The African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) is renowned for its intelligence and ability to mimic human speech, making it a popular pet. Understanding their breeding habits and requirements is crucial for successful breeding and ensuring the well-being of these birds.
Understanding African Grey Temperament and Needs
There’s a reason why the African grey is often considered the poster bird for parrot intelligence - not only is this bird inclined to amass large vocabularies, African greys have also demonstrated an aptitude for recognizing the meaning of words and phrases. An African grey will need plenty of toys that challenge their intelligence, such as foraging and puzzle toys. African greys seem especially affected by stress and commotion in their environment and can be put more at ease by placing one corner of the cage against a wall as opposed to in the middle of a room.
Finding Reputable Breeders
Finding reputable breeders is essential when looking to acquire an African Grey. Here are some factors to consider:
- Health and Temperament: Reputable breeders prioritize health and temperament.
- Breeder Background Check: Ensure the breeder conducts thorough health checks.
- Word of Mouth: Breeders often rely on word of mouth.
Afro-Birds Farm, for instance, connects healthy parrots with caring families, emphasizing health and temperament. North Shore Greys is a leader in sustainable parrot breeding, ensuring the best care for feathered friends with over 20 years of experience. Michael from North Shore Greys specializes in sustainable breeding practices and the creation of high-quality, customizable parrot foods like PrimalBlend.
Encouraging Breeding
Don’t expect your pair to get right to breeding as soon as they move into their new home. At worst, it will take a few years even for a bonded pair to produce their first eggs. Therefore, some careful nudging in the right direction to encourage breeding will help shorten the wait. Feed your birds with a superior diet to make sure they produce robust chicks from large clutches. A poor diet will result in less eggs and sickly young birds.
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Dietary Needs for Breeding
African grey parrots are more prone to deficiency in vitamin-A/beta-carotene, and therefore benefit from eating vegetables high in beta-carotene, such as cooked sweet potato and fresh kale. Vitamin-D deficiency is another concern, especially for greys on a poor diet. Offering a balanced pelleted diet as an African grey’s main diet will help prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Because African Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus) have a higher calcium requirement than most parrots, the soft food was and continues to be sprinkled with calcium and if the birds eat seeds also a vitamin complex; when pellets form the basis of the dry diet, additional vitamin supplementation is not used. The birds that receive pellets have them drizzled with a 50:50 blend of extra virgin cold pressed olive oil and coconut oil. When these two oils are combined, they provide a fairly balanced ratio of saturated and monosaturated oils like those found in the palm fruit; using only olive or coconut oil will not provide a ratio similar to palm oil.
The feeding mixture used for parrots in the breeding of Tony Silva. They were brought to the boil in a saucepan, just covered with water and then simmered for 10~ 15 minutes. They were then mixed with fresh or frozen vegetables. The frozen vegetables used were packs of mixed vegetables, peas and/or sweet corn that had been thawed. Fresh vegetables included freshly chopped carrot, celery or green or red peppers. When in season, green beans and courgettes were also used. To this was added sunflower seed kernels obtained from a health food store; these were soaked or just allowed to sprout, plus a little white millet. This appetizing mixture was varied with chopped dried figs that had been soaked and fruits in season, such as pomegranates. It was sprinkled with eggfood and a calcium and trace mineral supplement.
Creating the Ideal Breeding Environment
Grey Parrots are not difficult to breed provided 3 conditions are met: they feel secure and can enjoy privacy, they receive a good diet and they are offered the proper nesting box. Meeting one and not the other conditions can thwart breeding.
The ideal African Grey Parrot enclosure should be private and quiet. They should be kept away from noisy conures, cockatoos, Amazons and macaws. Thirty years ago I bred Grey Parrots in cages as small as 90 cm (3 ft) square, feeling that the small enclosure met the requirements for security that these parrots needed; the cages had a solid separation and a single perch. Today my current recommendation is to house pairs of African Greys in cages 3.6 m (12 ft) long x 1.2 m (4 ft) square.
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Over the years I have tried all types of nests for Grey Parrots. I have never noticed a difference, though other breeders may disagree. We are currently using L-shaped nests that measure approximately 45 cm (18 in) high along the tall end and 20 cm (8 in) along the short end, 45 cm (18 in) long and 35 cm (14 in) deep. The nests have rotted wood added to allow chewing.
Some owners of pairs are at a loss to know why they have not nested. One suggestion I offered to encourage the pairs to breed was to raise the protein level of the diet, as this can stimulate breeding, and prior to the period in which the pairs were expected to breed, to offer the easy-sprout mixture daily instead of every other day. A useful addition to the diet would be a good quality eggfood or, better still, a homemade mixture of hard-boiled egg, carrot and wholegrain bread, for its animal protein. Greys have a high calcium requirement and would benefit from adding a small amount of a calcium supplement to the eggfood.
Here's a summary table of key breeding environment factors:
| Factor | Details |
|---|---|
| Privacy | Keep away from noisy birds; ensure a quiet environment. |
| Enclosure Size | Minimum cage size: 3.6 m (12 ft) long x 1.2 m (4 ft) square. |
| Nest Type | L-shaped nests, approximately 45 cm (18 in) high, 45 cm (18 in) long, and 35 cm (14 in) deep. |
| Nesting Material | Add rotted wood for chewing. |
Breeding Behavior and Incubation
African Grey Parrots lay 3-4 eggs in the clutch. Incubation ranges from 26-30 days, with the average being 28 days. On hatching chicks are covered in white down. The bill and nails are black in the Red-tailed Grey and brownish-black in the Timneh Grey Parrot. The secondary down is grey. Chicks fledge around 10 weeks, but normally they quickly return to the nest and hide on hearing someone approach. Because of this, it may not be apparent for some days that they have fledged.
Grey Parrots have a breeding display that starts with the male lowering the wings and bringing them forward so that the butts almost touch, this to expose the paler grey rump. Wing pumping also takes place. This action gives the impression of slow motion flight. Body feathers will also be flared. Courtship feeding usually occurs prior to mating. To mate, the hen crouches on the perch. Treading takes place from the top, the male stepping on the hen´s back, or from the side, the male retaining one foot on the perch. Switching sides is not uncommon when mating, the male stepping over the female to continue on the opposite side.
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Hand-Rearing and Socialization
Young Grey Parrots are easily hand-reared. Grey Parrots should never be rushed into weaning. The hand-rearer should show patience and allow a normally lengthy process to evolve. Young intended to become future breeders should not be imprinted, but should be reared in groups and provided with enrichment. The intention is to develop birds that are independent, socialized and confident. As the birds mature, they will begin to pair off and they can then be given their own nest.
Problems can be experienced with former pets, which may see themselves as humans and not birds. African Grey Parrots reach sexual maturity by four years of age.
