Thread: African grey parrots

I would like to buy and breed
Any pointers much appreciated

They are very rude,
I kept saying to one
'what's your name'
The surly response
'what's your name'

As a matter of interest why would you want to make a bird a prisoner

Because prisoners do bird ,

Try here for information. African Grey Parrot - Plants, Pets & Vets in Thailand - Thailand Forum

Originally Posted by stan153

Any pointers much appreciated

Don't let any seals anywhere near it.

Originally Posted by withnallstoke

Don't let any seals anywhere near it.

Didn't they all claim to have shot Bin Laden?

^Apparently they fcked a few penguins along the way, as well...

Why do you want to breed them? They're an endangered species. A friend of mine had one for years. He kept him in a cage almost as big as his living room. Lovely bird and seemed to enjoy human contact. They live a long time I hear. My friends bird was 27 at the time.

Originally Posted by david44

They are very rude,
I kept saying to one
'what's your name'
The surly response
'what's your name'

As a matter of interest why would you want to make a bird a prisoner

Most if not all African Greys are born into captivity , so they would not have a clue as to themselves being as you say "prisoners" as they are not aware of anything else

An African grey with quite an extensive vocabulary

^
That is real funny, people would pay a lot for that bird.

Originally Posted by Iceman123

^
That is real funny, people would pay a lot for that bird.

Yeah right, I suppose a bird like that would increase the turnover in any Mens club or a bar in Ozz

Had to laugh when in Pattaya one time with an ex gf...They had a talkative parrot at the hotel...But you had to get it going first...Then he would start conversing, in Thai...

Very polite he was, always gretting you with 'Sawasdee, kap."...

One day the gf came running to me shrieking with laughter because she tried to goad it into speaking ...

"Mai puud mak," he yelled. "Poh tuur."...

Forgiving the poor spelling, translated, he finally erupted, "Quit talking so much. You're giving me a headache!"...

What a laugh...It was something I had been telling her daily...

Originally Posted by toddaniels

Originally Posted by ltnt

Why do you want to breed them? They're an endangered species.SNIPPED

Contrary to "ltnt" neither parrot are listed as endangered species, although their habitat is threatened, they are not. You can find them for sale every weekend at Chatuchak Market in the pet section.

There are two types of parrots commonly sold as the "African Grey"
The Congo African Grey is larger and has bright red feathers under the tail.
The Timneh African Grey is smaller darker and has maroon/black feathers under the tail.


If you're buying them just to breed you don't need hand-fed babies. Just buy a proven breeding pair. They're tough to sex by sight and I've seen people buy two only to find out later by DNA or surgical sexing they had two of the same sex.

Both parrots have near the same ability to mimic sounds, and both suffer from the psychosis known as "feather picking" if they are in a stimulating enough environment. Still even plucked bald african greys can be prolific breeders, so their plumage shouldn't be your first concern.

They are also NOISY, as in you better have some understanding neighbors around you or live in the sticks...

Whether its true or not I have no way of knowing, but a guy back in the UK who had kept parrots for 40 years told me if you do not take the Chicks away from the parents early and hand rear them they will not talk and are known as squawkers when brought up by their parents!

Originally Posted by ltnt

Why do you want to breed them?

At 300 Quid a bird I'd say for 'money'.

^ 300 pounds will not cover the cost of raising them to an age of sale I figure...what do you think? Food, medicines, doctors visits, cleaning and your time spent nurturing these birds.

Indeed "ltnt" breeding parrots successfully is hardly a cash generating endeavor out of the gate.

There's a LOT that goes into it. Proven breeding pairs which are also compatible are expensive. Cheap ones are either not prolific breeders or past their prime..

Mixing hand rearing formula, syringe feeding the babys, makin' sure the food is moving thru their crop, keeping 'em warm, dry, etc is nearly a full time investment. You make a mis-step you get a dead baby parrot..

Christ I'd say, going with one of the thai in-lawz or out-lawz "get rich slow schemes" would be a better choice, especially if you've never had breeding pairs of parrots around.

Originally Posted by toddaniels

Indeed "ltnt" breeding parrots successfully is hardly a cash generating endeavor out of the gate.

There's a LOT that goes into it. Proven breeding pairs which are also compatible are expensive. Cheap ones are either not prolific breeders or past their prime..

Mixing hand rearing formula, syringe feeding the babys, makin' sure the food is moving thru their crop, keeping 'em warm, dry, etc is nearly a full time investment. You make a mis-step you get a dead baby parrot..

Christ I'd say, going with one of the thai in-lawz or out-lawz "get rich slow schemes" would be a better choice, especially if you've never had breeding pairs of parrots around.

Hi TD, Reading your post leads me to believe you have some practical experience in the pitfalls of breeding Parrots ,I suppose the best thing is to go and speak to people who are involved in it and look what they do ,rather than just read the info from books eh

"piwanoi" You're correct, back in my "former life" I did indeed dabble in breeding parrots. I had several of the South American varieties called Amazons; spectacled, blue fronts, yellow heads, double yellow heads and yellow napes.

FWIW; I also bred Persian Cats too. However much like when I bred Amazon parrots I found both species pussy's too tight for any real enjoyment! <- that was an off color JOKE!

Seriously, you get into it because you love birds, NOT as a money making endeavor..

Don't get me wrong you certainly can make money, but you go thru a steep and often times painful learning curve. Nothing is worse than having a clutch of eggs broken because the parents are inexperienced or after the chicks hatch they die because you didn't provide the parents something critical in their diet.

I concur; GO find and see people who're successfully breeding African Greys here and copy their set up. As I said, even up in Nakhon Nowhere I doubt the neighbors are gonna be thrilled with parrots shrieking their heads off every morning! Believe me they will curl your hair!

Good Luck...

Originally Posted by toddaniels

Believe me they will curl your hair!

I concur.

Lisa Parrot-breeder,
Africa.

The problem with these parrots is it's hard to tell just whether they are alive, or not...

Ahh, the elusive Norwegian Blue, pining for the fjords!