The first step facing African Grey breeding is the age issue. If your pet starts laying eggs at approximately 3 years old and you start feeling guilty about tossing the infertile eggs. It's time to start shopping for a mate. Look for documentation of age. Research only the males that are proven to be at least one year older. Females will not accept younger males for breeding. They will accept younger males for company as well as other speciies.

These highly intelligent creatures are so sensitive to their environment, that it is not an easy task to make them comfortable enough to breed in captivity. It takes dedication and commitment or a real special staff. If you are exercising any intention of breeding your african grey pet be prepared to lose your best friend. Once they bond as couple the bond between you and your african grey pet is history! They have a primary bond and secondary bonds. If you are fortunate enough to have a bird that bonds equally with in your family, I'd advise strongly against converting to a breeder. That is a rare, special bird ...fulfilling a balance to your family. Of course as families grow up and evolve .... there may come a time when it is in the best interest of your african grey pet to introduce them to a mate.The last clutch of eggs had not hatched after 32 days. Cara came out of her nest and gave me the I'm done look, so I took one egg from the nest and candled it. There are many techniques and expensive equipment to accomplish this, but a strong flash light held under the egg will shine through an infertile egg. None had any signs of dots or dark spots so they were removed. I guess she found her own form of birth control. Now I know why Dude is losing feathers about his neck.

Her vitamins, now go directly into her scrambled eggs as well as the scrambled eggs. The shell is nuked for one minute before grinding, in order to remove the thin membrane inside the shell. This removes any chance that the hen will become interested in eating her own eggs. The supplements are offered to them twice a day in a variety bowl of fruits and nuts and egg mixtures. It is my belief they know more of what their bodies need than any bird doctor. The variety bowl is returned to the refrigerator until next feeding to prevent any bacterial growth if left in the regular breeder feeding bowl.

I'll keep you posted as to how this new method works. I know they have been making nicy nice in the nest for the past few mornings, so I hope they are over their spat and have good lucky soon.

One of the most critical lessons I learned about African Grey Breeding was Public Water Systems. Public water systems all are required by law to add purifying chemicals. Generally one of these compounds are a form of chlorine, which interferes with the distribution of calcium in the birds. Their straight digestive systems can not absorb the artificial additives. This causes poor feather development of the adults, and skeletal deformities in the chicks.

Never offer tap water to small pets directly from public waters systems. Always use some form of filtering system. Aqua pure water filter is very reasonably priced. Cuno water filter offers an inexpensive undersink to complete whole house varieties. GE refrigerator water filter is the one I use, but if nothing else a large glass or clear open container can be placed in light and within a few hours most of the dangerous levels of choline will evaporate.

Now that you have the first basic do and don't, here are a few facts. The eggs will hatch approximately 30 days from the lay date. They can lay an egg every 24 hours to three days. Which means hatch dates can vary as much as a week, depending on the number of eggs in a clutch. This is important because they need to be monitored closely during the first week. A good hen will rotate her baby feedings approximately every two hours around the clock. I offer a mixture of fruits and unsalted nuts daily, but during the nesting period I include an unseasoned scrambled egg. The babies double in size and weight daily the first week. During this time I offer two unseasoned scrambled eggs daily. My male will feed the female and set, clean, and feed when she takes a break. He also carries her water. This is a two parent plan. It's amazing to watch the devotion they have to one another. We could all learn from their dedication.

The Talking TAZ is our 3 1/2 year old African grey pet. He thinks he's people. We think he's our baby, so it all balances out. (Check out his video, if you think, he don't think, he's people!) His tail didn't fill out well the first year due to our public water system. The chlorination depleted his calcium and retarded his feather growth. Chlorine seriously jeopardizes small pet health. The best small pet insurance you can have is a water filter system. Their little bodies can not absorb or repel chemicals. Some you may wish to check are aqua pure water filter and cuno water filter. GE refrigerator water filter is the one I use.

He began gurgling sounds when he was about six months. By the end of the year he had a few words very audible. Now all he wants to do is talk talk! But he won't repeat anything we want him to. He's got to say it his way and twist everything around until it something entirely new. He likes to inject his opinion into every one's conversation. He deserves an animal behavior degree and could teach animal behavior courses. You certainly never have to worry about ever talking to yourself again. He is all the pal talk we'll ever need.