FAQs
HOW MUCH MONEY SHOULD I EXPECT TO PAY FOR A FULLY WEANED AFRICAN GREY PARROT?
A pet store in our area will charge you $1250.00 - $1500.00 for a weaned Congo African Grey Parrot. You can get one much less expensively through our home based aviary!
WHY DO YOU FEEL EDUCATION IS SO IMPORTANT FOR A CONGO OWNER?
Parrots are high maintenance pets. They are not for everyone. They require very specialized care to keep them tame and healthy. A well meaning but uneducated owner can quickly find himself "in over his head" in caring for a Congo African Grey Parrot. There are far too many "recycled" Congos advertised in the want ads simply because the owner was uneducated on what it means to care for these magnificent birds. We at Exquisite Exotics Aviary want all our adoptive families to have the knowledge it takes to nurture a loving lifelong relationship with your companion parrot. We are dedicated to assisting the "adoptive Congo owner" in every step of the relationship with their new bird.
IS IT TRUE THAT CONGO AFRICAN GREY PARROTS TEND TO BE INSECURE?
The Congo African Grey Parrot is a cautious sensitive and intelligent bird. A healthy and well managed Congo is a non aggressive and laid back bird. These wonderful qualities can make the species particularly vulnerable to the effects of poor hand raising techniques, poor socialization and inadequate weaning techniques. If the bird has not been properly socialized, fully fledged and weaned he may show a tendency toward insecure behavior. It is my experience that the Congo that has had the benefit of extended time in the nest of the parent birds will be more secure and easier to work with. Co-parenting the Congo for at least 5 up to 7 weeks is ideal, before removing him from the nest of the parent birds for hand raising. It is important that you seek to acquire a bird that has had the benefit of abundance weaning, fledging and intensive, loving, socialization.
Does the African Grey tend to bite more frequently than other birds?
Every parrot will bite at one time or another. Anyone who tells you differently is not being honest. Biting in our captive companion parrots is an unfortunate "fallout" of the fact that we humans tend to be impatient and or insensitive to the more subtle cues our birds are giving us. In essence, when we ignore sublte cues, we force the bird to escalate his attempt to get us to "listen" through biting.
Aggressive biting is a learned behavior. We humans teach or parrots to bite us when we ignore the more subtle cues they are giving us. Parrots in the wild have NOT been observed to use biting as a communication or form of aggression with the exception of a few reports of birds squabbling over nesting sites.
The healthy, well adjusted Congo is a nonaggressive bird. These birds would much rather retreat than fight.
If a Congo is pushed to aggressively bite, it would be typical for the bird to bite once with a quick "pinch like"strike and then quickly retreat. Unlike other types of more aggressive parrots that attack with repeated biting, grinding of the beak and ripping, that can produce larger wounds and bruising, the damage to the skin from the bite of a Congo is most often very minimal if at all. You may see an "indentation" in your skin, triangular in shape, where the beak made contact. In my experience the skin is not usually brokenfrom the bite of a Congo, but if it is, it is most often from the sharp point of the upper mandible and the wound is a tiny pinpoint. Other types of more aggressive parrots will cause damage from the lower mandible grinding and ripping. Congos don't attack this way.
Fortunately, biting is one of the easiest vices to correct. It is important that you become educated in what to expect and how to manage your companion parrot’s behavior.
WHAT ARE THE LEARNING CAPABILITIES OF THE CONGO AFRICAN GREY?
It has been said that the Congo has the intelligence of a five year old child, with the emotional development of a two year old. Despite this common analogy it is IMPORTANT for parrot owners to understand that our birds ARE NOT "like" humans. Parrots are birds and behave as birds. They have the abiltiy tolearn complicated and complex behaviors and adapt to a variety of situation given the proper reinforcement.
I HAVE HEARD THAT AFRICAN GREYS (CONGOS IN PARTICULAR) TEND TO BECOME FEATHER PLUCKERS. IS THIS TRUE?
No. Congos are no more likely to develop feather plucking than any other properly raised and managed parrot species.
Feather plucking is a complicated problem with multiple causes and can occur in any species of parrot. It can occur for a number of reasons. It is thought that most feather destructive behavior is initially caused by an environmental or physical health problem rather than an emotional one. If you seek early intervention from a reputable and competent avian vet, hopefully you can intervene effectively before the bird becomes habituated to the behavior.
Some bird will develop a feather mutilation habit as an (inappropriate) response to stress . Congos are sensitive creature. It is extreamly important to ensure that your Congo has been properly hand raised to be secure and confident. It is also important that you (as a responsible parrot owner) learn proper care and management of your parrot. A Congo that has been hand raised to be secure and confident and adopted by a dedicated owner who has been educated in the care and management of his parrot is unlikely to develop stress related feather destructive behaviors.
Our hand raising program produces Congos that are secure and confident. Our dedication to offering you educational guidance will help you insure that your bird does not develop stress related feather plucking.
ARE CONGO AFRICAN GREYS ONE PERSON BIRDS? CAN THEYMAKE GOOD FAMILY PETS?
Once again, proper socialization makes a big difference in how each individual bird adjusts to family life. A bird that has been exposed to a wide variety of family situations as a young chick will make an easier adjustment.
All parrots tend to bond more strongly to one person. Congo’s can readily learn to accept gentle handling from a variety of trusted caregivers. The Congo is capable of changing who he chooses as his "bonded" person. With proper education, you as his caregiver, can maximize your parrot's tolerance of new folks and situations throughout his lifetime.
ISN'T IT TRUE THAT PARROTS ARE DIFFICULT TO LIVE WITH BECAUSE THEIR BEHAVIOR IS SO UNPREDICTABLE?
Parrot do not behave unpredictably. Humans just tend to have a difficult time observing and understanding the subtle cues that parrots communicate with. Our birds are continually sending signals to us as to their state of mind. When we ignore the suble, non aggressive cues that our birds are continually giving, we are inviting our birds to escalate their behavior to cues that are sure to be understood, such as biting.
It is important that parrot owners take the ownership for the relationship with their bird. It is vital that the language of the bird be respected and understood if you seek to have the best possible relationship with the bird. When the parrot owner learns to "read" and respect the signals his bird is communicating, the behavior of the bird will be predictable and more easily managed.
DOES THE CONGO MAKE A GOOD PET FOR A CHILD?
I believe that the Congo is capable of developing a satisfying relationship with all family members mature enough to have realistic expectations and old enough to properly and safely manage the bird.
Most small children are developmentally not ready to take on the responsibility of ownership and managing a parrot. When you commit to owning a parrot, you are making a committment to a companion that will likely live for 30 to 60 years. Many adults cannot keep that kind of committment to their spouses over a lifetime, much less ask a child to keep that kind of committment to a pet!
Parrots often communicate in very sublte ways. If the handler is not highly attentive to and aware of the meanings of the suble cues, the bird can quickly escalate to displaying potentially very dangerous behaviors, such as biting, to get his point across. Most children do not have the required attention span nor are they capable of the focused observation that is required to prevent escalations and protect themselves from harm from the bird.
Children should be closely supervised when handling parrots.
Even if your child is not safe handling your bird, your child can still be encouraged to develop a non physical relatioinship with the bird, such as singing or talking to the bird while the bird is at a safe distance. Many children find great satisfaction in this type of interaction with the family parrot. My small children handle my companion Congos safely and have a good non physical relationship with our three companion Congos because I am closely supervising and my birds are properly managed.
I HAVE HEARD THAT UNWEANED BIRDS SELL FOR LESS. SHOULD I PURCHASE AN UNWEANED BIRD AND HAND FEED SO THAT THE BIRD WILL DEVELOP A STRONG BOND TO ME?
It is absolutely not true that you need to wean a bird yourself to develop a strong bond with him! In fact we at Exquisite Exotics Aviary strongly advise against the practice of inexperienced people purchasing unweaned chicks. Yes, you can ususally purchase an unweaned/partially weaned bird for less money, but you may well end up with a problem bird, an ill bird, or worse, a dead bird. The weaning process is very time consuming, complicated and takes a lot of energy to properly execute. A breeder that is not interested in fully weaning a bird (and is offering an unweaned bird to anyone other than a trusted expert) is likely looking to "unload" a responsibility in an effort to make his/her breeding operation more cost effective. Contrary to what these people tell you, it is not a simple and easy process to responsibly wean a parrot. You cannot possibly learn all there is to know about properly finishing the weaning process in one or two short visits to a breeder. It is well worth the extra expense to leave the weaning to the experts. This is one of the most vulnerable phases in the life of a bird. Many things can go wrong. It is difficult for a novice to notice the subtle signs of illness or injury till it is too late. Many unweaned babies have suffered and perished in the hands of well meaning inexperienced hand feeders. A baby that has been well socialized and abundantly weaned in the hands of a devoted expert will have the best pet potential.. He will readily bond to his new family.
