I have 3 babies (not sure how old) – from the same hatch. All 3 birds in same cage, separated from mother and father. 2 of the 3 babies seem to cuddle and connect w/each other and are pairing off; and the 3rd is on it’s own. Do we know if this means that the 2 are possibly male + female? Or same sex? Do we suggest introducing a 4th bird to buddy up w/ this 3rd one who seems to be odd man out/ on his own?
Hi Linda,
When chicks are weaned, they do need to be separated from the parents as you have done. However, the next step is to not ever allow related birds to breed. Since you do not know the sex of these birds, it is est to either find a new home for each bird, or keep each bird in its own cage. You need to split up the two who are trying to bind immediately. If they are male and female, they will try to breed as early as 8 months old, which is way too young, plus they are related and should not be allowed to breed with each other. Adding a 4th bird is not the answer because the issue here is that the two bonded chicks need to be separated. In the wild, the chicks would disperse. In captivity, the only way to keep related birds from breeding is to split them up. Otherwise the inbreeding can result in deformed or dead chicks.If you don’t have a place for future chicks to go, it is best not to breed your birds.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
