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Question:

September 25, 2020

Pairing grey parrot


Hi,

I had a breeder pair of african grey parrot. Unfortunately the male died and the female was alone for the past 6 months.
Now i bought adult male grey parrot which is in a separate cage just next the cage in which female lives alone.
Now how will I know that it’s a good time to shift the male in female’s cage?
Actually both are wild and not tamed.. so can’t bring them out of the cage to play for some time and see their response.
I assume that they wouldn’t show interest in eachother until they become hormonal.
Your advice in this regard shall be highly appreciated.

Kind Regards


Answer:

Hi Haroon,

As long as the male is mature, they will just need some time to get used to each other. Leave the cages side by side and watch for interaction between the birds. This is actually the best way to introduce two birds. They will show interest whether they are hormonal or not. If they are compatible, they should start to call back and forth, sit close to each other and even make attempts to reach out beyond the cage bars. It is important that both birds are mature enough for breeding – at least 5 years old. If the male is still immature, the female is not likely to have any interest in him until he is old enough. You do not ever want to put an immature bird with a mature bird or the mature bird may become frustrated with the younger bird and attack it. If they start to act interested, then you can try them in the breeder cage together, but without a nest box, or block the entrance of the box. You don’t want the female to start laying eggs if she isn’t bonded with the male. She will claim the est box and become aggressive towards him if she lays eggs before she has accepted him as a mate. Hopefully they will eventually bond. It can take weeks or months for them to show interest. And some birds do not like the mate we choose for them, so all you can do is wait and observe and hope they are compatible.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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