newbie needing help please

[whisper]

hi all im new to this forum , i am currently owned by 4 african greys , 3 are timnehs and 1 a congo

2 of my timnehs paired about 6 months ago and have become inseperable

i have noticed over the last few weeks one of their heads is becoming balder on a daily basis , until yesterday had not witnessed the preening by the other one , they are also regurging to eachother alot , yesterday i put in a nesting box , WAS THAT THE RIGHT THING TO DO

they are house birds and have a very large cage , although both of them are not friendly birds one is 15 and the other is 8

is it possoble they are trying to mate ????

any advice would be fab

many thanks

[danmcq]

Yes, especially if they are caged together. A nesting box will increase the closeness to each other and lessen with you. I am actually surprised you still have some limited interaction. The preening is normal between mated pairs. How long have they been caged together? If they have been "Pets" in their previous homes, it is doubtful they will successfully mate, but they certainly could try and perhaps be successful.

 

We have a have a grey breeder on this forum named Dave that will hopefully chime in with his decades of experience and wisdom in this area.

[Dave007]

Dan said it all. I'll only add on that since these 2 particular birds aren't friendly ( which is good), they should be left alone now and also in the future. Mating them now may only cause more unfriendliness with you which is normal. Right now, they've bonded together and that should be left like that. None of this would've happened if these birds had their own cages or separations. If they do have a clutch together, be ready that the eggs may be not be fertile since this is the first time they're doing this.

You should definitely keep the other birds far away from them!!.

Some mating birds pick at each other when they're alone ( unseen by the owner---usually at night) and in your situation, it may have been one bird trying to urge the other bird into mating. Heads aren't the usual target. Some mating birds (females) pick at themselves to provide feathers for a nest box. Not all birds but some. This is a natural thing that's done in the wild with parrots and other birds. Parrots are wild animals. As far as how maternal or paternal the birds are, only time can tell you that after the eggs hatch.

Edited September 29, 2011 by Dave007