advice breeding african grey

[birdstoolove]

hello me and my friend want to go into breeding the african grey, now i dont know nothing about parrots, my friend does, he has had

parrots his whole life, now i would like to get a second opinion or lots of opinions on these questions because

i would like to do this properley, i want it to be safe for the birds as i hate to hurt animals in any way, but i also want to know if

financially if it's a good idea to breed the congo african grey birds.

 

 

1) how much food, bedding, heating will cost per month for the african grey

 

2) what form of heating is required.

 

3) initial set up cost.

 

4) is a summerhouse ok to breed the african grey.my friend has a summerhouse, now i was'nt sure if this was good enough to breed the birds.

 

5) how long does it take for the birds to breed,hatch and then handtame.

 

6) would it be best to take out insurance on the birds.

 

if you can post anything else which could be important it would be greatly appreciated as i am very serious in doing this properley, and safely for the birds

 

thankyou.

[judygram]

I don't mean to sound harsh, but if your friend knows all about parrots then why do you feel the need to ask us a lot of questions about breeding greys. This forum is not in the business of breeding greys, we provide a place for grey owners to come together and ask questions on care, health, feeding, grooming and playing with our birds and just being a place for members to socialize with like owners.

 

You need to speak with other grey breeders for the answers to your questions, someone who has plenty of experience in that field for help in what you are planning to undertake. And since you have no knowledge of it I would suggest you research it all you can but one thing I can tell you is you won't get rich off of it. Most people who do breed birds do it for the love of the bird not the money.

 

That being said you are welcome to join us but I just wanted to be upfront on what you can expect.

[Tari]

Ill try to answer some of your questions. I dont breed greys but I do have a pair of breeder blue quakers.

 

1) how much food, bedding, heating will cost per month for the african grey Cant tell you this one but if you are worred about cost this may not be a thing for your to do.

 

2) what form of heating is required. Out on the farm were I keep my pair there is a couple space heaters as well as a large gas heater that we keep set at 40 degrees.

 

3) initial set up cost. Depends on what you have on hand and how many you plan to start with. Varies also from location to location and where you go to buy supplies.

 

4) is a summerhouse ok to breed the african grey.my friend has a summerhouse, now i was'nt sure if this was good enough to breed the birds. Not sure what a summerhouse is. You mean like a green house? My only concern would be over heating in the summer.

 

5) how long does it take for the birds to breed,hatch and then handtame. Just cause you buy a pair does not mean you well get eggs. Then when you get eggs it does not mean you well get chicks. Once you get chicks then they have to survive long enough to be pulled. Weaning depends on each bird. No real set time.

 

6) would it be best to take out insurance on the birds. I don't.

 

Just a fair warning if your going into this to make money well don't there is really very little money in breeding. As a matter of fact if you break even your doing well. Also it may take years for your birds to breed for you and sometimes they may not breed at all for you.

Breeding is not something to start up lightly and is very costly at the start. And you could have the problem I am having right now. The babies wont sell. Do you have the room to keep babies for a year or even two? Do you have the time? Is everyone in the household up to it?

Good Luck

[Hannah_Rae]

Question: If you know nothing about parrots, how did the idea of breeding them come about? How did you get interested in it?

[birdstoolove]

hello and thankyou for all your comments. now i'm an honest person, a business person, i only do things for the money, but at the same time i dont want to hurt any animals to make money, so i come on here to basically get a second opinion of these questions,it's better to have more than just one opinion, alot more. my friend is a parrot lover, he loves the grey parrots and says you can make money from them, so i become interested. basically i want to make money and also make sure these incredible birds are safe and that's why i come on here to get second opinions, it's better to have more opinion, unbiased opinions than lets say just one friends opnion. thankyou.

[birdstoolove]

i know some of you wont like me posting about possibly making money out of these incredible birds, and i understand that, but at the same time, i only want to do it if it's safe for the birds, so that's why i ask about the summerhouse, is it ok to breed these birds in a summerhouse? i also would like to know financially how much these birds cost you a month, and how often they normally breed, just an estimation will do. thankyou very much for all your comments.

[Tari]

Like I already started if you break even you'll be doing good.

Ill five you a rough idea from where I work.

There are around 60 breeding pairs there. Food cost between 600 and 800 a month depending on whats on sale.

The power and gas bills was around 400 a month last winter.

She spends roughly 1000 a month on help to take care of them me and the man that does the repair work and so forth.

She has had only two babies in the last two years. The year before that (three years ago) she made around 10,000 on her babies.

You do the math.

Yes she could cut corners but for her it is about the birds not the money.<br><br>Post edited by: Tari, at: 2008/01/05 22:10

[MazyAK]

Birdstoolove:

Since you've said you're a businessman and you're in it to make money, I say NO! As you can see from what others have written,there are many many variables which must all line up and succeed at each stage. As a businessman your risk assessment has been done for you by all the comments given. It is not a good risk. It has to be a love of the birds before it can become any form of money you may be lucky to see as a result. As your friend may say he knows about birds, I question his knowledge simply by the fact that he says you can make money from them. Again, this is not true Has he ever even had a grey? Statistically speaking your odds of making money are not good. Do you still consider this a good business decision? If you insist on moving ahead with this you should first get educated about the greys specifically, and then spend a good amount of time with one before you make a a commitment as huge as you're thinking.

If you are the businessman you say I'm sure you'll change your mind.

Bruce & Mazy

[Nychsa]

Even though I'm very uncomfortable with the whole discussion around an African Grey for profit business and looking at AG's as a commodity, I'll share my thoughts in response to your questions and I'll try to briefly do so from business case perspective:

 

Prior to entertaining any business proposition, I always want to see a business plan. If there isn't one, then you need to do it. Completing a business plan for any prospective business requires that you do the research, with data collected from numerous tangible resources. The plan will identify your costs (to include start up), risk, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, required marketing strategies, client profile, competition, logistics and distribution.

 

I'm not sure you will be able to collect this information from posing the questions you've asked here on a web site such as this.

 

However - in addition to collecting the data I've mentioned above, I would urge you to visit parrot rescue shelters as well and take in the stories of those birds who were bred and sold for profit. Please take in what happens when you have birds you've bred and you have to place them in homes that you've not vetted properly just to keep your business out of red ink. While that story is not reflected in a business plan, it does go to your desire not to harm the animals. So, to me, that should be a factor in your research.

 

Here is a web site for one of the rescues I spent a good deal of time with before I brought home my grey www.garudaaviary.org. I'm sure other members here know of rescues as well. I didn't get my CAG from a rescue, mine is from two wonderful ladies who do breed, but not as a primary business for profit. They happen to love parrots. They are nurses as a primary profession. I'm a first time CAG "mom" and I simply don't know enough about bird behaviors to be in a position to rehabilitate a severaly damaged bird. But trust me - once I'm on surer footing with my bird knowledge, and I've built an outdoor aviary and increased the size of the bird spaces inside, I will invite rescue birds into our life and try to help those poor creatures who have endured such suffering.

 

Personally, I hope you pass this up and think about some other business - here is a web site of businesses for sale - check these out - there are some pretty good deals to be made with sme of these businesses: www.bizquest.com

[Lyric]

birdstoolove- I commend you for coming on here and asking the opinions of those of us that have greys. I agree with most of what has already been said above. I cannot recommend breeding birds for a profitable business. When much younger and trying to decide what to do with my life I thought I would breed birds for a living. I waited over 10 years for the pair of Timnehs I have to breed successfully and even then I ended up with one baby so far! Believe me, this is something you do for the love of the birds, not for a profit. I learned that and now my birds are just my companions and I give them all the love and the best care I can. I'm not saying that someone could not be more successful at this but there are so many variables that it's just not a real wise investment if you are just trying to make some quick money. Gambling at a casino would probably make you more money at about the same risks! Good luck in whatever decision you make.

[Toni]

I want to breed too but, like me wanting a Grey since I was 13 years old I took my time on getting full knowledge and making sure I really wanted that kind of responsibility and making sure my life can handle it.Its a lot of work (but rewarding) to handle one.I think with gaining more knowledge I'll be ready to breed in 3 years. I do know that African Grey birds need to be at least 2 years old to breed.I know some other things.So just dont jump into it. Gain knowledge for a couple years.

[Dave007]

Toni

 

"""""' I do know that African Grey birds need to be at least 2 years old to breed"""""'

 

Make that 5 to 7 yrs old depending upon the length of time the breeders have been together. At 4 yrs old, they're only sexually aware but not sexually mature. Even atthe proper breeding age, most first time and sometimes second time clutches are unsuccessful. Most pairs of successful breeder greys are usually not bonded to their owners at all or at the most, only minimally friendly. Those types of birds make the best breeders. Even after a breeder has been retired, breeder greys rarely become extremely friendly with their owwners. A pet grey put in with a breeder grey usually ends in disaster with the breeder who usually maims or kills the pet bird. The reason for this is because the pet grey has already bonded with people and doesn't know how to switch over it's allegience to a breeder. A breeder picks up on that very quickly.

To the person who started this thread---just remember that pet birds aren't breeders. There's a world of difference. I breed greys but I must agree with others who say it's a bad idea. That's why I never get into details about breeding. In general, this board deals with owners of pet birds who already have had a multitude of problems or situations concerning their pet birds. I doubt that people in the the were scolding you. I feel that the reason most people tried to steer you away from your intentions were becuse they are trying to get a very simple message across which is

 

Better to be safe than to be sorry<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/04/13 20:57

[danmcq]

Amen Dave, great response!!

[Talon]

Wow the others have said it all. My advice is simple, don't do it! there are so many other ways to make money, breeding birds is not one of them.