Breeding season for parrots is the time that every pair goes and finds a tree hole to mate, lays eggs, and raises the babies later after hatching. And for African greys, their breeding season usually starts in October, when nights become longer. One month later, the hen will lay a clutch of eggs that normally hatch after 21-30 days.
The parents will stay with the new hatchlings for 3-4 months until they grow a full set of feathers and leave the nest to start their own lives. So, the time African greys need to breed, nest, raise the babies can be as long as 6-7 months. And the pair will rest until the next October, and sometimes the pair will skip the following breeding season.
However, this is mostly for wild African greys, whereas captive African greys have a different breeding season. And in this article, we will dive into everything regarding African grey breeding season, whether they were wild or captive.
What Exactly Happens In October With African Greys?
In October, begins the breeding season of African grey parrots, assuming they are wild African greys. The nights will be longer, where African greys get more active, and the humidity and temperature will change. These conditions can happen only once a year in the wild, and specifically, in the natural habitat of African grey parrots. These changes are the reason and the inducer of the hormonal changes in the bird that will lead to the breeding cycle, which will start with each individual selecting its mate.
So, the weather itself is what induces the African grey breeding season, and not the time, just like other creatures. And without these specific changes in weather, African greys can stay single without feeling the urge to mate. And unfortunately, this is more common in pet parrots.
So, What If Owners Imitated These Conditions for Theri Pet Greys?
Exactly, this is the ideal question after knowing that the weather induces African greys breeding season. And I believe the answer is already in your head. Yes, the breeding season for African greys can last as long as the owners are still providing the same conditions for the pair in captivity. Yet, this doesn’t mean the pair will breed and lay eggs non-stop.
They will need a few months to raise the babies and rest after that, but as long as the conditions are optimum, the pair will copulate in summer or even in winter.
Have you ever had a parrot that is laying eggs even without mating in your house? Or have you ever heard about it before? If you did, you know that this behavior can happen continuously with females, and to make short, the living area of this bird is optimum for breeding. Basically, the breeding season conditions are available in the owner’s house.
Some owners may struggle to discourage this behavior, but it’s going to stop if they change the conditions in the surrounding area.
Here is a story that happened to me and one of my friends, who is also a parrot’s lover. The story was about his failing attempts to breed his African grey pair. He spent 2 years trying to succeed, but nothing happened. No eggs, no nothing, and obviously something was missing, and he asked me to take the pair to my house as he wanted to bring a new pair to attempt breeding once more thinking that the previous pair was sick and cannot mate and reproduce.
So, I did what he asked me and took his pair, and I was living in a coastal city 100 miles away. And believe it or not, after 3 months the pair that is once thought to be sick and cannot mate and reproduce have made it and successfully and laid a clutch of 3 eggs, in the middle of summer.
So why did this happen? For I think is because of the humidity that is available in my city and absents in my friend’s. but my friends say it’s because of the change of the place, which imitates the wild parrot behavior when they fly away from the flock to find a tree hole to nest.
Although I am pretty sure it was because of the humidity, it is still hard to guess because his new pair has made it and laid eggs in his city. But, every pair is a unique case, and the previous pair was healthy and in need of more humidity to breed. However, imitating the breeding season of wild African grey can make pet African grey able to breed all year around when they are free of responsibilities and physically ready.
And every parrot’s breeder knows the conditions are crucial to producing new parrot and profit from them.
Related Questions
How Many Times a Year Do African Greys Breed?
African grey breeding season usually starts in October and can last as long as 7 months until they are free of the responsibilities of taking care of the new hatchlings. And in the following breeding season, the pair may breed and mate again, or simply they will just skip.
Do African GREY Parrots Mate For Life?
Yes, African grey parrots are monogamous, so they pair at 3-5 years of age, and when they are ready to breed, they will stay together for decades to come. However, it’s possible for them to change their mates and it’s very rare.
How Many Times Does An African GREY Parrot Lay Eggs In A Year?
African grey parrots lay a clutch of 2-4 eggs once or twice a year, and they may lay more eggs, and more often they are living in captivity.
What Age Do African Greys Stop Breeding?
There is no certain age for an African grey to stop breeding. They will start breeding at 7-10 and will continue as long as their health is still serving them, and this could last for 60 years, especially in captive African greys that get good food and care.
And yes, that’s about it. I hope you found this article informative and easy to digest. Thank you for reading…
Hello, my name is sadeq and I am obsessed about parrot And I am here to share everything about raising pet parrots and how to be good owners to your bird.
