The vast majority of people who, after careful consideration and much research, decided to buy an African Grey Parrot prefer to rear a young bird rather than an adult bird. They want to experience the joy of seeing their baby grow and evolve. Moreover, as they will control all the factors that may influence personality, behaviour and vocabulary of their favourites.
A young Grey can be bought/adopted from some reputable place (pet store or breeder). To develop confidence and gregarious habits, the young Grey must be properly raised and socialized during the period where it is fed by hand.
It must be ensured that the young Grey is properly weaned before bring them down into his family home.
It must be able to feed by himself at all times, which usually happens between the tenth and twelfth week.
There is no significant difference in the length of the period of adaptation to its new location depending on the age at which the birds are transferred to a new owner. Even an older grey can be adopted well but it takes some time to get him familiarize with you and your environment.
Proper weaning is very important before buying a African Grey Young if someone is buy for the first experience.
The weaning period is a critical stage of development of young parrots and especially for Grey. Their nutritional needs and emotional beings have fully filled for him to develop fully on both fronts. Young Grey exhibit different behaviours that are unique to their species. They balance their head when they are excited. This behaviour is variable in time and becomes less frequent after the first year. Also, it drops on the side in the bottom of the cage and scrapes the bottom of the cage with one leg like a chicken.
Many young African Grey Parrots may fall from their perch several times a day. To avoid this problem it is necessary to avoid cutting too short claws. It is also a good idea to leave a towel in the bottom of the cage to prevent injuries, especially in the case of new arrivals. A rope can also be used as perch to give him more chances.
