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bird behaviour

Common Breeding Seasons for Birds and Parrots

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As breeders and hand raisers of many parrot species, I receive many enquiries from people wanting to know when a certain bird species start breeding.  So to make it easier, I have developed a list of the breeding seasons of some common parrot species.  This is in no way a guarantee that my birds or yours will breed within these months.  Some start earlier, some later and then there are those that decide not to breed at all.

To get the best chances of breeding, you need to ensure that your birds are in prime breeding condition.  This includes feeding a good quality seed, mixing in some quality bird pellets and feeding sprouted seeds.  Breeding hens also need high levels ofbird calcium supplement to stay healthy while producing eggs.   I also recommend using Vetafarm Breeding Aid to boost the levels of fatty acids and vitamins in breeding birds.

Bird Species Breeding Season
Cockatiels Can breed all year around
Green Cheeked Conures August – October
Maroon Bellied Conures August – October
Sun Conures July– November
Jenday Conures August – October
Nanday Conures August – October
Alexandrines July – September
Indian Ringnecks July – September
Galahs July– December
Corellas September– December
Cockatoos September– January
Moustache Parrots July – September
Quakers October – January
Eclectus Parrots Can breed all year around
Rainbow Lorikeets Can breed all year around

Parrot Enrichment

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Parrot enrichment is an extremely important part of owning birds and parrots.  Your birds would have spent most of their time foraging for food every day in the wild.  Birds kept in captivity no longer face this and it can unfortunately result in behavioural and heath problems such as screaming, feather plucking and weight problems.  There are many things you can do to assist in improving your parrots lifestyle and enriching their environment.

  • Providing new and exciting bird toys
  • Creating foraging opportunities
  • Changing the location of food that is available

Take a look at Birdie Bundles new article What is Parrot Enrichment? to see other options available to enrich your birds lives.

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Teaching a Bird to Talk

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Many owners have asked us how is the best way to teach their bird to talk and we are happy to provide what works for us.  There are three things that help train your bird to talk:

  • repetition
  • emotion
  • reward

Have you ever found that your birds pick up phrases and words that have never been specifically said to them but have been said around the household (like yelling out your children’s name)?  We have found over the years that teaching a bird to talk is not so much about repeating the same words over and over only, but to say them to the bird in an emotional way (such as excited or yelling).  That is why so many birds pick up the names of children, pets and the occasional bad word because they hear these words yelled repeatedly throughout the day.

Likewise, when specifically trying to teach a new word or phrase to your bird, it is more likely that they will learn it sooner if you repeat the phrase every time you see the bird (or when you want him/her to say it) in an excited voice and offer a treat when they successfully say the phrase.

Buddy, our hand raised Quaker is a fantastic talker and we have used the same principles to teach him to say a wide range of phrases and words along with being able to answer questions when asked.  Any time someone asks him “Is Buddy a good boy?” he responds with quickly bobbing his head up and down saying “yeah!!”.  The same can be said about his girlfriend, Bubbles.  Any time someone says “Kisses” she quickly runs over to Buddy saying “Kisses”, makes kissing sounds and gives Buddy a kiss!

We have found a video that further explains the principles above that really do work when you want to teach your bird to talk.