into the water bowl because some African Greys may not drink water in a twenty-four hour period because they already had their water intake from eating fruits. A good calcium diet will ensure that your parrots have fine feather and are stress free. Calcium is good for producing healthy eggs too if you intend to breed African Grey parrots.

Another great reason for having a healthy diet is that it will minimize any symptom of stress in a parrot that would result in the bird plucking its feathers and squeaking frequently. We all know how annoying squeaking can be especially if you live very close to your neighbors, or if you live in an apartment. When a parrot is healthy in both mind and body, it will also respond well to speech training or other bird tricks. This would make your effort in training it much easier and more productive. Just like in other animals, a healthy diet also means less visits to the vet and less expenditure on health matters.

Question by asim k: how to train wild caught african grey parrot? ?
how to train wild caught african grey parrot?how to train step up technique?and how and when they start to talk?

Best answer:

Answer by K
Wild caught birds can be very difficult to train. You will want to wear gloves for a while until the bird gets used to you. In my experience, wild caught birds can take up to 10 years or more, if at all, before they start to talk. You can leave the tv on for them during the day, home shopping works well, as it is a constant voice, with similar phrases repeated.
Reinforce good behavior with treats, and have lots and lots of patience. Never raise your voice to the bird, or strike him/her.

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African Grey Parrot – Feeding The Right Food

Feeding african grey parrot the right food is very important because it can tell their health, stress level and ability to learn how to talk.

African grey parrot are very different from other bird species because they have their own choice, different diet pattern and eat different kinds of food.

If you want african grey parrot to eat the type of food you want them to eat then you should consider teaching and giving them food when they are around 12 week old can be great advantage.

Depend on how you teach them, some african grey parrot only eat soft food while other eat only hard fruit, vegetable etc. So it is your duty as their owner to change their diet and give them wide variation of fruits and vegetables to see what you african grey parrot like best.

Be aware that most african grey parrots fell ill and sick because they eat food that contain less calcium so it is very important to give them a good balance of calcuim from food such as boiled eggs, spinach, blackberries and yogurt etc.

If your african grey parrot refuse to eat these food that contain calcium mentioned above then you must try to give them calcium supplements food around two to three time week. One thing that you should becareful is that most of african grey parrot dont drink water in a day because they had already absorb water into their body by eating fruits.

Calcium diet can make your african grey parrot healthy, nice feather and can greatly reduce stress which can lead to symptoms such as feather plucking and squeaking etc.

A good health african grey parrot can learn and respond to speech training quickly and efficiently.