African Grey - Please Help

Question
Jess,

This is going to be kind of long, so please bear with me.  I work in a nursing home in south Alabama.  When I came back from vacation in July, much to my surprise the nursing home had been given a 4 month old African Grey (congo - I think? he/she is grey with a reddish maroon tail and is already at least 9-10inches tall).  Anyway, being the animal lover that I am, I immediately went on line doing research on how exactly I was going to care for this bird.  (Yes I am the main caretaker)  My first fear is of course that the nursing home is not the right environment for him, however there is nothing I can do about this.  I feed him and water him twice a day.  I feed him a Zupreem diet and I bring him fresh fruits and veggies from my house such as bananas, carrots, broccoli, sweet pot., etc.  I take him out of his cage twice a day when I am feeding him and cleaning his cage.  And I carry him to my office and keep him on a perch for about an hour where I can talk to him, play with him and give him treats.  The residents love him and he seems to like being petted (at times)  He has already learned to say hello and imitates several whistles.  He perks up and cackles, calls, whistles, etc. any time I walk into the room where his cage is.  His has a very large cage in the day room where there is also an aviary full of finches.  I have placed signs next to his cage with instructions not to feed him or stick fingers or items into his cage.  I was able to convince my boss to let me take him home on the weekends so that I can continue to give him the care and attention he needs.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me any advice you may have on our unique situation. I am extremely concerned about the welfare of Max (our bird).  He has already won my heart and I am doing the best I know how to care for him.

With Grateful Thanks,
Robyn

Answer
Hi there, it seems like his life wouldn't be very good if you weren't putting such effort into his care. One thing I am concerned about is the danger there is to the residents. Greys like most parrots can give nasty bites and they can do it for not reason, sometimes just for fun! This wouldn't be good if it happened to one of the residents, so that worries me. I'm not sure how you can prevent that from happening as you can't watch them all the time. As I sit here writing this, my own cheeky grey has bitten me about 3 times!Another important thing is that a lot of things are toxic to birds, especially smoke, air fresheners and all cleaning products, the fumes given off by cleaning fluids like bleach can damage birds lungs, and I am sure in a place like a nursing home where hygiene is essential then it could be dangerous for the bird. Really for health and safety reasons a parrot should not be in a nursing home, there are zoonotic diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. I'm not just talking about bird flu but other diseases, if an elderly person were to catch a disease then they might not recover because their immune systems are normally weaker than a younger person. Animals really shouldn't be in nursing homes at all and I am saying that as an animal lover. I know how much they can enrich the lives of the residents but the risks outweigh the benefits, the same as animals aren't allowed in restaurants or in hospitals. A 4 month old grey needs a lot of care and needs to be loved and socialised. He would be far better off in a loving home where he can have lots of one on one attention. I worry that a nursing home would prove too stressful for him, stress and boredom can both lead to illness and behavioural problems like feather plucking. Maybe you could try to discuss the situation with you boss, explaining the risk to the bird and the residents, a grey could easily bite someone's ear or finger off. It may be unlikely but it is possible. I hope this helps, in the meantime keep doing what you are doing and make sure he has lots of toys to play with. Take care