advice on getting 2 cags?

[mikejr]

I'm thinking about getting 2 hand feed baby CAGs a male and a female. I want them to breed when they get into maturity but would my bond with them affect their relationship with each other or vice versa. Is it better to keep them in seperate cages? I would like to teach them to do tricks and talk. Does anyone have experience with this or can help me with their advice?

[Lisa B]

well, they are going to bond with eachother, and not with you.
there is no guarentee they will talk or learn any tricks. even "if" they did it would all be lost in the breeding times. there are so many greys out there now that need homes. In our lifetime we are going to see birds being euthanized because they cant find homes.
Breeding has its own set of problems. Are you prepared for the medical expences that come with it, and the sleepless nights of handfeeding?

Are you familiar with the grey species?

have you thought about taking in an older bird to be your companion?

[Doubleyolk]

I agree with Lisa B,my question is,are they from the same clutch?

[kellywess]

I agree with her. Dont breed (especially if they are clutch mates), theres too many people doing it already, thats why they are so many victims being hoarded, being put in rescue facilities, and quite frankly dying or being euthanized. Rescue a Bird... you be happy you did. Hell, buy two cages and rescue two birds. Then you will feel twice as good. Dont buys babies to breed. They will not learn to talk and do tricks if they bond to each other and not you... they will not want anything to do with you for that matter. Let those babies you are thinking about purchasing go to homes where people are looking for companion pets that way they will have a better chance for survival and happiness. Did I mention rescuing a bird... or two?

[Amie]

**Also agrees with Lisa**

If you buy these guys now, there's no guarantee they will breed 5 years from now. So, if you truly plan to breed them, what would you do when one or both of them isn't interested in breeding?

The more they bond to you, the less interested they'll be in breeding.

Most people who buy birds with the intent of breeding only rehome when they fail to breed. Or, they aren't aware of how time-intensive handfeeding is. We're not trying to lump you into that category, but as life-long bird lovers, you can understand our concern. I've worked in rescues and have seen the results of inexperienced breeding as well as what happens to healthy babies when sold to ignorant bird owners. We really don't need more greys in the marketplace. There are so many who already need a good home.

[Doubleyolk]

JMO.........Clutchmates should never be bred together.

[mikejr]

no, I planned to get them from seperate clutches. The genes will be too closely related and will be weakened, I understand that part. I really want a companion bird, I'm not concerned with just breeding them, for me thats secondary. I was just looking at the probability of it happening.

No I've never had a grey before but I've been doing quite a bit of reading on the species, I keep hearing that in most cases they bond to 1 person. But id rather to have a good relationship with one than have two distant birds.


and addressing the question about taking in an older rescued bird. Here, its a relatively small country, hardly anyone here puts that much emphasis on animal rescues, only a very few people. It would be next to impossible to get a rescued bird. I don't think theres even that many lost birds out there. I called a couple pet shops and they also recommend getting a young bird.

I guess i'll scratch the breeding idea. I thought it would have been a plus. I just really want to have a strong relationship with 1 bird. It's just that I've read about so many successful breedings on the forums and everyone was excited about hatching their chicks and they seemed to still have strong relationships with their birds.

[mikejr]

Thank you all for the quick responses too :)

[Doubleyolk]

Where do you live, Mike?

[mikejr]

I live in Jamaica