Breeding my pet greys?

[Georgiesmum]

Hi everyone I'm new here and have a question for you all...

I have a 1 and a half years old Congo African Grey and i am getting a four month old female Congo at the end of the month... )Same breeder different parents tho.)

I know they won't breed till probably over 5 years but does anyone have any good Technics to get them too bond?

I understand that because they are pets that they might never bond or even get on...

More than anything i would like them to get along when their both out of their cages but it would be a bonus if I could breed them in a few years and keep them in the same cage... Obviously a very very big cage.

Does anyone have any good advice

 

[Theresa]

Hi and welcome to AA.

Why do you want to breed your Greys? Do you realize that you risk the possibility of losing their pet quality? They might bond to each other and look at you as an outsider. Are you willing to risk that?

 

[Georgiesmum]

Yes I know this...

 

[patdbunny]

Hiya,

Supposedly tame birds paired as youngsters don't tend to breed well.
"African Greys that were hand-fed and grew up as pairs together haven't done as well as I would have hoped. The males seem to really not know what they are supposed to do. "

How I Breed African Greys - Jean Pattison, African Queen Aviaries

I tried to pair my tame female CAG that I handfed from a few weeks of age with a friend's tame male. She not only didn't want anything to do with him, she'd attack him. I had him in a cage next to her cage so they could get to know each other. He liked her, she hated him. She actually reached her foot out through the bars, grabbed his foot, yanked it into her cage and bit him.

I now have a pair of CAGs that the male was a former pet (not mine), and the female was handfed but not interacted with with the intention to become a breeder. He was 8 yo and she was 3 yo when they were put together. I put them together about a year ago. They seem compatible, but no eggs yet. They work the box. Not saying much. They've been working the box for the last 6 months.

Good luck to you.

Roz.
Staring at Birds and Goats

 

[Deejo]

Young birds raised together view one another as siblings (usually) - so, this type of pairing are not ideal for breeding.

 

[Georgiesmum]

Hiya,

Supposedly tame birds paired as youngsters don't tend to breed well.
"African Greys that were hand-fed and grew up as pairs together haven't done as well as I would have hoped. The males seem to really not know what they are supposed to do. "

How I Breed African Greys - Jean Pattison, African Queen Aviaries

I tried to pair my tame female CAG that I handfed from a few weeks of age with a friend's tame male. She not only didn't want anything to do with him, she'd attack him. I had him in a cage next to her cage so they could get to know each other. He liked her, she hated him. She actually reached her foot out through the bars, grabbed his foot, yanked it into her cage and bit him.

I now have a pair of CAGs that the male was a former pet (not mine), and the female was handfed but not interacted with with the intention to become a breeder. He was 8 yo and she was 3 yo when they were put together. I put them together about a year ago. They seem compatible, but no eggs yet. They work the box. Not saying much. They've been working the box for the last 6 months.

Good luck to you.

Roz.
Staring at Birds and Goats

Ok thank you so much for your detailed reply... so maybe if i dont interact with the new baby too much it could work???

 

[Georgiesmum]

Young birds raised together view one another as siblings (usually) - so, this type of pairing are not ideal for breeding.

even with the year and a half age gap?

 

[andor]

Ok thank you so much for your detailed reply... so maybe if i dont interact with the new baby too much it could work???

Please don't get a pet that's been human raised and socialized to just ignore it because you want to breed it a few years down the line. This will psychologically mess it up.

 

[patdbunny]

"so maybe if i dont interact with the new baby too much it could work??"

Beats me. I'll let you know when I have success w/ my greys. Unfortunately, breeding is an art. Years of waiting and reassessing. Change things up if breeding doesn't occur, but you can't change things around too often. What does that mean? Depends.

I'm waiting 2-3 years on my greys for my current arrangement with them, then I'll reassess if I need to change something up. Right now they seem content and comfortable with their current arrangement. When they started popping in and out of the nest box 6 months ago, I got all excited. . . Still nuthin'!

 

[Georgiesmum]

"so maybe if i dont interact with the new baby too much it could work??"

Beats me. I'll let you know when I have success w/ my greys. Unfortunately, breeding is an art. Years of waiting and reassessing. Change things up if breeding doesn't occur, but you can't change things around too often. What does that mean? Depends.

I'm waiting 2-3 years on my greys for my current arrangement with them, then I'll reassess if I need to change something up. Right now they seem content and comfortable with their current arrangement. When they started popping in and out of the nest box 6 months ago, I got all excited. . . Still nuthin'!

I think sometimes they have to be between 5-7 to breed so i wouldnt give up yet and best of luck i hope you have little babies soon

 

[Georgiesmum]

Please don't get a pet that's been human raised and socialized to just ignore it because you want to breed it a few years down the line. This will psychologically mess it up.

I would never ignore the baby... I'm just wondering how its done thats all! I don't care if they never breed i'm just inquiring about ways that they would. I love greys and would never do anything that would ruin there upbringing...

Im just curious to know how people do manage to do it as it can be done...

 

[patdbunny]

they have to be between 5-7 to breed

Yeah, I know. The hen being 3 would just barely be old enough, if even. That's why I'm going to sit tight for the next 2-3 years and just leave them alone.

I've been breeding assorted little things for the last 15 years. Just set up a few "big" birds last year. Would love to compare notes with you when you get your hen so don't be shy about emailing me.
I'm with ya!

 

[Georgiesmum]

Yeah, I know. The hen being 3 would just barely be old enough, if even. That's why I'm going to sit tight for the next 2-3 years and just leave them alone.

I've been breeding assorted little things for the last 15 years. Just set up a few "big" birds last year. Would love to compare notes with you when you get your hen so don't be shy about emailing me.
I'm with ya!

yep that would be great i will have her at the end of the month

 

[andor]

I would never ignore the baby... I'm just wondering how its done thats all! I don't care if they never breed i'm just inquiring about ways that they would. I love greys and would never do anything that would ruin there upbringing...

Im just curious to know how people do manage to do it as it can be done...

While I'm not a breeder, I believe for best results that you would need to start from wild/untamed birds that have not been imprinted with humans, birds that were parent raised and never clipped. Many parrots raised as pets think that they're human and would see another parrot more as a threat for attention from their human or just as a sibling.

 

[Georgiesmum]

While I'm not a breeder, I believe for best results that you would need to start from wild/untamed birds that have not been imprinted with humans, birds that were parent raised and never clipped. Many parrots raised as pets think that they're human and would see another parrot more as a threat for attention from their human or just as a sibling.

yes your right untame birds are best but just wanted to see if anyone had luck with there pets...

And just for the record i would never clip my birds It's so unfair

 

[Bokkapooh]

I now have a pair of CAGs that the male was a former pet (not mine), and the female was handfed but not interacted with with the intention to become a breeder. He was 8 yo and she was 3 yo when they were put together. I put them together about a year ago. They seem compatible, but no eggs yet. They work the box. Not saying much. They've been working the box for the last 6 months.

Good luck to you.

Roz.
Staring at Birds and Goats

Your trying to breed a 4y.o female? Maybe you left out a bit of information, but that is way too young for a female, even a male, to be bred! She should be closer to 8 years.... And why even give them a nest box. She may lay young but this will shorten her life and she'll develope a higher chance at having egg laying issues if she lays this young!

Now to the Original Topic... YES.. you can breed tame african greys. However its best that they know (were coparented back in the nest box and know that their parents were birds not humans) that they are truly birds.

Coparenting is a fabulous way of raising a bird to allow it to KNOW that its a bird. There is a U.K breeder who does this with his/her Umbrella Cockatoos. And the birds are so well raised and so well balanced knowing that they are a bird and yet are VERY HANDTAMED and very socialized with people.

IF you can get birds, african greys, that were co-parented, or parent raised and then socialized with people until tame, there is a much HIGHER success rate at breeding them.

 

[Georgiesmum]

interesting thank you.

 

[prettyinpink]

Just wanted to add my two cents.

My cag was produced from pet birds, by a breeder with TONS of birds and a very good rep.
The male loved him (he could tip him upside down, he'd talk, get excited, ect) and the female loved his wife, they decided they wanted to mate a few years later and made a nest box out of a stool. (you know the ones at libaries) He never gave them a nest box because he didn't think they were going to breed, nor did he care. They produced very healthy babies and always keep an eye on them.

Now of course they have their own nest box, and are still producing.

Just wanted to say, it is true. But this one happened by 'accident'. They love their owners and their mate.

 

[Monica]

Young birds raised together view one another as siblings (usually) - so, this type of pairing are not ideal for breeding.

Forgive me for disagreeing, but even siblings will mate with each-other, as well as parents to offspring. Pip has two african greys, both handraised, brother and sister from the same clutch, with missing toes. Her greys are naerly 3 years old, and have already been showing mating behaviors (as I understand it). Of course, they are still young'ens so probably haven't really figured it out just yet!

Inbreeding (aka linebreeding), as it is known, is how many (but not all) mutations are established quicker than normal. Birds will also pair up with siblings/parents/offspring on their own choosing. After all, it's only humans who have such morals! Birds [and other animals] often don't care!

http://forums.avianavenue.com/feath...da-heading-ever-closer-marital-relations.html



I don't recommend trying to breed [most] pet birds, and I don't recommend "ignoring" a bird to raise him/her for breeding. I feel that if you want breeder birds, you should probably buy parent raised birds! However, if you have your heart set on breeding your pets in 5+ years (however long it takes for them to mature), and you are still interested in this when the time comes, then I wish you the best of luck!

 

[itzmered]

The breeder I bought my Hahns from also raises CAG's hers are all pets and were all hand fed and they breed.