Hi All!
 
We have an Umbrella Cockatoo parrot "George" and had our ferret "Weasel"
for about a year, so I have some experience in this arena.  For the reader
who wanted advice and tips on owning an African Grey and a Ferret I have
this to say:
 
Birds will consider a ferret (or a fox or a weasel, a dog or a cat, etc)
as a predator in the wild and the bird will instinctively try to fly away
whenever a predator is in his territory.  Your African Grey WILL create a
'territory' of his own within your home.  Most of the time, a domesticated
(or, hand-trained, as we refer to them) Parrot will consider his cage his
territory; and you should keep any of your other household pets away from
the birdscage at all times.  It probably should go without saying, but I'll
stress this one too: Keep people away from the cage at all times too-- your
bird will bond with only one or two members of your family and they will be
the only one or two humans that the Parrot will 'allow' in his territory.
This is not a behaviour you can change!  Be aware, and accept it.
Incidentally, for some reason, male birds usually bond with a female member
of the household while female birds generally bond with a male household
member.  Strange huh?  So guess who gets all the lovin' and kisses from
our household flyboy?!  *along with feeding and cage cleaning!*
 
Our Parrot is housed in a flight cage.  Its 6'x4'x6' (LxWxH) and has a
slide-out bottom to catch the seed that birds seem to love to fling... And
believe me, if you think Ferrets like to move their chow, just wait till
you live with a parrot~ They're total pigs!*g* Above this slide-out floor
is a subfloor made of rebar, welded together.  We found that Weasel loved
to climb between the subfloor and the tray and eat the tossed over food
pellets and dried fruits that magically rained from the sky.  (Parrot foods
are usually fruit flavored/scented and our Ferret enjoyed the stuff!)
 
We normally just stood next to the cage and kept a sharp eye when weasel
was in there, but the cage floor kept them apart.  Weasel never tried to
climb "Into" the cage proper but we never trusted him with complete abandon
to try either!  George would scramble to the highest point of his cage he
could get to and stay glued there as long as the ferret was down there;
glaring and thinking about biting him, but instinctively afraid of him at
the same time.  As long as the ferret never tried to come inside the cage
George didn't go into defense mode.  (Incidentally, we use an Amazon
Environments cage for the parrot--well worth looking into getting for
your new pet!)
 
Parrots have some kind of incredible beak pressure-- Cockatoos have a
pressure of 3,000 pounds in their bite.  No, thats not a typo!  ~This is
so they can crack hard nut shells, but they can really do damage to the
unwary.  Be aware at all times when you have another animal or person near
your birds cage.  They'll bite without a seconds' warning if they are
defending their territory... My husband has been severely bitten by our
bird numerous times... If your parrot gets ahold of your ferret and bites
to defend himself, the ferret will probably lose an eye-- or a foot!  I've
seen our parrot take two toes off an adult cat before.  He's also injured
visiting children, simply because they'd put their paws/fingers into his
cage.
 
Please, before all of you think this bird belongs in a Hitchcock movie let
me say that in 13 yrs ownership I've never been bitten by him one single
time, and George even lays on his back in my lap with his feet in the air
to get a good belly scratch, (just like a ferret will!) George has decided
he likes me and it's probably the only reason I can get away with it!
 
Thankfully, we provided Weasel with so many toys and treats he rarely
climbed into the birdcage.  Considering we let him run the house all hours
when we were home and awake, two or three trips a day into the cage wasn't
too bad.  Your situation will be different though: Weasel preferred human
company, but who knows what kind of curiosity your ferret will have for
the new addition?  Who knows what kind of personality your African will
have?
 
African Greys are very social, docile and loving birds when they bond
with their humans.  They will provide hours of entertainment and chatter.
(Africans are the best talkers among birds!) Please don't Anthropomorphize
your pets though-- they are both holding instinctive behaviours you'll
never be able to train out of either of them.  Keep them under a very
gentle and watchful eye so nobody gets hurt!  If you have any further
questions about raising birds *with or without a ferret* please don't
hesitate to e-mail.
 
Kim Latas
Spirit Lake, IA
[Posted in FML issue 3396]