African Grey Congo Parrot names/advice?

brandyII · May 3, 2008

Newest addition to the family comes in June, will be an African Grey Congo Parrot. This will be my daughter's bird but as she's 19 and lives at home still was wondering if anyone had advice on names or advice in general if you're familiar with these birds. It is being hand fed and weaned prior to picking him/her up. She and my husband already went out and bought the new abode and it's much nicer than the one I live in! Anyway feel free to comment especially if you don't feel like discussing lap bands today. I will accept names from those who do not have birds:biggrin:.

My idea was to have an African name because it is an African bird even though it's never been to Africa, maybe that's dumb. My daughter doesn't know I'm doing this and would kill me if she knew!:frown: Thanks brandyII.

We already have two cockatiels and this baby is being raised around dogs which is a good thing since I also have two dogs.

Pix · May 3, 2008

My mom has an African Grey, his name is Woody. THen there is the other two evil huge ass green parrots (no idea what they are I keep forgetting, but they are bigger then woody) and I can't remember there names .. damn .. I knew them when I started typing then as I started typing all I could imagine was running them over and getting revenge for the chunks missing out of my fingers .... Corky and Iris .. that is the names.

brandyII · May 3, 2008

My mom has an African Grey, his name is Woody. THen there is the other two evil huge ass green parrots (no idea what they are I keep forgetting, but they are bigger then woody) and I can't remember there names .. damn .. I knew them when I started typing then as I started typing all I could imagine was running them over and getting revenge for the chunks missing out of my fingers .... Corky and Iris .. that is the names.

That's really funny, I can tell you loooove you some birdies!!! I know it scares me when they can actually bite off your finger. My daughter has already shown concern about my influence on the bird, as in speech and diet. I can't help it if I'm the one who will be around it the most! Thanks for your input brandyII:thumbup:

I've been meaning to say something about your avatar, I get them wrong most of the time but is it a flower or a "sea creature" or could it be both, a flowering sea creature?

Oh and I saw your ticker good luck with your surgery!

Edited May 3, 2008 by brandyII

green · May 3, 2008

Mandela after Nelson Mandela. Or call him Nelson.

Turler · May 3, 2008

I found some on a website. Congolese names are harder to find apparently. But for male: Lamia female: Makemba

Oh my, there are so many, but those are Congo names. I found a site with a whole list of male/females names complete with how to say them and what they mean. Here's the link:

African Names

Birds are cool aren't they? They can be a lot of work, and they get really attached to the one who feeds them and talks to them the most. We had a Ghana Grey named Tieki.

~C

brandyII · May 3, 2008

Turler,

Thanks for the site. I'll check it out. Is a Ghana grey similar to Congo grey? I kind of tried to look at pics but I got a bunch of stamps with parrots on them from Ghana. My daughter says it's another name for African grey so maybe they're the same birds. It should outlive me and I've told her that it's "her" bird, and she does realize if she does end up moving to Japan one day like she says she will that the bird will be going with her. I hope I don't get too attached to it though.

I grew up with parakeets and we would only have one at a time so they would be kind of affectionate but we got two cockatiels at the same time about 10 years ago or more and from what I heard because they mated they were more into each other than to us. We also had a parakeet that is not with us any longer but it was never friendly and always bit me. It wouldn't fly on your finger or anything. I just hope this bird will live up to the expectations she has for it. I guess I worry because we have two other birds that it will be more interested in them than in us. Hopefully I'm wrong but now we have to get an avian vet on top of the vet we normally use for our dogs.

She kind of wants a Japanese name for the bird and it was my idea to go African so maybe she'll bend a bit. It's not like we gave the cockatiels Australian names but still.

Anyway thanks for the site I'll check it out brandyII.

brandyII · May 3, 2008

Green,

Thanks, I was looking up African names and now I'm told she wants a Japanese name. Maybe I'll give it my own personal nickname and she'll never know! brandyII

Pix · May 4, 2008

Naw I love my moms birds, the green ones are rescued so they aren't people friendly. We have been working with them over the years and it is a slow process but they are getting there. One of the original owners mistreated them pretty bad, they have a fear of training gloves bad. So, needless to say my fingers have been bit alot. Not the moms though, they love her .. dang it .. LOL

The Avatar is a flower .. dunno what kind though, just thought it was pretty :biggrin2:

favorite · May 4, 2008

i have a yellow nape Amazon named Holly. these birds are also great talkers just like the african grey. and smart as a whip. when we are eating dinner she will say "i'm a good girl" so that we will give her some of our food. and she knows exactly what she is doing because if she sees a pizza box come into the house she calls out "i'm a good girl". they are great additions to the family. just handle her/him often so it will stay used to your hand and not bite.

LynneB · May 4, 2008

Congrats!! I have a congo grey too. She was hatched on Halloween so we named her Casper. They are great talkers. Just today she told our umbrella 'too to "shut the hell up" & I have only said that 1 time when the kids werent home. Altogether I have 10 birds, Casper, Frosty (the U2), Ariel (b/g macaw) Snow White (Tiel), Jocko (tiel), Kiwi,Spirit,Lucky,and Daisy (all budgies)and Peek-A-Boo (or Gator whichever he feels like answering to who is a quaker) He got the nickname Gator cuz he goes nuts over anything Florida Gators & screams "Go Gators" when he sees anything w/ that logo.

Tell your daughter to be prepared for this bird to possibly not be "her bird" Greys are notorious for being 1 person birds so make sure she spends the most time w/ him/her.

It's really hard to give name ideas cuz after the bird has been home for a few days his personality will give you the perfect name.

Let me know if you need anything, I work for a bird rescue & I know tons about birds & I would love to help you out if you need anything.

Good luck, you are in for a world changing experience w/ this bird, they are like no other & will keep you laughing for hours on end. They are really big comics & very acrobatic so make sure he has tons of toys, especially shredders. But they love to hang & pull off a whole "rescue me" routine that will have you rushing to their aid just for them to jump down & laugh at you. Make sure you post pics when he gets home!

brandyII · May 4, 2008

Wow, if you think about it a rescue parrot is probably more difficult than a rescue dog. Plus they live so long. That's pretty admirable to take on a rescue parrot like that. It's hard to think of people mistreating birds or any animals, they're lucky now though. I don't know why your avatar reminded me of some type of sea creature, but it did. I'm probably just weird! brandyII.

brandyII · May 4, 2008

favorite, that's a pretty funny story about your Amazon. I know my dogs are smart and know what a pizza box is but they don't verbalize like a bird will. It's amazing the sounds that I saw on some website that these birds will mimic better even than speech, I'm kind of looking forward to the experience. The only word that I can tell my male cockatiel says is Jessica!, like he's heard us yell it so many times that it's what he says when she comes home! I guess we're going to have to be careful of what we teach him/her when we get the baby.

LynneB · May 4, 2008

All of my birds are rescues except for the macaw & grey. The other 8 are from the rescue & the are wonderful once they realized I was their forever home, they had been discarded so many times that they all came w/issues. But now they are all loving. The U2 is my only screamer & she has only been w/ me for about 2 months after having 12 homes in 3 yrs just that we know of. Its so sad. They are huge commitments, macaws, toos & greys can live up to 80+ yrs.

brandyII · May 4, 2008

Countingthedays,

that's a cute name. It reminds me that my rescue dog who is part rottie has a white spot on his chest that looks like a ghost. At first it looked like a cross and I wanted to call him Crusader but it turned into a ghost.

So your bird learned "shut the hell up" from one time, I'm in trouble!

That's what I'm afraid of saying the f word one time and it's stuck in his head for the rest of his life! I know what you mean about it being a one person bird and also heard one sex bird, like they pick out one sex over another. She is doing her next semester on line at home so she'll be home so that's good so I hope that will happen. I have enough animals that follow me everywhere and I really want this bird to bond with her.

Thanks for all your help, if we do have a prob I probably will contact you. The people that we're getting the bird from are going to hand feed and wean it but their mother breeds them in Texas and ships them to NJ. We'll drive down to get it. We have two other birds so I hope that won't be an issue. They're in separate cages because the male liked picking the female's neck feathers. So we'll have one room that basically is all bird cages and they're not small. We may have to get a heat lamp, I think because we're in Upstate NY where we have cold winters. They will all be in our dining room which has one window and opens into the living area where we all tend to end up. No room for dining anymore!

We've also found an avian vet and have to bring the bird to the vet within so many days of bringing it home. Anyway my daughter is going to be the main caretaker and is up for it so hopefully everything will work out. We don't get the bird until the middle of June. When we finally pick out our bird out I'll try to post a pic. Thanks for your input, brandyII.

LynneB · May 4, 2008

Brandy, since you have 2 other birds already you may want to consider getting the grey tested before you bring it into your home. At the very least for psiticossis and chlymidia if nothing else. Once you expose your current birds to the new one it is too late if the new bird is a carrier of either disease. Quarantine is super important if you dont test first. That means everything from changing clothes between birds, washing hands, and separate air space from the other birds.

You also might want to get a good air purifier if you keep the grey in the same room as the tiels, tiel dander can cause major allergies (skin and breathing) & plucking in a grey.

The heat lamp shouldnt be too much of a worry unless you plan on opening a window in the winter with no chance for him to acclimate to your climate. Greys are very resilient & can adjust to temps if given time to get used to them.

The only other thing I can think of to tell you is learn to handfeed if you dont already know how. Its super important to know even though the bird will be weaned before you bring it home. Alot of times, babies will regress when taken to a new environment & will refuse to eat till it calms down in a week or so. Also if they get sick or injure their beaks or crop in any way. Handfeeding is easy once you learn it, but the dangers of aspirating or burning a baby are very real & I have seen birds w/ burns right thru their skin from formula being too hot, and many other horror stories at the rescue. Get a gram scale w/ a T-Perch & weigh the bird every day for at least the first month its home & then once a week after that. Weight loss is the first sign of illness in any bird. Birds instinctively hide being sick till its too late to help them.

If I think of anything else that will help, I'll let ya know. I'm so excited for you! I remember that waiting feeling for my babies to come home.

Edited May 4, 2008 by CountingtheDays