How to Breed Senegal Parrots (Vet Guide)
Last Updated on February 28, 2023 by Ali Shahid
The Senegal parrot has a colorful appearance and is a medium-sized bird with a comical personality. If you own a Senegal parrot, you must be wondering: how to breed Senegal parrots?
The first step in breeding a Senegal parrot is to understand how it breeds in nature. This will provide you with an insight into how to breed Senegal parrots in captivity. Let’s begin by discussing the breeding behavior of the Senegal Parrot in the wild.
Senegal Parrots Breeding in the Wild
Senegal parrots breed from September to November, at the end of the African rainy season. Breeding season only happens once a year in the wild, which means that parrots only lay eggs once a year.
Generally, nests are in hollow trees that are quite far from the ground. Senegal parrots take about four years to mature; others don’t breed until they’re 6 or 7.
Senegal females can lay three to four eggs that hatch seven to 28 days later. Female birds incubate the eggs, just as other birds do. After hatching, new chicks have sparse white down and take two to three weeks to open their eyes.
The female provides them with food and warmth. After hatching, she stays in the nest until her chicks have enough feathers to provide heat insulation.
In this period, the male is responsible for bringing food to the female and chicks, as well as for guarding the nest.
The female begins collecting food for the chicks approximately two to four weeks after hatching. Within a few weeks of hatching, the chicks leave the nest and become independent of their parents.
Breeding Senegal Parrots in Captivity
Breeding Senegal Parrots in captivity presents several challenges and is, therefore, best left to more experienced breeders. However, if you’re still interested, you’ll have to overcome the following challenges and make the right arrangements.
Introducing Breeder Senegal Parrots
Breeder birds are very delicate, so pairing them up is tricky. It requires patience and constant observation to introduce new breeder birds to each other. A Senegal Parrot may attack newcomers, causing severe injuries or even death.
It’s important to introduce them gradually. Initially, both birds should be kept in separate cages, next to each other. You might see them sitting close together after they’ve gotten used to each other, obviously in separate cages.
Afterward, you can place them in another neutral cage, so they can get used to each other. When they are in one cage, they should be observed very carefully for aggressive behavior.
After the bonding is evident, as in mutual preening and feeding each other, they can be placed in a breeding cage. Even when they are placed in their permanent home, vigilant observation is required. If there is aggression at any stage, separate the birds.
Housing
Ideally, one pair should be housed in an aviary or suspended cage. It should be at least 6 feet long, 6 feet high, and 3 feet wide. Combining indoors and out is actually preferable – basically an outer aviary connected to an indoor cage (heated in colder climates).
The inside flight allows for easy clean-up, keeps food dry and uncontaminated, and minimizes mouse problems. In indoor breeding, cages should be at least 4 feet x 3 feet x 3 feet, with enough space for birds to exercise.
It’s important to have ample space for this species as males can attack hens, so the room of the female need to escape. For the birds to chew on, put non-toxic leafy branches in the aviary.
As a result, birds will be entertained, bored less, and can exercise their beaks. It will provide additional nutrition for the birds to chew on flowers and fruiting bodies.
Nest box Selection
In order to breed successfully, these birds need more privacy. Nest boxes in cages and aviaries should be at the highest points, with entrance holes in the shade. The light should not be allowed into the nest box.
Ideally, nest boxes should be positioned so that nest inspections can be conducted outside. The best time to inspect the nest is when the adult birds are feeding.
In some cases, breeders use vertical boxes, in others, horizontal boxes, and in still others, tubes leading into nest boxes with twists and turns. Nest box preferences are influenced by the nest-box or log in which parents hatched and raised.
Nesting holes for Senegal Parrots are often unusual in size and shape. There are times when it’s a trial-and-error process.
Many breeders report that 18 inches to 20 inches high and 8 inches to 10 inches square work well. In the event that your birds are not comfortable with a vertical box, you may want to try turning the box on its side.
If space allows, position various logs or nest-boxes within the aviary in various sizes and types to let the parents choose what suits them best.
When a pair has settled on a nest box and is raising chicks inside, the others can be removed and cleaned thoroughly. The preferred box should be kept exclusively for the parents.
Egg Laying
An average of one clutch is produced each year. There are typically 2 to 4 white eggs in each clutch, although sometimes there can be as many as 6. Eggs measure approximately 3 cm in length and 2.5 cm in width.
As soon as the second egg is laid, the hen begins the process of incubating the eggs. A typical incubation period lasts between 26 and 28 days, depending on the ambient temperature. At the age of nine to ten weeks, the young fledge.
Chicks
The newly hatched chick depends on its mother for warmth and nutrition. When they hatch, they only have sparse white down and cannot open their eyes for another couple of weeks.
Chicks generally stay with the mother in the nest until they have sufficient feathers to create their insulation. Males guard nests and bring food to females and chicks during this time. The female also collects food for the chicks when they are 2 to 4 weeks old. Around 12 weeks old, the young are independent and leave the nest.
