A question for you all

[Tricia Mullins]

Eventually we want to get another bird, we are thinking African Grey. We now (as you know) have a IRN, we were told to stay away from the teils because of my kids allergies (I guess due to their feather dust). So my question(s) are: Do the Greys have a lot of the feather dust? Or are they like my IRN? We have really fell in love with the breed but wanted to start small first, and we are so glad we did. however I really want your opinon on this one, I want to make sure the Greys are a good choice for our family (as we save our money for one). We go camping up north on the weekends in the summer (the whole flock goes lol) & I want to know what kind of a family bird are they? & can they bond with my kids too? How are they around other birds? Fill me in please, or just some pointers. I can read up, but it's just not the same as the owners perspective. Thanks

[NaniOokami]

Do the Greys have a lot of the feather dust?

Yes. Greys have tons of feather dust. I've owned 'Tiels and a Grey, and I can say she is by far the dustiest of all of them. Only thing I'd say they're topped by is a cockatoo.

They generally are not family birds, not saying they can't be, just a generalization. They tend to pick one person and stick with them. Other family members have to be very willing to work through the biting that may occur, and it can hurt quite a bit. (Even not drawing blood, it can feel like you've slammed your finger in a car door.) They tend to be jealous of other people and other birds quite easily. They are very demanding and require a lot of stability in the household for the first years of their life. If you decide to go with a grey, I definitely advise against getting a baby - looking for an older rehome may do better.

However, if the allergies are a problem, I wouldn't go with a Grey. They can be very dusty birds, and even when you mist them, they can seal their feathers so tight that they barely get wet at all and the water just drips off. :)

[Halo]

In my experience the dust is no where near as bad with the grey as it is with the tiel and the toos. I can pick up my grey without turning white, unlike my tiel and toos.

Find one that you can visit so that you can see if the dust irritates your son's allergies.

[guest1717171]

it may take a while for it to bother your kids' allergies though
i have horrible allergies and it took a couple of weeks before chickie baby's dust started to bother me
once a day my eyes sting and water and my nose stuffs up but i just take a couple of benadryl and make sure i take my regular allergy medicine

ive noticed joshua has a lot more boogers too so he's on allergy meds too

so while the dust might not bother your sons allergies at first it may after it accumulates in his system

[Tricia Mullins]

So.....is there a large breed that we could consider with low feather dust (due to kids allergies) & a good family bird?

[Cpip]

how about a pionus? or one of the more docile species of Amazon?

[alwaysontimneh]

I am allergic to some animals dander and dust but my TAG doesn't bother me very much he did at first. My guy is still really young and as of now has not really picked a favorite out of me and my husband sometimes he prefers to go to me and other days he prefers my husband. They are very needy though and like children need routine in their lives.

[NaniOokami]

Eclectus have a special diet, but I've heard they are great as far as allergies go, and are less likely to become one person birds than other species. Perhaps you might want to look into them? :)

[Halo]

Amazon's rock!!! You can get a white fronted amazon and they are quieter and smaller than the larger ones and have a very docile personality. I've also had very good luck with the Mexican Red Heads... they both even adore my children!

[xafsmom]

They do stink though...

Skip the bird, buy a shark!





Ok, maybe not. Pionus are nice birds, Maxi's and Blue-Heads aren't tiny and they're not powder down birds. Ever see a mature Bronze-winged? STUNNING! The only drawback to Pi's is when they bite, they bite. They don't fake you out or do the mock lunge... lol Ok, maybe that's actually a good thing. Other than that, no drawback. Pi's are a perfect 9.