cockatiels and grays

Question
I had a cockatiel form the age of 8-20, he died in a house fire. i have wanted a bird for a while but, my wife had never had a pet before and is afaid of most all animals. talked her looking at cockatiels and she just fell in love with a baby tiel at the pet store.  we've had him for about 8 months now and has been a outstanding pet. says 3 words and whistles  and is loving to the whole familiy. i think he really gets too much attention sometimes. i try to limit it sometimes becuase i think he needs a little time to rest.

first is this a good idea? i find he gets a little demanding if he's out too long.

what is too long for a tiel.

also i have always wanted a African Grey. i would probably keed them in seperat cages next to each other. do you think they would have any problems with each other if i were to get the gray young?  

and most importantly how much time would a gray require? i would probably be the main handler he him/her. there is almost always someone in the house. but, acual time out of the cage would be about 3-4 hours after i get off work? would he/she be ok. for 5-6 hours a day with no one but the tiel as company?

sorry for bing long wind'ed
Glenn


Answer
Hi Glenn,

  Sorry it took me a couple of days to get back with you but I was busy with Christmas holidays. I hope you had happy holidays as well. There was no need to apologize for the length of your question. I truly appreciate bird owners who care as much and who put as much thought as you apparently do in to taking care of their feathered companions.

I do want to tell you that many times when people come here asking my opinion on getting larger birds such as Greys, I have to be honest and tell them that they need to do a lot more thinking and researching or that they simply should not get a big bird. In your case though, I am thinking that yours sounds like nearly the perfect home for a Grey.

 There is not a specified amount of time that any species of bird should be handled or given attention. Each bird is an individual just as we humans are and so they will each tolerate different amounts of handling or dedicated attention. That tolerance may also vary from time to time in an individual bird. My Severe macaw, Polo, sometimes seems to want to be glued to me. He will want to sit on my shoulder or my chair for hours, want me to play with his toys, or want to be scratched and cuddled. This may last for a few days or a few months. He also goes through periods where he is happy for me to come and talk to him for ten minutes or so while I clean up his cage and take care of his food and water, and then he wants to be left alone to do his own thing. We just went for about 5 months of him not wanting to spend much time with me back to his mode of wanting to be everywhere I am. My cockatiels are all different as well. The three I have left (several died of age related problems and one in an accident) have been with me since the day they hatched and were all raised the same. One loves to be held and will sit with me for three or four hours. The other two only want to hang out for an hour or two before they get "cranky" which is their way of letting me know they have had enough. There is no too long for a tiel. Your bird will let you know what is too much. The problem comes when a person spends lots and lots of time with a new bird ( any kind of bird)and then when the newness wears off they stop spending much time with the bird at all. Birds like consistency as much as possible. Events come up in life that will cause changes for brief periods but try to make sure that your birds always have at least 30-45 minutes of individual attention every day.

As for your future Grey? Just make sure he or she has plenty of toys and things to keep him occupied while you are away and the 3-4 hours a day after work should be fine. That's how my birds all live now. You can put their cages close by but never leave a small bird like a teil unsupervised with a big bird. Watch as they grow up and see whether they get along or not. Again, it is an individual thing. Even if they do get along well you want to watch as that big beak can very quickly cause horrible trauma to the little guy in a split second.

 It sounds like you a a great bird companion and are teaching your wife to be as well. Thank you for that and best of luck to you. Be sure to come back if you have any other questions.


Jan