breeding african grey

[dimitra75]

Hello , two months ago, I bought an African grey pair (8 and 10 years old).They have started kissing ,feeding each other and now the female goes many times to the nestbox and stay there for a long time, but the night she is always out from the nest, sitting next to the male.Is she going to lay eggs soon
or is a normal behavior?

[jules]

i have no idea i'm afraid. i think we need feika for this one 

sounds promising though 

[SeanM]

I am no expert in this area but it does sound promising, I wouldn't expect any eggs yet, egg laying season is June I believe and November, egg yolk production should begin in the female roughly 1 month prior , don't be surprised if the first clutches are not successful, they also need to learn what they are doing. Diet is also very important. Put a small infrared spycam in the breeding box now so that when she lays eggs you can see whats going on without peeking in and disturbing them which can be detrimental. Make sure cuttlefish bone is always in the cage and available. Take them to an avian vet to get their blood work done so you can see if they are healthy and that there are no organ or genetic problems and make sure her calcium level is sufficient for egg production and laying, calcium supplements may be needed but don't overdo the calcium. Then let nature take its course, of course if they have chicks you will have to provide the proper soft foods for the parents to feed them and you will have to learn to feed and ween them. One more thing, read everything you can. I have never bred parrots but I do have an egg laying hen    . 5 eggs after being home 6 weeks, it was scary to say the least and we are just coming out the other end of the experience now.

[feika]

This is all very normal behavior, if the hen's poops are runny and if the pair has increased their feeding, these are signs that she's in the mood. Some good advices are given by SeanM which you may take note of.

Just my curiosity, are they a proven pair? Since it will be their first clutch at your home, I would not recommend a lot of meddling or efforts to check the eggs and all, let her brood the eggs and if the chicks do hatch, let them feed the chick(s) for the full cycle i.e. till the chick(s) weaned because this is a learning curve for the birds themselves, they should know what is required of them.

In future, however, you can take the chicks out on or about 20th day and hand feed them to raise hand tamed birds. You can do this while the parents are feeding the chicks by taking the chicks out during the night (when the hen is out of the box, and close the nest box opening) and give them the feel of some handling with humans and place them back in the box after about half an hour or an hour of socializing.

Good luck