Raising an African grey parrot can turn out to be a commitment for life and this can cause huge stress on owners and on their birds as well because lack the essential experiences this breed requires. So, if you don’t have enough experience, raising an African grey pet can be very stressful. However, you can choose a breed that is good for beginners.
Regardless, these birds can make a very entertaining companion for their owners, and they can provide emotional support as they are one of few animals that can work as service animals just like dogs. And in this article, we will know how long do African grey live in wild and in captivity, what can you do to provide healthier life, tips to increase their lifespan, and many more…
So, How Long Do African Grey Parrots Live?
African greys are one of the longest living parrots and they can live up to 23 years in the wild, while pet African greys live way longer lifespan reaching the age of 70-80 years. Yet, reaching the age of 80 for pet African greys is difficult because of the amount of care and resources owners have to pay, and many times, the owners won’t be able to provide such a healthy environment for their greys which will lead them to die way quicker than they are supposed to.
Why Pet African Greys Live Longer?
There are many different reasons why pet African greys live longer in captivity. And the most important one, in my opinion, is safety.
Safety for wild African greys is a really rare coin, there are a lot of predators that would prey on African grey if they had the chance, not only that, the parasites that exist in the wild can suck the life of African grey for long times with no chances to remove them.
Another reason is the Abundance of food that is available for pet African greys. Wild African grey can sometimes starve to death, and if you don’t know, African grey can barely live without supplies for 48 hours, and this period can lead the parrot to fall dead off a tree branch.
Another reason is health care, therefore if any pet African grey got sick, there is a considerable possibility for it to survive after visiting the Avian vet. But for Wild greys there is no such health and any sickness can put them down easily as they are very sensitive and have really weak immune systems that can get stronger with food and supplements provided for pet greys.
How To Increase The lifespan Of Your African Grey?
To increase a pet African grey life expectancy, providing safety is essential, and without safety, there is no point. Apart from that, providing a healthy balanced diet for pet African greys can contribute heavily, and in my opinion, it is the most important part to increase any parrot’s lifespan.
Exposure to sunlight or UV light can also help the bird to stay healthy and fight any parasites that could feed on the bird’s body.
Constant mental stimulation as well is very important to keep your grey healthy at the mental level, and this is very important to provide to prevent the grey from having a bad temperament that could cause anxiety and aggression.
Mental stimulation is the part where a lot of beginners fail to provide to their pet grey, sometimes because they don’t know how or how much, and sometimes because they don’t realize how important is it for their pet. Training for new tricks can help with metal stimulation serving new types of food is also a good idea.
Besides all of that, owners should know African greys are prone to sickness and disease, and providing good professional health care can really boost the life expectancy of pet African greys.
Different Between Timnah & Congo Grey Lifespans?
African grey breed is a subspecies of parrots family that has 2 different subtypes. The first one is the Congo Grey, which is the icon for this subspecies, and the second one is the Timnah grey, which is a bit smaller than the Congo grey with a darker set of feathers.
These 2 subtypes are not so different from each other, even lifespan-wise, and with providing optimum conditions for them as pets, they will live almost a similar lifespan but with a difference of 10 years for the Congo grey.
Who Was The Oldest African Grey?
The oldest African Grey Parrot lived to reach the age of 72 according to Guinness book, and according to the same resource the longer living parrot is cookie the major Mitchell’s cockatoo who proved to live until he died back in 2016 at the age of 83. Other alleged parrots from different species lived to the age of 114 years.
How Long Do Other Parrots Live?
Parrots are a family that can outlive their owners and many other mammals, and the lifespan range of parrots falls between 10 to 8- years. Of course, most parrots cannot achieve such longevity without the care they get in captivity. However, being a captive parrot can backfire, especially if the owner is not experienced in raising parrots.
Such experience differs depending on the breed, and smaller breeds have low care demands, while larger breeds tend to demand more care and more specialized diet systems, which are the most important factor in increasing any parrot’s lifespan.
Conclusion
In conclusion, raising an African grey can be a commitment for life or it can be just a mistake that could cause the bird to die early and not reach the breed’s expected lifespan. Adequate diet, mental stimulation, safety, and many more are the most important factors to look after to increase the lifespan of any African greys, and without these being in consideration, the pet African grey will most likely live a shorter lifespan.
And yes, that’s all about How Long Do WILD & PET African Grey Parrots Live?. I hope you found this article informative and easy to digest. Thank you for reading…
Hello, my name is sadeq and I am obsessed about parrot And I am here to share everything about raising pet parrots and how to be good owners to your bird.
