How to care for a gray parrot, keeping birds at home

The parrot family has many species. All these birds get along well with humans. Grays love attention and are intelligent. They are not picky eaters and do not cause much trouble when kept in an ordinary apartment or house.

Previously, they were considered sacred due to their beautiful plumage, melodious chirping and ability to speak. Already at the beginning of our era they were known in all corners of the globe. The Gray Parrot or Gray Parrot is a popular species, quite large birds with white-gray plumage, with a well-developed ability to copy speech.

Appearance

The bird grows up to 35 cm in length, has a strong beak and yellow eyes. In nature, there are 2 types of them - red-tailed and brown-tailed.

The plumage of the Gray Gray with a red tail is light gray with white streaks. The edge of the feather is whitish, which visually creates the appearance of scales. The paws match the color of the plumage, but the beak is black.

The color of the brown-tailed species is darker, the tail is gray. There is a small yellow or pale pink spot above the beak.

The plumage of these birds is not everyone's cup of tea, but their intelligence and conversational abilities are impressive. With the right approach, their vocabulary can reach up to 1,500 words; parrots are able to recite poetry and sing songs. Breeders claim that the birds understand everything and reciprocate their feelings to their owner. Caring for and maintaining such pets without certain knowledge and skills is a difficult task.

Lifespan

A significant role in the life expectancy of a parrot is played by the correct provision of necessary assistance in case of illnesses and possible injuries.

It depends on complete proper care and safety outside the cage.

In comfortable conditions, the average life expectancy of a Gray Gray is about 25 years. The maximum age of parrots of this species is about 50 years.

Care

This species is not suitable for a novice parrot lover, since the bird requires special treatment. Keeping Grays at home is quite difficult.

The food must be saturated with all necessary vitamins. Grays are more likely than other parrots to be deficient in vitamins A and D.

Keeping a parrot involves purchasing a spacious cage. You can build an aviary. This bird is big and needs space. The gray parrot spends most of its time free, walking around the room or flying from one corner to another. They only need the cage to sleep. A strong house for the bird is chosen, since it constantly tries to leave it. Keeping and feeding birds in a cage should not be permanent.

For complementary feeding you need to purchase 2 containers. One is intended only for dry food, the other for fresh vegetables and fruits. Also do not forget about the drinking bowl.

The bird house is placed near the wall, so the pet feels protected. Choose a place that is dry and warm, without drafts. You cannot place the cage above eye level: this way, a smart bird will imagine itself to be the boss in the house, and problems will arise with its upbringing. The cage should be at the level of the person’s shoulder girdle or head.

Particular attention is paid to the birds' play area. Toys are important for Grays. He develops with them, communicates, and does not let himself get bored.

Everything you need should be here: perches, mirrors, hanging toys, swings. In the absence of the owner, the bird will have fun in its own amusement park and will not get bored. Birds chew various objects out of boredom; for this purpose, tree branches and ropes are placed in the cage, which can be pecked.

This bird is sociable. When buying her, you need to know that she will not sit in a cage, but will happily read the newspaper with her owner, help in the kitchen, tap on the computer keyboard and watch a new movie in the company of her breadwinner. Communication is the main secret of how to care for and maintain a bird.

If you minimize communication with your pet, its psychological health will be upset and behavioral problems will begin. Therefore, busy people who are never at home should not get a parrot. He needs constant attention and care.

Breeding

When ordering a new pet from a catalog, it is impossible to examine each individual and choose the strongest one without error. It is useful to pay attention to how much a chick or adult bird costs. This way you can determine whether a specimen is smuggled or obtained through artificial breeding.

Breeding Jaco, like other representatives of the parrot family, in captivity is a complex, labor-intensive process and indirectly one of the reasons why there is a problem with smuggling and illegal catching. The natural population is currently large. We are not talking about the extinction of the species due to poaching. But birds can get injured and get sick during illegal transportation.

One of the methods of combating poaching is legal breeding.

To obtain offspring, it is necessary to take into account the behavioral characteristics of the species. Representatives of this species choose their own mates. It is better to place several individuals of different sexes, of optimal age, or more precisely, older than 3-5 years, in one cage.

The mating season for birds begins in May and lasts until autumn. Males attract the attention of the female with a unique courtship dance and the originality of their chirping.

To incubate a clutch of eggs, the female will need a special type of perch.

You need to make a shelter out of wood, an imitation of a branch with a hollow, or use a wooden box and pour sawdust into it. Such an improvised nest should be at least 30-60 cm in diameter, from half a meter to one and a half meters in height. The entrance should be no more than 15 cm in diameter.

The structure must be positioned so that it is easy to enter from the cage. After mating games, the female will lay 4-5 eggs and will hatch them for about a month. You should not separate the birds at this time. The male will take care of the female while she incubates the chicks.

During this period, meals should be enriched with foods high in protein. The diet should be varied. It is also better to increase the portions.

The female, when the chicks hatch, will feed them herself, with corn milk. The feeding period lasts about 2 months, and then the female begins to leave the nest. The father also takes on the responsibilities of caring for the offspring, bringing them food, protecting them, and teaching them the most important skills.

Diet

Brown-tailed parrots eat any food for birds; there will be no problems with what to feed the gray parrot. His favorite delicacy is fried sunflower seeds. They add no more than 2.5 tbsp to the food for Grays. l. Sunflower seeds are very high in calories, you should not abuse them. Also, the bird’s diet should include sprouted grains, rich in vitamins and microelements. Gray food can include all types of grains.

The gray parrot has a special love for nuts. They can be fed to Grays in any form. But their number should be strictly limited so that the bird does not become obese. Fresh vegetables and fruits and herbs are added to the diet daily. Once a week you need to give 1 tsp of cottage cheese. It is correct to feed the Gray at the same time. It is important to decide in advance when and what to feed the Gray at home.

The most popular foods for Grays

At the Kakadushka pet store you can choose and buy mixtures from well-known world manufacturers with delivery in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities of Russia. Below are the most popular foods.

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Versele-Laga Prestige Premium African Parrot Mix food for large parrots

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4.95 out of 5,586.00₽ – 5,648.00₽
Premium comprehensive daily diet.

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Padovan GrandMix Pappagalli food for large parrots

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4.85 out of 5 RUB 417.00 – RUB 1,092.00
Healthy, nutritious food for large parrots: gray parrot, amazon, macaw or cockatoo. Optimally suited for a complex daily poultry diet. Italian trading

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Versele-Laga Prestige Parrots food for large parrots

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4.82 out of 5 RUB 397.00 – RUB 4,737.00
Versele-Laga Prestige Parrots food is a premium natural diet. Delivery throughout Russia. We have been working since 2011. We are recommended! High quality

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RIO food for large parrots main diet

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4.07 out of 5 RUB 170.00 – RUB 5,870.00
In the online pet store “Kakadushka” you can buy Rio food for large parrots with a good shelf life, fresh and at affordable prices.

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Fiory food for large parrots Pappagalli

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4.83 out of 5 RUB 415.00 – RUB 1,212.00
At the Kakadushka pet store you can buy food for medium-sized Fiory parrots with a good shelf life. This grain mixture is a complex

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Manitoba food for large parrots

280,00₽ – 767,00₽

Find food for Manitoba large parrots here. Country of origin: Italy. This premium balanced grain diet is suitable for

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• Versele-laga. A Belgian brand whose quality has been tested by time. Versele-Laga for Grays offers a choice of two options: the all-natural food Prestige Parrots and a low-fat mixture, but enriched with additional granules with vitamins and minerals - Premium African Parrot. This brand also offers fully granular formulations for large birds in the NutriBird series.
• Italian brand Padovan. GrandMix Pappagalli food is presented in two packages that differ only in weight: 600 grams and 2 kilograms.
• Italian Fiory blends. The food of this Italian brand is not divided into types of parrots. Among Fiory you will find only Pappagalli mixture for large parrots, based on 11 different grains. The composition includes pumpkin seeds, which contain vitamins A, C, B, useful for parrots, as well as calcium and phosphorus. The food is presented in two packages of different weights - 700 grams each and a large package of 2100 grams. In both options, in addition to the cardboard packaging, the mixture itself is placed in a vacuum bag for greater safety.
• German line Vitakraft. If we consider a grain mixture recommended specifically as a mixture for an African parrot, then pay attention to Vitakraft African, the peculiarity of which is the addition of unusual components to the mixture: dates, figs, carob and acacia flowers. A mixture for real gourmets.
• RIO. A Russian manufacturer produces one type of food for large birds with the image of Gray and Amazon on the packaging. Bird lovers appreciate it for its affordable price and rich composition. Unusual ingredients in the mixture include dried rowan (a source of vitamins C and provitamin A) and algae. RIO also includes calcium gluconate granules in all mixtures.
• Manitoba. A new product on the Russian market, but known in Europe for decades. This is a premium blend with a rich composition of ingredients. Available in two weights: 800 g and 2 kg.

Common diseases

Aspergillosis in birds is quite common. The appearance of this disease is provoked by fungi, which can also be found in human homes. They are not scary for a healthy bird with a strong immune system, but if it weakens, a fungal infection will enter the body.

Symptoms of aspergillosis in a gray parrot:

• wheezing in the sternum at rest;
• wheezing;
• blue discoloration of the periocular circle;
• poor appetite;
• digestive problems;
• lethargy.

Often the owner determines the appearance of the disease in the final stages, when treatment is useless. Therefore, for preventive purposes, it is recommended to show your pet to a specialist once a year. This is an important point in the process of caring for and maintaining African Gray parrots.

To prevent the disease, the following is necessary:

1. Compliance with all hygiene standards:

• regularly clean your pet’s cage;
• throw away any leftover food;
• change water for gray parrots several times a day;
• ventilate the room;
• Wash the feeder and drinker thoroughly.

1. Control your diet. The bird must receive sufficient quantities of all the substances it needs.
2. Long sleep. The bird should fall asleep at the same time every day. The care of the gray parrot at this time should be special.

Aspergillosis is quite difficult to treat. Therefore, it is better to prevent its occurrence and remember that the main symptom of aspergillosis in Gray Grays is difficulty breathing and lethargy.

Self-plucking

At home, gray parrots can pull out their feathers. This does not happen to them in their natural habitat. Errors in the maintenance of the gray parrot have an impact. Experts name 2 reasons for the appearance of this condition: improper care and depression.

Violation of the condition of the bird is accompanied by other symptoms:

• fading of plumage;
• decreased interest in games;
• labored breathing;
• arrogance.

All these signs indicate the onset of depression. The owner urgently needs to pay attention to his pet and find out how to properly care for the brown-tailed gray parrot. Talk to him more often, do household chores together, engage him in puzzles for parrots and other games, buy different toys for your parrot.

About drinking water

If a Gray's diet contains a large amount of dry food (cereal mixtures, nuts, seeds), then he simply needs a sufficient amount of water to enter his body. When a parrot eats juicy fruits, it will drink little.

In any case, drinking water must be kept in the cage at all times. If it is not possible to filter water for your parrot using special devices, then at least try to defend it. This will take at least a day.

Grays can be given mineral water, but without gas. To ensure the required amount of mineral salts in the bird’s body, add special substances to the liquid, for example, Gamavit, which is sold at a veterinary pharmacy. Do not give your parrot too cold or hot water. The approximate temperature of drinking water should be 20-25 degrees above zero.

Water treatments

Grays love to splash around in warm water. But not everyone knows how and how much to bathe a parrot. Often he does not refuse water procedures, but in captivity there are individuals that are afraid of water. Then the owner has the problem of how to bathe a timid pet.

They accustom them to water unobtrusively, showing affection and patience. To begin with, just put a bathing suit with warm water in the cage. You can throw a nut or parrot toys into it to interest the bird.

Spraying her with water from a spray bottle will also give her a lot of pleasure. This procedure will remind you of the instincts inherent in nature - about swimming in the rain. Gray parrots prefer to bathe in the shower. First, make the stream of water weak, accustoming the pet to washing. There are several more ways to bathe a gray gray parrot.

You can periodically open the tap in the bathroom and observe how your pet reacts. The sound of water will attract him, he will try to wet his feathers in the warm liquid. You can also add wet greenery, grass, and leaves to the cage. In nature, parrots bathe in dew.

The bird chooses its leader

Don't forget that the cage should not stand on the aisle or be exposed to a draft. Location is very important to create a comfortable environment.

Having become acquainted with his new home, the Gray Gray will very soon remember everyone who lives here. Now you can communicate and talk with your parrot more often. He will choose a leader among family members. Usually the one who pays more attention to him becomes the authority.

Some sources claim that the Gray Gray loves solitude, but in fact this is not the case. In the wild, parrots are accustomed to living in flocks. Therefore, they are accustomed to noise and din. And even if the bird was born in captivity, instincts still take over. So if you do not have the opportunity to devote a lot of time to your pet, it will be useful to find companions for it. Sometimes his own reflection in the mirror can keep him company. For safety reasons, it must be metal.

Visiting or visiting the veterinarian

To go outside, the owner must have a carrier for the parrot. It does not allow the bird to fly away; the bird feels protected in the house.

A travel cage for large parrots should be made of soft, non-traumatic materials. A parrot carrier made of wicker or plastic is ideal for both short walks and travel.

If there is no such device in the house, and you need to leave the house urgently, you can use a cardboard box as a carrier and temporary home for your gray Gray. A container without foreign odors will do. It is necessary to make a ventilation hole in it, and cover the bottom with fabric.

Vegetarian inclinations are welcome

It is enough to give up to three tablespoons of grain mixture per day. Milk corn on the cob can be used as a nutrient supplement. You can prepare them for the winter by putting 40-50 in the freezer. This will be enough for the whole winter. Before use, be sure to keep the cob warm until completely defrosted and warmed to room temperature.

Grays also get the required amount of protein from grain mixtures. Here in first place is canary seed, which contains the most protein in its composition - 17%. Sunflower has a little less – 16%. Corn, oats and millet contain no more than 11% protein.

Gray parrots should not eat too much animal protein. Otherwise, it may develop an abnormally large beak or claws. From products containing animal protein, Grays can be given boiled eggs, cottage cheese and hard cheeses. Meat and fish are excluded, especially products made from them.

Communication with your pet

Keeping and caring for a gray African parrot are based on building relationships. This bird has a character, and it is not easy to deal with it. In addition to worrying about what to feed the naughty Gray, you need to build a line of behavior with him. The chick is immediately accustomed to the cage. Playing around is only allowed in this place with toys purchased specifically for a small gray parrot. If this is not done, everything in the house will be damaged: wiring, furniture, books. You cannot give the bird freedom and consider himself the master of the house, otherwise he will begin to raise the breadwinner with his beak. Such actions are stopped by sending the bird into a cage for a while.

Careful care, feeding of the gray gray parrot and its maintenance at home can be done by experienced poultry farmers. The most difficult thing in this matter is to build the right line of behavior with your pet. The bird must be constantly occupied, otherwise problems will arise. Keeping a parrot can be entrusted to people who have patience and love for these birds. Patience and care will bear fruit - the owner will receive a smart, interesting friend for many years.

Education and training

How to teach a Jaco parrot to talk is a natural question, because this is one of the most capable species of onomatopoeia. It does not really matter whether the acquisition was a female or a male, several individuals or one. The ability to perform onomatopoeia does not depend on these parameters.

These birds can always be taught to speak, except in extremely rare cases. You need to start learning by choosing a special time and creating suitable conditions. You should only exercise when the pet is calm and no one will distract you.

If there are several birds in the house, each individual must be dealt with separately.

To begin with, it is advisable to learn the simplest words and sounds. Birds are remembered more quickly from the vowels “a” and “o”. Of the consonants, these birds are quicker to remember the letters “p”, “t”, “r”, “k”.

You can use audio recordings or talk with your ward, come up with a name for him with these letters, trying to develop the ability to onomatopoeia, and teach him to speak. Conversation is the most popular method, as there is a prospect of finding a key, an approach, and understanding how to teach Jaco to speak specific phrases at the right moment, reacting to surrounding events.

Audio recordings are less popular, but these birds themselves often begin to learn words from songs often heard on the radio, repeat them to the music and even dance.

What to name a parrot

Choosing a name for a future pet should always be taken responsibly

Names for boys

There are many options for nicknames for male parrots. You can use your own imagination or choose the following:

• Alex.
• Diamond
• Alf.
• Amur.
• Archik.
• Bert.
• The battle.
• Boss.
• Bruce.
• Zipper.
• Vinnie.
• Gosh.
• Grandee.
• Danko.
• Dandy.
• Joe.
• Erosh.
• Jacques.
• Zenith.
• Marshmallow.
• Jiri.
• Charles.
• Kane.
• Makar.
• Nick.
• Okar.
• Patrick.
• Roger.
• Typhoon.
• Felix.
• Charlie.
• Elon.
• Yasha.

Names for girls

When choosing a nickname for a girl, you can focus on the characteristics of her appearance and character, or use the list of suggested ones:

• Adele.
• Assol.
• Beauty.
• Venus.
• Vita
• Wally.
• Gressi.
• Jerry.
• Dune.
• Geri.
• Zara.
• Inza.
• Kiwi.
• Button.
• Lada.
• Like.
• Monica.
• Nancy.
• Ollie.
• Pike.
• Roni.
• Sandra.
• Ulli.
• Flory.
• Holly.
• Chang's.
• Chucha.
• Sheri.