Mating Congo African Greys

[Loki05deMayo]

I have a one year old CAG named Loki and my boyfriend has a 6 year old CAG named Alex. I was talking to him about possibly getting another baby CAG. He mentioned mating our birds.

 

We know nothing about mating CAGs and I wanted to know if anyone had any advice, information, or opinions on mating CAGs.

 

Thanks,

Elaina

[judygram]

Elaina, greys kept as companions do not make breeder birds, they bond with their humans. Greys that are breeders are kept away from humans for they do not like the intrusion, breeders bond with each other and just because you put a female with a male is no guarantee they will like each other, one could maim or kill the other if they don't get along. Your female is a long way from being mature enough to even consider breeding and there is a lot more involved than just putting the two together, I would just keep your greys as pets and companions and forget trying to breed them.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Even the best and experienced bird owners, struggle with this. Your greys should be family members only Nancy

[Loki05deMayo]

Thank you for the replies. I agree. After doing some research of my own and speaking with a couple breeders, I realized breeding should be left to the professionals. Most people would agree not to even hand feed a baby bird, but I did. Loki was a month old when I decided to hand feed her. Every night I went to bed worrying that I fed her wrong and I would wake up to a dead bird. Luckily that was not the case and after two weeks of feeding her I became comfortable and bonded with my baby bird.

 

To anyone out there wanting to breed their birds, don't. The CAGs that we have are domestically created creatures with little to no idea of parenting. If you are successful at breeding your birds and if you have fertile eggs you will need an incubator as the female CAG has no idea about sitting on the nest. They really have to be taught by their mom about these things. So let's say you go ahead and get an incubator and try this...and let's say you have a successful hatch of 2 babies. It's ALL on you at that point. You will be feeding these babies multiple times a day. So much can go wrong. They have no immune system and no defenses from illness. Your kitchen will have to be surgery room clean. Unless you are unemployed and have all the time in the world for say...6 months. Don't. This is a species that really is elevated both physiologically and mentally. I wouldn't take the chance.

[carlsjr]

you came to the right decision.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Loki05deMayo... excellent decision, but I also want to comment on the great job you did with feeding Loki! Nancy and Sophie