The AFRICAN GREY, Sterkloop Tackle en Petshop's bird of the month, is a very popular pet that will need a lot of your time, attention, friendship and care.

Before you buy:

Make sure you have enough time available to give quality attention to your African Grey.
Make sure you have the right place to put its cage.
Buy a big enough cage with enough toys.
Get the correct food for your bird.
Do enough research about your pet.

Care :

Good advice is to control its time outside.  The sun gives vitamin D to the bird which it  needs for the creation of calsium in its bones.  Too much sunlight though can be damaging to the bird.

Use a vitamin powder it in its water or soft food.  Remember that the bird then won't need the sun.

Together with the sunlight, make sure that it receives enough fresh air. Its lungs are very small and the smoke of cigarettes, candles, fire, gas warmers as well as air fresheners, household cleansers and dust are damaging to the bird.

Make sure that you put the cage in a safe place when outside and that a part of it is in the shade so that it will not be too hot for the bird.   It is a good idea to give it a spray bath on a hot day.

Take your bird  to the vet for annual checkups, de-worming, wing and toe-nail clips.

Food :

A balanced diet consisting of  3-5 peanuts per day, boiled yellow mealies, raw sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, raw pumpkin, raw green beans, fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds like nuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds in small quantities are a necessity.  The wrong food can give it bad health, hyper activity, persistent scratching and a bad temper.

What not to feed:

Don't feed your African Grey old porridge, too ripe old and rotten fruit, lettuce, avocado, salt, sugar and alcohol.

First learn how to feed your bird and make sure you will be able to take care of it before you buy an African Grey as a pet.

Teach it to talk:

Teach it a word or phrase for about 15 minutes, two times a day by repetition.  

When the word or phrase has been learned, start with a new one.  It will help if you assist each word or phrase with actions to associate it with.  For example:  if you learn your bird to say “hello” always enter the room with a “hello” and “bye-bye” when you leave the room.  Always accentuate the vowels  and pronounce the word well.

Don't speak to the bird all the time because it will then take longer to say its first word.  It will first possibly shout back at you, but as any baby, it just wants to get used to its surroundings.

Species:

The Congo African Grey is usually the most popular.  It is a big bird with light grey feathers, a dark red tail and a black beak.

The Timneh African Grey is a dark charcoal grey with a maroon tail and light beak.

The Ghana African Grey is not so well known and is very similar to the Congo African Grey.  It is only a little smaller and darker.

Sterkloop Tackle and Petshop has new arrival African Grey chicks in stock. Call them on 015 295 8180