hobbie breeders of african greys

[billy-1]

hi there is there any chance anyone can please give me some advise please

[Dbeguy]

I have to say, I think this might be a bad idea Billy-1

People generally don't understand that getting a pair to bond and mate is a very long process. It's also hard to keep a good relationship with them. Parrots are usually VERY defensive with their babies! Whether you handfeed them or co-parent, It is an incessant chore to feed unweaned babies. On top of everything, there's a moral question. Is it right to breed when there are so many unwanted parrots in rescues?

That being said, if they've already paired off and you're committed, just do the homework. I would say that you do have the obligation to vett potential buyers.

[GreenWing]

is it right to breed when there are so many unwanted parrots in rescues?

Ah, it is a conundrum, isn't it? Parrots, being the sentient beings they are, should be in their beautiful, natural homes, flying over rainforests and creating more rainforest with their dung, and not in a cage. But unfortunately, humanity is destroying the planet and what is the future of parrots? The reality is, breeding parrots will keep parrot species going. Unfortunately -- according to a class I took on adopting a rehome -- the average number of homes a parrot goes through in its lifetime is eight or so. Which, yes, is extremely sad and a damn shame, but I think education is the answer. Too many people are ignorant regarding parrots. You have a lot of awareness going about puppy mills today with dogs, and the same should be done with parrots.

BUT, at the same time, with that all said -- with my own CAG being a rescue, mind you -- my opinion is that what Billy wants to do is FINE... but Billy, I do plead that you DON'T CLIP the wings of the babies, make sure the parrots go to good, reputable homes, and take good care of the breeding birds through the care of an Avian vet.

[Pajarita]

There is absolutely no good excuse for breeding an undomesticated species to be used as a pet for a human. None! The solution is to adopt the ones that are already there and donate to organizations that are trying to keep the habitats intact for them. Breeding in captivity is NOT the answer because breeders breed for consumption not conservation (there are organizations that do precisely that and donating to them is good, too). A parrot bred in captivity going back several generations is not the same as a wild parrot, it's a poor quality photocopy of the real thing (there is no natural selection). And because of the highly unnatural conditions they are kept in captivity, they are weak, unhealthy, and most of them, very unhappy animals -just look at all the conditions captive bred parrots have that don't exist in the wild, hypothyroidism, diabetes, epilepsy, plucking, self-mutilation, etc.

As to learning how to do it right, you need a mentor who has been doing it for years with a good hatchling mortality ratio (it should be less than 5%), who practices co-parenting and abundance weaning. You can't learn these things by reading or by getting online tips from people you don't even know if they know anything. Remember you are dealing with living beings that have feelings...

[Wolf]

As in the introduction I don't understand why you want to breed your birds. I would not do it but that is me and it is not my place to tell you not to, but , I still would like to understand your reason.
It is not intrinsically right or wrong and there is a possibility that it is the only way they can avoid extinction. I certainly hope not, but....
To breed or not it is your choice and I hope you choose wisely for both you and the birds.

[marie83]

There is absolutely no good excuse for breeding an undomesticated species to be used as a pet for a human. None! The solution is to adopt the ones that are already there and donate to organizations that are trying to keep the habitats intact for them. Breeding in captivity is NOT the answer because breeders breed for consumption not conservation (there are organizations that do precisely that and donating to them is good, too). A parrot bred in captivity going back several generations is not the same as a wild parrot, it's a poor quality photocopy of the real thing (there is no natural selection). And because of the highly unnatural conditions they are kept in captivity, they are weak, unhealthy, and most of them, very unhappy animals -just look at all the conditions captive bred parrots have that don't exist in the wild, hypothyroidism, diabetes, epilepsy, plucking, self-mutilation, etc.

As to learning how to do it right, you need a mentor who has been doing it for years with a good hatchling mortality ratio (it should be less than 5%), who practices co-parenting and abundance weaning. You can't learn these things by reading or by getting online tips from people you don't even know if they know anything. Remember you are dealing with living beings that have feelings...

Once I didn't see the harm in keeping "pets", but these days I agree with every single word of this as you will find on some of my previous posts. Humans are destroying parrots (horses, cats, dogs, wildlife etc) bit by bit.

You may have no interest in dogs but I recommend watching pedigree dogs exposed and pedigree dogs exposed 3 years on, it only just begins to touch on the subject of what humanity is doing to the animals we choose to keep but it is an eye opener. Of course you may argue that dogs have been have been bred for hundreds of years but I can already see parrots heading the same way- people breeding for colour mutations, then it will be for a different shaped eye or beak...

Personally I would like to see all captive breeding cease apart from for the conservation and release in already endangered species. Of course that itself is one big problem with habitats declining, pollution etc, after all you cannot just breed a load of birds and release them anywhere....but if people put more effort into saving the little we have left and hopefully trying to repair the damage we have done the world would be a much better place.

Anyway to the original poster... If you are asking for advice on an existing problem regarding something you have already done then please ask as many questions as you need and reconsider doing any more breeding in the future. If you haven't yet started breeding please do as much research into all the issues pajarita has mentioned as you can, if you have anything about you then I really think you will change your mind once you discover just how big the issues are.

[GreenWing]

There is absolutely no good excuse for breeding an undomesticated species to be used as a pet for a human. None! The solution is to adopt the ones that are already there and donate to organizations that are trying to keep the habitats intact for them. Breeding in captivity is NOT the answer because breeders breed for consumption not conservation (there are organizations that do precisely that and donating to them is good, too). A parrot bred in captivity going back several generations is not the same as a wild parrot, it's a poor quality photocopy of the real thing (there is no natural selection). And because of the highly unnatural conditions they are kept in captivity, they are weak, unhealthy, and most of them, very unhappy animals -just look at all the conditions captive bred parrots have that don't exist in the wild, hypothyroidism, diabetes, epilepsy, plucking, self-mutilation, etc.

I agree with every thing you wrote, my friend. I am totally an environmentalist, Green Party member, animal welfare advocate (I mean, yo, I'm vegetarian!). The point is, while absolutely, yes, parrots are sentient beings and not meant to be pets ('cuz, like, I'll tell you, my parrot owns ME, not the other way around) and sure, we may disagree with Billy's decision... I just hope that if Billy is reading this, and if he really, absolutely wants/has to breed, I hope he does so the correct way... doesn't clip the baby parrot's wings and does the breeding ethically.

Okay, peace out, gonna have more coffee now.