Keeping parrots.

The parrot in the picture is my own African grey parrot named "Wimpy". In the picture he is about 8 months old. He is 20 years old now. Unfortunately he's not as healthy as I would like him to be, after he suffered from a very nasty fungus-infection. He's doing well now, after long treatment. But his lungs will always be his weak spot. I'm glad that we don't live far from the animal-practice of dr. Tol in Zelhem, who is an expert when it comes to parrots. Many people think, that keeping a parrot is easy. Recently someone asked for advice. She wanted to buy a parrot. Here is my answer to her. Perhaps I left something out and you would like to add something. Perhaps you would like to send me your opinion. Please feel free to do so. Just visit my page with the guestbook. Hello, I own an African Grey parrot myself. They are great birds, BUT ..... * Please don't buy a parrot, which was caught in the wild !! For every bird that is being sold in a petshop, several others have died !! * Remember, that you will have to dust your livingroom almost every day. * They need a lot of attention, because they have the intelligence of a 4-year old child. You can't just put it in a cage and leave it there. * You will need a large cage, which will take up a lot of the space in your livingroom. * Food bought from petshops, is often not good for parrots. Too many peanuts and sunflower-seeds. I always make my own mixture. In addition he gets fruits and a willowbranche every day. Not the ones from a shop, but cut from a tree nearby, so that it's fresh. * Refresh his drinking-water every day. * You cannot supply him with food for a few days. He will munch away everything all at once and will be left without food for the remaining days. As you can imagine, this is not a healthy situation. * It will need fresh air as much as possible, because parrots can't cough (but beware of draught). Their lungs get filled with their own dust and they might get a fungus-infection or worse. My bird had it and belief me, it's no fun seeing him like that.. * If you smoke, then DON'T BUY A PARROT or GIVE UP SMOKING. Because it doesn't only kill you; it kills your bird even faster ! They have smaller lungs and can't walk out the door if they feel that they need fresh air. * Always use old newspapers on the bottom of the cage, which you spray with a little water. It's against the dust and it makes the room more humid. But beware: my own parrot became allergic to the ink that they use to print the papers. At the moment I use unprinted paper but as soon as I run out of that, I will need something else. Do you have an idea for me? * You will have to spray the parrot a few times every week with fresh, not too cold water. It's like a shower to him. * You will have to get it micro-chipped by a good vet, because you will never be able to tell or prove which bird is yours. * Please give it an original name.  * Remember that (if you're lucky) only 1 in every 3 African grey parrots can talk. And that doesn't mean that he will be great. Some say only few words, others will never stop talking. * They will only say the words that they like. You may repeat a word 1000 times and he might never say it. On other occasions you may say something only once and the next day you will hear him say it. This also means, that you have to watch what you're saying. Because they will always repeat the words, that you don't want them to say. Isn't that Murphy's law ? * An African grey parrot has only one master. I feed Wimpy, take care of him, but only men can touch him. Wimpy is probably female, so I'm competition. * I keep saying him, but from the outside you can't tell if it's male or female. Only with surgery can a vet tell you what it is. But as there are too many birds in cages today anyway, I won't breed with Wimpy. So I won't put him through an operation with all the risks. * A bite from a parrot is very painful, I know !!! But do remember, that You probably did something wrong, scared it or whatever. Don't punish it by hitting the cage, because you will do more damage than you know. A parrot has a very good and long memory !! * Remember that an African Grey parrot can live to be about 80 years old ! If you're not 1000% sure, then DON'T buy one. In the Netherlands, where I live, I support a parrot-sanctuary. They have an aviary with hundreds of African grey parrots (and hundreds of every other kind of parrot). Many are abused, neglected, seized by Schiphol-customs or just unwanted. It's a beautiful sight, but it also makes me sad and sometimes angry. These parrots should still be flying around in Africa. Or if they came from a breeder, they should never have been born. Some have been through so much. Seeing these parrots and getting educated about them, made me see things a lot different from the time, when I got Wimpy. This parrot-sanctuary is called N.O.P. and is located in Veldhoven. * My parrot is 18 years old now. I wouldn't want to miss him anymore, but if I had known what I know now; I would not have bought him. Parrots are not the kind of animal, that should be kept in a cage in a livingroom. They need an aviary, so that they can fly and do whatever they need to do to be happy. And they should have a partner. If not, you will have to be his companion. They are great to own, but often only for our own pleasure. When you put their welfare first, then I would say that they don't really make good pets. You can see this text as information, advice after years of experience or as a warning. Sometimes I wish, that someone would have told me all these things years ago. Perhaps someone else can benefit from my experience now.

The N.O.P. has a very interesting website with a lot of advice. You can find it at www.papegaai.org.

Another interesting website: http://www.parrotline.org/index.htm