Quaker Parrot or Congo African Grey?

Question

well I've wanted a bird for awhile and now that it is getting close to the time to take the plunge I have it narrowed down to my two favorites. what would you recommend? my concerns with the Quaker is that he might not bond to me as well as I would like, I have a friend with a Quaker and he is a sweet, friendly, active bird but he seems a little disinterested in the people around him. in your experience is it this way with other Quakers? my concerns with the Grey is that I have heard they can be very prone to stress and as I expect to move a few times over the years I am afraid of how The bird might handle this, or anything else that might cause a shy bird stress. I am also afraid that any bird I get may bond to my boyfriend instead of me as I have heard cases of this happening, I expect to be the primary caregiver to the bird, is this likely to happen?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to answer and clear up any misconceptions I may have. ^_^

Answer 1

If you are new to birds, try getting a smaller parrot first. you may be asking for more than what your ready for.

cockatiels and quakers make great first time parrots. a lot of socializing with different people and experiances help to keep a bird well adjusted to new things in its life.

I have a congo african grey, and have owned tiels and quakers too.  A grey makes a great pet if your prepared for it. Its like having a 2yr old that talks back for 50+ years.  My grey is one of the few that ive ever heard of that is "well adjusted"

Since i brought her home at 10 weeks old, she has went everywhere with me and my husband, is played with all day (wings, tail, legs, belly). She absolutly LOVES to go for car rides and to petsmart to pick out her own toys and have loads of attention given to her. she even goes horseback riding with me (in a flight suit of course).  she doesnt stress from new things, moving, or new people because she is used to it. the ones who get stressed are the ones who are treated like gold and kept in their cages without proper stimulation.

EDIT:: find breeders in your area and talk with them. Dont buy birds from pet stores. they are never vaccinated and carry high risk diseases. Breeders will sell for a lot less than a pet store, and give you years of advice and help.

I forgot to mention that some people say timneh greys are more calmer and people friendly than the congo's... IMO its how the birds are raised.

Answer 2

i have both i just got my my grey monday, and my quaker is 2 now. and i have many birds in between. but i would rec. if this is your first to start with the quaker then move bigger. you don't want to get something you soon find out that you cant handle.

good luck

ps either is good just dont jump in all at once

Answer 3

go with the grays, you will find a good relationship with that bird

Answer 4

I have a Quaker, myself, and this is not completely true what you say about them. As with most parrots, they WILL bond the strongest with the person they spend the most time with; and if that is you, then you only have to worry about socializing him well enough with other people so that he does not become so attached to just you, causing problems with your boyfriend.  

For example, if you don't let your boyfriend and other people handle the bird as often as you hold the bird, and AWAY from YOU, then the bird will begin to associate you as his/her mate, and everyone else as intruders/threats to his/her mate, causing the bird to attack or bite or become very stressed around strangers & even those living in your own home.  This is also true with the cage.  Quakers are said to be territorial of their cage, mine is not, but this is a big generalization of the species, as I am sure you're aware.  

To get around this, make sure that you and other people often clean the cage & re-arrange toys, with the bird watching to ensure that he does not agressively protect his territory.  Ensuring that he does not see you or other people near his cage as a threat to his perceieved territory is a good idea.  He might also consider his "territory" to be you or other favored humans.

This is also true about Greys, that they are more sensitive.  I think that so long as you're armed with knowlledge of Parrots and plan carefully for your fid, you will be fine regardless of the species you choose.  I say this because I do NOT believe in species generalizations. It's responsible of you to be reasearching and getting opinions, as you are, instead of reading those species-specific books & articles which can often mislead a caring potential-owner, like yourself.  Unfortunately, I do not own a Grey, so I can't give you any help there.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions about Quakers that I forgot to mention here!

Answer 5

African Grey's are so much better you can tame them quicker and there rarer so if one is stuck in a pet shop with no relationship with a person it will not be Happy and no point of keeping it at a pet shop they should be in the wild and not many peole have them so you can be 1 o a kind and reember there not for special accations there for life the same with all animals  

Answer 6

I don't have a grey, but I have 3 quakers. The quakers aren't really interested in strangers. They love the people who are around them all of the time. Birds who are well sociallized and who are around people all of the time, might behave differently. All of my birds are pretty much just around us. I have one sun conure and one eclectus who will let anyone hold them and play with them.

Our quakers are snuggle bugs. They love to be held and carried around. They have all bonded more to me since I am the primary care giver. They are extremely smart little birds, they have amazing personalities. Quakers are a very easy species to care for, they are very low-maintenence. They do have a strong bond with their owners and a need to be a part of your every day life. Quakers love to be where the action is, they want to be a part of a "flock" which will be you. Quakers since they are so smart, can be very strong-willed and stubborn and try to get things over on their owners. The most important thing to know about owning a quaker is that he needs to know that you are the boss. Pretty much all parrot species stress very easily. Parrots are prey animals so they are always on high alert, and some seem more nervous than others. We are moving right now, and I have 10 pet birds and many breeders. We have been moving little by little to make it as easy on the birds as possible. All of our big furniture is in our new house already. The birds are the last things to go, I am hoping since we have everything in the other house like we want it their won't be any changing around and the birds can get used to it within a few days. You never know who your bird will choose to bond with. Normally it is the person who cares for them the most. Sometimes I have heard that with greys they can bond to the opposite s*x once they sexually mature.