Ask Lafeber

Break up a bonded pair

I have a gorgeous male parakeet who is bonded to a poor quality female who is crippled. Can I take him away from her and try to match him up with a top quality female.

Hi,

I don’t recommend this – it would be particularly cruel for the female. And it’s very likely that the male would not accept another mate – especially if he can see or hear the female. He may be a nice color, but you never know his background and he could very well not pass along any of his traits – you could end up with plain green offspring. Parakeets are abundant in captivity and by no means rare in the wild, so there is no valid reason to split these birds up just so you might end up with pretty chicks. They certainly aren’t an expensive bird, and if you look hard enough, you can find one with the same colors.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda