Parrot Breeders
Learn What the Best Parrot Breeders Know
No one knows as much about the care and training of parrots as parrot breeders. When you start out, you won't know much about the subject, and theirs is a well of information you can tap into. You can spend many hours online, and that is fine, but it's not like learning from someone who knows the ropes and is willing to share that information with you.
One of the first things that you will learn is to leave your breeding pairs alone. You will find, over time, that this is true. Many new bird-owners don't realize that birds need their private time, and that is compromised if you are constantly peeking into their nesting box or feeding them treats. Cockatiels and smaller birds may be more tolerant of intrusion, but parrots need their time alone.
Most parrot breeders will tell new bird-owners that you should visit the breeding pairs no more than once a twice a day. If you play with them all the time, they get distracted, and they may not breed, or they may leave eggs instead of hatching them.
Birds like Amazons and Macaws don't do as well breeding if you nest them in the house. The noisy atmosphere disrupts their basic need for privacy, and their noisy behavior will disrupt yours. During breeding season, their noise will raise your roof. You can keep them in an aviary where they can have their privacy, and you can have your peace and quiet.
Parrot breeders despair when people ask for advice about caging, and they find out that the new “breeders” have a pair of birds in a cage made for one bird. This is abusive to the birds. They can live from 30 to 70 years, and this is like putting a person in a closet for that length of time. Birds are intelligent animals, and they can relate to boredom like many other animals cannot. Crowding will not affecting breeding in any positive ways, and the lack of exercise can cause problems with their health, and may shorten their life span.
Another problem that faces parrot breeders is aggression of one bird towards the other, or towards you. It's difficult to socialize your birds if the male perceives you as a threat to his mate. And birds can kill each other if they are overly aggressive. The male will often try to drive his hen away from you, so it's best to give them their time alone when they need and desire it.
The mating season is the time to be especially wary. The birds you are breeding may become even more aggressive than normal during this time. You may want to set up your cages so that you can feed and water them from the outside, if you haven't already done so.
Give your pairs of birds the privacy they need, and parrot breeders will tell you that you can soon look forward to a hen with a nest of eggs.