It is often the children who fall for the idea of having a pet bird first and the African Grey is one of the main choices because of their ability to talk.
However no child should ever be wholly responsible for looking after a pet like a parrot.
Children under 9 or 10 years old should not really be given a bird of their own.
A lot depends on the nature of the bird and the ability of the child, who wants the bird, to handle and look after it.
A parrot cannot be a passing fancy.
They live for 60 or 70 years and some even longer than that so taking one on is a life time commitment.
A commitment that shouldn't be taken lightly.
Children should not be left alone with a parrot especially if the bird is out of the cage.
If your child is really keen on having a parrot as a pet encourage them to take on some of the basic chores like cleaning the cage and perches and feeding them at forage time, between 6 and 9 in the morning and 4 and 6 in the evening.
This should also be done under adult supervision as young kids may tend to overfeed the bird.
Many children have happy and rewarding relationships with their parrots and particularly the African Grey teaching them to talk, do tricks with them and play games.
Fostering a good relationship with your bird takes time and children who really want to have a bird as a pet need to be encouraged to spend the time with the bird.
However no child should ever be wholly responsible for looking after a pet like a parrot.
Children under 9 or 10 years old should not really be given a bird of their own.
A lot depends on the nature of the bird and the ability of the child, who wants the bird, to handle and look after it.
A parrot cannot be a passing fancy.
They live for 60 or 70 years and some even longer than that so taking one on is a life time commitment.
A commitment that shouldn't be taken lightly.
Children should not be left alone with a parrot especially if the bird is out of the cage.
If your child is really keen on having a parrot as a pet encourage them to take on some of the basic chores like cleaning the cage and perches and feeding them at forage time, between 6 and 9 in the morning and 4 and 6 in the evening.
This should also be done under adult supervision as young kids may tend to overfeed the bird.
Many children have happy and rewarding relationships with their parrots and particularly the African Grey teaching them to talk, do tricks with them and play games.
Fostering a good relationship with your bird takes time and children who really want to have a bird as a pet need to be encouraged to spend the time with the bird.