Dear Parrots magazine,
No metal please
I bought a pair of African Greys just over a year ago and was told they were a male and female which I think was right as they appeared to want to nest. As a result, I bought a nest box from a chap that makes them not far away from me, but the box had protective metal trim around the nest hole. This did strike me as a bit odd when I first saw the box, as I think birds like to chew their way in. But to confirm my suspicions they seemed very agitated about this metal around the entrance hole, so much so that I removed it and replaced it with some odd softwood strips I had, which I fixed across the hole that left a bit of a gap. I was so pleased to see that they chewed away at this timber and finally entered the nest box, which is what I thought they would do in the wild. They do seem a lot happier now although haven’t produced any eggs yet, so I am waiting with great anticipation.
I would say to other breeders, please do not use metal trims around nest holes as it is just not natural for the birds.
John Dainty, Monmouthshire