Should I buy TWO African Grey PARROTS??

Question

I want to get a Congo African Grey Male and a Timneh African Grey Female. The only reason I want to get 2 is because I dont want my future african greys to be lonely when im at school during the day....would this prevent the bird from getting bored? and possibly doing neurotic things like plucking?

Answer 1

thats hella stupid!

Answer 2

Bottom line is you don't need two Greys one will take all the time you have.  If you don't have enough time to take care of one getting two will not solve the problem in anyway.  Because if it bonds to you then your the only person or thing they want to be around not some other bird.

Answer 3

As only ONE person has mentioned (which just demonstates the huge number of people who offer advice without actually knowing what they're talking about) - two african greys would not bond with each other.

Congo's and Timnehs are slightly different species, and if you were to get Male/Female pairs of either, or, they would *potentially* bond in terms of a sexual relationship, and where would that leave you? Nowhere - except with a pair of extremely aggressive bonded birds.

Bonded pairs have absolutely no desire to interact with humans and can be downright nasty.

On the other hand - male/male or female/female pairs will be aggressive towards one another (congo or timneh, doesn't matter).

Greys, outside of pair bonding for mating, are not social birds outside of their owners - and even then, they bond to a single person.  This is what makes them a good "solo person" pet, but not so much a "family" parrot (for that, if you wanted a medium-large parrot, you'd need to look towards caiques, conures, senegals, or the largest - umbrellas).

Also, as I've stated before in other threads...  They can be compared (in both intelligence and behavior) to a 2-4 year old toddler.  They can and will throw massive temper tantrums when they don't get what they want (attention, food, etc.) and are notorious for taking their frustrations out by biting... really hard.

I seriously doubt you're *actually* going to go out and buy two african greys.. but something tells me if you do, they'll both end up in foster programs in 5 years or less.

Answer 4

Hi,

Firstly you would have to have a bird dna sexed as breeders can't tell you the s*x.

Secondly two african greys would be jealous of each other and so wouldn't talk and all in all wouldn't make good pets. So really only one will do and no more.

But in order to stop them getting bored then buy them some parrot toys from you local petstore. What i do though with my parrot is leave the radio on when i'm not there so that it thinks that theres a person there with in, and as well it gives him something to listen to.

Answer 5

Depends if the state/country your in lets you. Sure if it does i guess.

Answer 6

DO NOT GET 2. I have 1, and its already hard. she bites really hard when she gets angry. and mine is a female. if your a guy, its better to get a girl, and the other way if your a girl. but i have a girl and i'm a girl, and we get along fine, but she doesn't ADORE me like a guy african grey is suppose to. ANYWAYS. if you get 2, they will show off. in other words, see who could bite your harder. ESPECIALLY the male will show off. its like having children. and, they will pay more attention to each other than you. when your at school, just put some toys in the cage for the bird. my bird goes to sleep whenever i'm not there. she likes to go play with her toy alot. "a destroyed toy, is a loved toy." so if he/she were to have a favorite toy, swap it a little. and sometime, put a little mirror on the other side of the cage. this one time i left my african grey alone with a mirror on the other side, and it kept her occupied until i came back.

so the whole point is, dont get 2. if you want to get 2, you need to take at least 3 hours out of your day for each bird. so, you have to find a way to play with your birds for 6 hours, and if you don't feather pluckng will occur. trust  me on this.

if you really want 2, get the same gender. like female and female, and male and male. but they need to be in seperate cages...

glad i could help!

Answer 7

Greys require alot of time and attention. They require an Avian vet visit once a year also. I would not get two as that means double the time you need to spend with each and vet bills. If you are a young person also you will need to have parents OK. Greys can be loud. They can also bite if your not careful. They can also bite if they feel your not around enough. They Can live 20+years or more also. Some Greys will also not get along with other types. If you get a male and female they might lay eggs which would mean even more birds in your home. Are you ready for that? Greys like any bird Can be neurotic even with tons of attention. Please think long and hard about this. I have seen to many people re-home their birds because they are to loud.they bite,to messy,or they are going to college and can not take bird with them.

Answer 8

Gte the same s*x.

Unless you want to breed them.

But I LOVE AFRICAN GREYS!!!!!!!!!! they talk to you!

Answer 9

first see if they fight or not if not i think they should be fine together

go ahead and try

Answer 10

if you have 2 birds (same species or not) they will bond with each other and not need you for companionship. so if you want attention and affection, stick with 1 and get it a mirror on the wall behind its cage so it has a friend to play with when you are not home.  

Answer 11

Im not a bird expert (in fact I know very little) but Im living with a boyfriend who owns two African Grey parrots.. Im not sure what kind they are, but they have little red tails. He has both a male and a female, and theyre about 35 years old. He adopted them from their previous owner when he passed away. The female is kind to my boyfriend and prefers him, and shes kind to me too, although a little nervous of me because I'm still new. However its very apparent when something doesnt go her way - she will say rude things, and bite at my boyfriends sister in law. She will actually say, "Go back to your own house" lol :)

The male is mean, and because he bites when being handled he unfortunately doesnt get as much attention as the female. As Ive noticed though, if you give 1 something, you HAVE to give the other the same thing as soon as possible, or they'll get upset. Like someone posted, they seem to act like small children.

They dont really interact with one another, but occassionaly they'll chirp and sing back and forth for a few minutes. Sometimes (although not a lot) the male will jump off his cage and try to snuggle up to the female. This is something she doesnt like! And she will squak, screetch and flap her wings until my boyfriend goes in and separates them, so even 2 birds tht have been together for 30 years can dislike one another. Therefore I dont think getting 2 just so they can be friendly is a good idea. The amount they talk to eachother is really little.

Make sure they have lots of toys, and if its possible, leave their cage open if someone else is at home while youre at school. His parrots love nothing more than sliding up and down, upside down and over their cages all day, especially when you take out the spray bottle and give them a bath. :)

Wish I could give you better advice! :)

Answer 12

Not to mention, it would be like any other couple. The female bird would get less attractive, so the male bird would get depressed and bored, causing the female bird to get bitchy, and nag at the male constantly. The male would commit suicide, and then you'd still be left with just one bird.

Answer 13

they'd have s*x, and then you'd have more than 2 and then all of them would outlive you.

Answer 14

If you want them, have the money and time to take care of them, and will love them, then get them.

Answer 15

i loooooove birds!!! but you should only get one so he/she will love you, not the other bird more! i had a quaker parrot, he was soooooo adorable and he was just fine being by himself while me and my fam went to dinner or whatever! he loved me the best out of all my family!

oh and never ever ever give your bird away, because my mom got tired of cleaning my birds cage so she gave him away to my great grandma(a.k.a. crazy cat lady) and not even 2 weeks later my sweet little quaker died of a broken heartT_T(i still think half of the reason is because my g-g is a wacko.)

sorry i know i didnt help much>_<

Answer 16

one is enough trust me mine tells me when to go to bed when to go to work when she is hungry ask questions drives me nuts! but i love the bossy pest!