by Macaw on March 10, 2010
<
The African Grey is the most popular talking parrot, made famous in part by Einstein, the well known talking parrot. If you are thinking of keeping a parrot as a pet, you might want to consider an African Grey. They mimic sounds better than the other species, and are considered more intelligent. They can live up to 65 years of age, so you have plenty of time to teach it new words or sounds as they become your lifelong companion.
The African Grey is a social bird that needs a fair amount of interaction with humans to stay emotionally healthy. You should place the cage in the area of your house where there is human activity or interaction, like the living room or the dining room. Let the bird out of its cage and be handled by different people so that it will get used to being with humans and not be wary of them or be timid.
When not in the company of humans, provide your bird with a variety of toys to stimulate itself with. Purchase only toys from reliable brands that are safe from any lead content, because the bird does a lot of biting. You don’t want any toxic material to get into the bird’s system and harm its health and its ability to talk and sing. Use also natural wood perches for the bird to bite and chew. You will need a large cage for the bird’s comfort and movement, so be generous when you purchase one. There are plenty of models and sizes to choose from at the pet store, so consider the space that you have in the house or apartment, and choose the best that suits you and your bird’s needs.
The diet plan for an African Grey is fairly simple. Give your parrot a daily offering of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the usual pellets and seeds from the pet shop. Avoid giving your bird processed, fat-laden food such as cakes, pies, or chocolate. And give it a constant supply of water.
Bathe your bird frequently for good hygiene and look out for signs of diseases or feather plucking. Join an African Grey owners club if there’s one in your area, or if not, on the internet and share experiences. You will find a lot of help and tips from like-minded individuals. But do find out the nearest veterinarian and take your bird there for a yearly check-up.
By: Azmi Adnan
About the Author:
Azmi Adnan is a writer and a bird enthusiast. Subscribe to his newsletter for fresh video clips on
parrots and other bird species, ezines and interesting bird stories at his website
http://www.power-to-live.com/parrot.html
How To Shoot Handguns Accurately
by Macaw on March 10, 2010
<
African Grey parrots have been popular pets since the time of King Henry VIII of England. Because of its ability to speak, more and more affluent families adopted the possession of this parrot.
Today, countless of such parrots are being hand reared by various breeders for because they are amazing and loving companions not to mention one of the in demand species in different pet trades for possessing high intelligence.
Despite its superb characteristics, these parrots are not suitable for all environments-especially those with children-because they can be strong, they can bite using their pointed beak, and they can scratch with their daunting claws.
If you are planning to buy an African Grey parrot or planning to have one, it is a must that you know almost everything about this specific type of parrot so you would know what to expect.
African Grey Parrot Basics
Considered as the best mimics of all parrots, these parrots are known for causing people to place a lot expectation on their eventual performance because of their phenomenal gift of speech, for their problem solving and reasoning skills and their ability to understand the human language.
Although they are considered as one of the superior types of parrots there are, they are the most neurotic, temperamental, nippy, and one of the shyest parrot species.
Usually, these parrots are medium-sized parrots native to Africa. Primarily grey with accents of white area around the eye, they are also famous for their red or maroon tail. Basically, there are two subspecies: the Congo-which are about 12 inches to 30cm long, with light grey feathers, deep red tails and black beaks-and the Timneh race-which are smaller, have a darker charcoal gray color, a darker maroon tail, with a horn colored beak. Today, there is also known a third and fourth sub specie-the Ghana that is similar to the Congo but darker and smaller and the Cameroon or the “big silvers.”
Determining the sex of an parrot will sorely depend on their physical traits: males are generally bigger in size, round eyes, have a flatter and broader head while females have longer and slender neck, small rounded head and elliptical eyes.
These relatively quiet parrots have an average lifespan of 50 to 65 years and are known to feed primarily on nuts and fruits, usually supplemented by vegetables. These birds are known for having a tendency to pluck their feathers if they get bored and tend to bond to only one person if they are not used to interacting with different people on a regular basis.
Like any pet parrot, these parrots require a large commitment and dedication. If you’re planning to buy one, African Grey parrot prices ranges from $ 750 to $1000 in the market today.
By: Low Jeremy
About the Author:
Low Jeremy has been a hobbyist writer for a number of years now. During this free time, he contributes informative articles on various topics like health, electronics and product reviews for websites. Visit his latest contribution over at
http://www.drumlampshades.org where he reviewed different types of
drum lamp shades and other lamp accessories.
Tax Liens – Tax Deed Investing
by Macaw on March 9, 2010
<
Training your African Grey can be an enjoyable interaction for both you and your bird. As with training any animal there are several thing you can do to make the whole ordeal easier for you and your feathered companion.
Since parrots, by nature, love to have fun and interact with their surroundings this make them highly susceptible to training. The key is to combine their two favorite things; food and interaction; this will make a great equation for training success.
Here’s a simple way to start training your Grey, for this lesson you will need a helper. Get your volunteer and the bird together in the same room. Now get an item such as an apple. We’re going to teach your parrot to say “apple”.
First turn to you helper and say “apple” have them repeat the word but mess up on the first try. Have them say “App” you say no “Apple”. The student then says apple and receives the treat. Now turn to you African Grey and repeat the process. If the bird is reluctant to say the word, just turn to the student and do the same thing over. Pretty soon the grey will be overcome with jealousy and have no choice but to utter the word so he can receive the reward.
This is a very effective method to teach your African Grey Parrot new words. This method works because the bird sees exactly what you want, and what the reward is.
I hope that this has opened your eyes on different ways you can train your parrot.
To learn more advances techniques that you can use to train a African Grey Parrot go to [http://www.Parrot-training.info] to get the latest training methods.
By: Robert Parr
About the Author:
[http://www.Parrot-training.info]
Iphone Hacks
by Macaw on March 9, 2010
<
There are lots of different ways that you can feed your parrot. Now some of these may require more work than others where as some of them are as easy and grabbing a bag of bird seed and pouring it into their feeder. All of them can be good for your bird, although feeding a variety of parrot foods as opposed to a singular food source (such as seeds) can make achieving a more balanced diet a little easier to achieve.
The simplest way to feed your parrot a balanced diet is to buy some quality parrot food from your local pet supplies store. These come in many different forms that will include additional vitamins and minerals, this means that you will not have to it any additional vitamins to their diet. In fact, you may not know this but adding additional vitamins and minerals can in fact harm your parrot, as it could lead to bad toxic level of the vitamins and minerals in their system .
You should try and choose a seed mix for your parrot that doesn’t allow it to choose one seed or food item, in preference to another as this will provide him with a more balanced diet. Be aware that some food products will claim to be fortified seed mixes, which in theory should be just right for your parrot but this claim is not necessarily true. This assumes that the bird will consume all the seed that is offered instead of choosing just a few of its favourite food items.
One should always try to get parrot food which uses a formulated diet without any addition, fragrances or colours. A lot of parrot owners may worry that this does not provide enough variety for their parrot when in fact, this is not the case. One can easily counter this by providing enough fresh vegetables or fruit, equivalent to the amount that you would normally use with a formulated diet. While fruit and vegetables may not be as energy intensive as the prepared diet (because they are mostly water) they will still be a good addition to your parrot’s diet, and you may notice that your parrot will still eat the same amount of fortified food. This will lead to a more rounded and balanced diet.
Try not to need any high fat foods such as peanuts, or even sunflower seeds. Only use them as an occasional treat as this will reduce the amount of prepared diet food that your parrot would normally eat, which means that it may not receive its balanced diet.
There are many choices that you can make, but If you choose to feed your bird a mixture of fruits and vegetables or even seed mix, you may encounter problems in making sure that that your bird receives it adequate complete diet. Some seeds are deficient in a number of vitamins and minerals and also calcium. While in the short run, you may not encounter any problems in the long run, this could be a different case after a prolonged period of time.
Take the time to consider what parrot food is best the the health and longevity of your parrot.
By: Iziah Shumkel
About the Author:
Iziah Shumkel is webmaster of
www.Bird-Training.com an information packed site where you can learn how to train your bird, get free video tutorials and more. Visit us for free
Parrot Training tips today.
Classic Cars – Muscle Cars – Fast Cars
by Macaw on March 9, 2010
Learning how to teach your parrot not to bite is one of the most important skills for a pet parrot owner. However it takes a lot of time and commitment. Given the right circumstances, parrots can learn a lot of things because they are intelligent birds. Repetition will teach your bird to stop biting and your friends and family will enjoy its presence.
One of the main reasons why parrots behave this way may be that they are being left alone by themselves for far too long. This causes them to become withdrawn and would retaliate when approached. Socialize your parrot by introducing it to your family members, friends and even to your other pets to build confidence of being in the company of others. It is natural instincts for a parrot to cause hurt when it feels that its territory is being threatened by strangers. With adequate time, your bird will settle down and feel at home.
As an alternative, give your parrot a toy to nibble at. If it refuses to let go of your fingers, give it a blow on its face as a sign that you disapproves of the bird biting you. Do this over and over again each time this happens and your pet bird will get the message.
Verbally tell your parrot ‘no’ and place the bird back in its cage as a form of punishment. Cover the cage and leave it alone for some time. The parrot, being an intelligent bird, will sense that it is being disciplined.
Observe your bird’s behaviour. African Grey parrots, especially, are temperamental and if you find that your parrot is moody, leave it alone. Just like humans, there are times when it needs to be by itself and not be forced to learn new tricks. Be sensitive to your bird and the biting can be stopped.
Take your parrot to new surroundings for a change, such as different rooms in the house, the balcony or outside on the lawn. Imagine being at the same location all the time, your parrot will lose it sense of balance. Let it enjoy new company and breathe new air. In adapting to different environments, your parrot will become less defensive and unlikely to protect itself by hurting others.
Lookout for mood changes, frustrations and irritations in your bird and avoid coming close to it when this happens. Let the bird overcome this behaviour with time. When your parrot hurts you on the finger, try not to show any reaction because it may do that again just to see the same reaction from you. Gently remove yourself from the situation. Do not retaliate by shaking the bird.
Repeat your training and be patient. Keeping a pet parrot is a lifelong commitment but it will benefit both you and you bird. Your pet bird will learn to stop biting and you will learn to be patient and build character.
By: Azmi Adnan
About the Author:
