Ask Lafeber

Pairing African Greys

I have 2 semi tamed birds but i really don’t know their age as they have been given up by some hobbiest
The male has yellow eyes and female also white eyes, both birds have red rings in their eyes that’s the outer border of their eyes white part
I have kept them together for 9 months now but the female attacks the male and he is too scared to even eat food while she’s nearby the feeder
What should I do in this case? I even tried putting them in smaller cage but they sit left and right and never come close, the female is not scared at all and moves all over the cage but when she does the male gets scared and screams and runs away

Hi,

When trying to pair birds, you can’t just put them together. And a smaller cage is not a good idea at all. Without room to get away from each other, one bird might kill the other. In the wild, parrots choose their own mate. They often do not like the mates we choose for them. You need to have each bird in its own cage and put the cages side by side. Don’t even consider putting them together until they show signs of liking each other. If they start interacting through the cages, vocalizing to each other, and sitting as close to each other as they can get, then you can try putting them together. These birds may not be compatible and there is nothing you can do to make them like each other. Unfortunately, it sounds like they do not like each other. But try the side by side cages before you give up. Do not keep them together if they are still fighting or staying away from each other. The fighting can escalate and one bird could end up badly injured or dead. Again, forcing them to stay together is not going to make them like each other.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda