dobey66
Just Hatched
Joined: March 2015
Posts: 2
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Post by dobey66 on Mar 23, 2015 17:38:57 GMT -7
hello all, I have a beautiful male congo african grey parrot named Neeko. He is now 23 years old. I have had him since he was 8 weeks old. I raised him with my two children who are now adults. What an amazing bird who thinks he is more human than parrot. love him so much. Just curious about other owners and what their experience has been in life expectancy of their birds? I have researched alex the african grey and he lived to only 31 I believe. I just wondered if this was average considering Dr. Irene Pepperberg must of given him the best foods and care money could provide. Thanks Karen
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xan2482
Weaned Todd
Joined: January 2015
Posts: 42
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Post by xan2482 on Mar 23, 2015 18:33:56 GMT -7
Hello,
My name is Xan Schniederjans. I have a male Congo African grey parrot named Tecumseh. He is 12 years old. I to am fascinated with Alex the parrot as well. I believe that the average age for African Grey parrots is 40 years old. Neeko seems to be a nice and intelligent parrot. I'm curious, does Neeko have a favorite word when he talks?
Xan
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Post by Thomas on Mar 23, 2015 20:56:28 GMT -7
I think it depends a lot on environment, i.e. the air they breathe. When my Manfred,(a Timneh) died at age 26, the vet who was trying to save him said that Greys have low humidity in their natural home in Africa. She also said that African Greys in the Pacific Northwest(Portland) may have respiratory problems as they age due to the wet climate. She said she rarely sees Grays over the age of 20. But I have also heard of greys living a long life, over 40, in Great Britain which does have high humidity. In any case, just give them a good diet, let them exercise and a lot of love, and they can be companions for many years.
Thomas
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Post by Haz on Mar 24, 2015 11:34:19 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum.
When people talk about life expectancy, whether in humans or animals, genetics and environment play big roles.
I had a seemingly healthy grey who suddenly died at the age of three. He was well fed and cared for. The tests the vet ran could find no reason why he died. The final conclusion was that he must have had a birth defect.
We have members with happy and healthy birds in their twenties.
Bird websites say that the average life expectancy of greys is 50 years.
We had a remarkable wild-caught grey on our forum who was fed a really bad diet and was never let out of his cage until he was adopted by one of our moderators. He subsisted on a mainly sunflower diet for over 40 years until he went to live with Lenke. Her vet says he was around 60 when he died. He obviously had really good genes!
That being said, all we can do for our grey babies is to love them, feed them well, and let them have as happy a life as we can give them for as long as possible.
Haz
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Post by Adele on Mar 30, 2015 15:21:53 GMT -7
I have a 10 and 30 year old grey. The last vet check showed that the 30 year old is not doing great with her health, but she's had a tough life. Also, I am not certain of her age. When I asked her previous owner, he said he wasn't certain either and only knows that she is at least 30, but maybe quite a bit older.
The 10-year old is just as active as ever and does not appear to be slowing down in the least.
I heard that Greys can live 50 - 80 years, but I know of very few cases with them over 40 and only one (the previous moderator) with a Grey over 50. We'll have to wait and hope for the best.
Dobey66, I would love to hear more stories about Neeko. That is amazing that you've had him for so many years. I've had Manzi since he was a baby and hope to have him for the rest of my life (I even made a will for him).
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Post by Jane on Mar 31, 2015 4:11:43 GMT -7
Mine are 23 and 21 now.
There was one in a sanctuary here in its 70s. It still made the sounds of bombs dropping on London during the Second World War.
I once saw a 42 year old on TV having a cataract operation.
Aside from African Greys, I read an article in the paper recently about an Amazon that has died aged 65. He was buried next to his owner who died 9 years ago.
Jane
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Post by Thomas on Mar 31, 2015 15:17:49 GMT -7
Years ago when I lived in San Francisco, a realtor friend of a friend had an old house for sale. The sale included an old cockatoo, supposedly in it's 80's. They didn't want to move the bird from the house for fear it wouldn't do well being moved from the place it had lived for decades. Pretty tough to verify, once they get that old.
Thomas
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LeLune
Just Hatched
Hello all!!! I am finally home!!! trying to settle in with my new family.
Joined: July 2014
Posts: 3
Pets: Congo African Grey
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Post by LeLune on Apr 1, 2015 8:59:14 GMT -7
Wow, reading everyone's forum sure makes me a noob, Any way, you really do have to start from the beginning, I will be picking up our baby African grey this Saturday!!! We are very excited to add Lelune to our family. Anyone having any suggestions or tips is surely appreciated. Thanks.  |
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smokeybird7
Weaned Todd
Joined: August 2013
Posts: 50
Pets: Amy a Blue Front and Jonesie a Goffins
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Post by smokeybird7 on Apr 23, 2015 21:15:18 GMT -7
Welcome to our family of Greys! My Timneh Grey Smokey,passed away last week at the age of 27. She was a wild caught bird,and her doctor said she was about 6 months old when I first brought her in for her first check up. When I took her in when she was ill, she was in very bad shape the doc said. She passed away while having blood drawn...she stopped breathing and her heart stopped. They could not revive her. According to her x rays,the Doctor said she had an enlarged heart and liver. According to the Doc,Greys are notorious for masking their illnesses,untill it is too late. The Doc also said Greys are known to have respretory problems along with heart conditions. More common with timnehs than Congo's. I have read that Greys can live between 50 to 80 years. She ate a good diet,lots of veggies and fruit. Love pineapple chunks,you could see her eyes light up when she was munching away.She also liked chicken bones and eating corn off the cob. Banana's were yummy to her and she also liked human food,pasta <pizza> and ritz crackers.breaking the two pieces and chowing down on either the peanut butter or cheese! Also liked scrambled eggs. Everything had to be warmed up though!! I loved her deeply,and miss her so much,even my 'zon misses her. I jst adopted a Goffin's 'Too and he is 21 y.o. and is soooo sweet. However,my heart belongs to Greys. Again,welcome to the forum and good luck with Neeko :-)
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