To Breed or Not to Breed?

So your parrot has grown to adulthood and is a healthy specimen. You’ve seen clear signs that the parrot would like to raise a family. Should you get your parrot a mate or should you avoid allowing the parrot to breed? That’s a really big question and the answer is not always a clear yes or no.

Hobby breeding can be great fun and very satisfying. Hand feeding the babies after they reach a few weeks of age can be delightful and, with proper socialization, you can provide young parrots to the pet market that are already tame and ready to fit into their new human families.

Let’s look at some things you must consider before committing to breeding your parrot:

Do you want to become a hobby breeder or do you want my parrot to remain a bonded companion parrot?

Some parrots are perfectly capable of bonding with a mate that is tame and remaining a companion parrot to a large extent -- at least when they are not actively rearing babies. During the actual breeding and family rearing processes, you can expect your loving companion parrot to become much less interested in you and your activities as the parrots focus on their family’s needs. The danger is that your parrot may not be one that is willing to be a part-time companion, becoming quite confused and unable to cope.

I’ve learned from personal experience. Mr. Bird, a gorgeous pied cockatiel, was tame when he was rehomed with me. He bonded with a female and raised babies, yet whenever there were no babies in the nest, he was a great companion bird. In fact, he was more than willing to allow his babies to be handled. He would announce each hatchling's arrival by coming out of the nest and virtually bursting with song. He outlived two wives and, after a long and satisfying life, he died peacefully at an advanced age.

On the other hand, I’ve had other parrots that were tame before being paired with a mate. After they ‘fell in love’ with their mates, they were no longer tame and would no longer have been good companion parrots, even if removed from the pair-bonded mate.

Then there was Sydney, my very first budgie. She was not hand fed, but she was truly bonded to people. When she decided to begin acting as if she wanted to make, we obtained a beautiful male budgie named Blue. Sydney was so human-bonded that she began self-destructive behavior because of the internal war between her natural instincts and the imprinting of the human-parrot bond.

You must ask yourself if you are willing to take a chance with your loving companion parrot. Of course, you could choose, as I did, to have breeder birds and maintain one or more companion parrots separately.

SunDance was always a companion parrot but I also had a large aviary of breeder pairs (including Mr. Bird) that were tame in varying degrees. SunDance satisfied my need for a loving parrot to interact with while the breeders satisfied my desire to breed parrots and learn more about genetics and social develop of avians.

Are there good homes for your parrots’ babies?

I don’t know about you, but I never could sell or give my baby parrots to just anyone. I had to know they went to good, loving homes that understood parrots or were willing to learn about parrots. The single time that I sold weaned budgie babies to a pet shop, I lost a lot of sleep over it and never repeated the experience.

Where I lived in Florida, parrots were very popular as pets, especially the small parrots such as I bred. In my small city, there were numerous pet shops and many breeders as well as several large bird clubs which clearly indicated the local interest in parrots. Veterinarians qualified to treat parrots were readily available, at least two local vets treated only parrots. I never had any problem finding good homes for the babies after weaning. I did, however, refuse a few potential buyers because they didn’t pass my screening as good parrot parent possibilities.

Where I live today, the situation is drastically different. After searching locally, I found only one parrot breeder and no avian veterinarian within many miles. I’ve found a few people who are parrot enthusiasts, but only a few. Therefore, I do not have any reason to believe there is a need for the addition of many baby parrots to the market in my current location. While I do plan to allow Ziggy and Precious, my budgies, to have babies and do have good homes already lined up for at least one clutch of their babies, I do not plan to permit them to create a lot of babies that may not have warm, loving homes awaiting them. There are already too many parrot that are rescues and in need of adoption in the world today.

Is your parrot species rare or with wild populations that are endangered?

There are a few species of parrot that a responsible parrot owner will choose to breed if the option arises. For example, owners of gorgeous and expensive Hyacinth Macaws should breed their parrots when possible because these macaws are not plentiful either in the wild or in the captive companion parrot market. There are other species which fall into this same category. By adding to the population of rare or nearly-endangered parrots, a parrot lover is doing a service to the avian world.

What are your motivations for breeding parrots?

This is an important question you must answer before thinking of breeding parrots of any kind. If you are breeding birds for the money, you are doing it for the wrong reason. In fact, the amount of work involved with breeding parrots, maintaining a clean and healthy environment, hand feeding and socializing babies, finding homes and following up on the babies means that even if you are breeding fairly expensive parrots, you can generate more money by doing other type of work if making money is your goal. If you aren’t doing it because of a true love of parrots, then do not breed your parrots at all. It shouldn’t be about money.

Do you have the time and energy?

This is the biggest question for anyone thinking of breeding parrots. If you plan to hand feed the babies from, let’s say, three weeks of age, you must maintain a strict schedule so that you can be available for the necessary feedings. The cage and nest must be cleaned often, much more often than when housing a companion parrot. The babies require time to become socialized if they are to become companion birds. And the commitment requires many weeks to complete.

Even in the case of cockatiels, you are committing to hand feeding and socializing for four or five weeks. You have to take time to teach the babies to play and interact with people. You have to teach them to eat. The level of commitment required is much like having a new human baby at home.

If you find that the parents have abandoned a baby or the entire nest, you could find it necessary to hand feed from Day One, which requires getting up in the middle of the night and preparing food, feeding babies, cleaning up, and still trying to get your needed rest. Most employers do not welcome parrots requiring noon time hand feedings into the workplace, so how would you handle a situation requiring daytime feedings?

So, is breeding for you?

Only you can answer this question. If you find that you have the time and energy, the right situation, the right parrots, and the right motivation, you may want to try raising a clutch of babies and learn more about what it is like.

You should also think about what happens after the babies are weaned and sent to their new homes. Your two bonded parent parrots are going to wish to repeat their family rearing activities. Instead of a single companion parrot, you now have to parrots to provide for properly. Will this arrangement be right for you? You are the only one that can answer that question.

If you do choose to engage in hobby breeding, you will almost certainly enjoy it. You will probably find yourself very pleased when the babies are weaned and the work is over, as well. Remember, the work is only over for this single clutch. If you allow your parrots to breed again, you must know that you are willing and able put the same amount of effort into each clutch of babies.

Good luck to those who do choose to breed parrots. We’ll look forward to seeing the baby pictures!

Only my Opinion, I would not let them breed. After rescuing 8 out of our 10. Rehomming is to frequent and a deffinate. So may needing homes already. I feel the same way with all pets. Way too many in need of knowledgable commited homes. Way to many want what they spent and not what is best for bird. We are a money hungry society and that will never change, and the birds suffer due to this. Yes I feel very strongly about this, we have spent over 30,000.00 in rehoming 10 parrots, and I- and my Husband are very dedicated.