Why African Grey parrots are good pets

There is a reason why African Grey parrots are so popular, and it has something to do with the fact that they are extremely intelligent and charming birds who can prove to be a great uplifting companion through one’s life.

There are in fact two species of African Grey, there’s the Congo Grey and the less common Timneh Grey which actually starts talking earlier. Regardless of their exact species, the average size of an African Grey is of about twelve to thirteen inches and they can live anywhere from forty to sixty years, so unless you get one when you’re young it is highly possible that your parrot will outlive you.

The African Grey has a very sunny disposition and is a very sociable species, and scientists also consider them to be the most intelligent of the parrot species because some of them have been shown to recognize and associate words with numbers, objects and shapes, and this is something that was thought to be restricted to dolphins, chimps and of course humans.
Part of this conclusion also comes from the fact that they are innately capable of imitating a varied array of sounds that surround them, from the songs of other birds if that’s what they’re exposed to, to other more urban sounds like doorbells, microwave dings, meows, barks, and of course words.

In order to have a healthy and happy parrot you need to make sure that they have a comfortable and large enough cage where they can spread their wings without problems as well have some parrot toys in there so that they can play with when they can’t interact with you like those plastic rings that you can hang from the top of the cage because they love to bite, cling and climb on those right. That is another crucial part of taking care of your African Grey, being sociable creatures you need to talk to them, it is considered that African Greys have the intelligence of a three year old human, but you should be careful which words you use, because they analyze all the sounds that they hear and if you tend to use certain words more often they will start imitating them. Of course you can turn this into an advantage by teaching your parrot to say your address or phone number in case it ever escapes.

As far as their diet goes, African Greys eat what would be considered “parrot food”, as in seeds and pellets, but they also eat fruit and vegetables, so combining dry food with fresh fruits and vegetables is a must in order to keep your parrot healthy and well fed, because just like humans there’s nothing like getting your vitamins and minerals from fresh fruit and vegetables.

Just like any other parrot species they are very sensitive to sources of stress and discomfort, and if they’re not feeling well they will start to pluck out their feathers. If this happens it means that their owner must take some drastic measures in order to not lose their winged companion.