Ask Lafeber

Brother and Sister Sibling Budgies

I have two blue budgies who were borne from the same clutch and have been coexisting peacefully. I believe they are of breeding age given how long we’ve had them and the color/condition of their ceres. But they seem quite moody and frustrated lately (although not aggressive toward each other). My question is should I allow them to simply “go through the motions” of nature to help them chill out since the eggs are likely to be infertile anyway, or should I separate them for this duration of time somehow? If yes, how long?

Hi,

It’s important that you never allow related birds to breed. They do not know any better. In the wild, they would have naturally gone separate ways once weaned. Any eggs could easily be fertile, even if you have not seen them mating. You can take measures to discourage egg laying, and if any eggs are laid, you need to remove and discard the eggs. Since they breed when conditions are ideal, and we tend to provide ideal conditions, they can lay eggs year round in captivity, but this is dangerous for the hen. So “letting” her lay eggs will not get it out of her system. If anything, it can lead to more and more egg laying.

Keep in mind that in the wild for breeding, they need longer daylight, warmer weather, abundant food, and a quiet, private environment. The goal is to reverse these conditions.

Limit her light to 8-10 hours by covering the cage early each evening

Do not give her anything to use as a nest – no bird huts or tents, no box, bowl, etc. If she decides to sit in a food bowl, remove it and replace with smaller cups.

Do not give her anything to shred such as paper or cardboard.

Rearrange the toys in the cage frequently.

Move the cage to a different place in the room. Move the cage about once a week, or whenever she show signs of nesting – settling on the cage floor for example. This disrupts her idea of having a stable place to lay eggs and raise chicks.

If you feed a lot of fresh foods, stop offering any for a couple of weeks, and then only offer them in small amounts about 2 or 3 times a week. You can resume normal feeding later when the birds aren’t being hormonal.

When she is let out of the cage, do not let her get in any dark cozy places and don’t give her free roam. When you let her roam around, this mimics searching for a nesting site.

When you handle her, limit any petting to only the head and neck – do not pet a bird on the body. Only a bonded mate is allowed to groom the body. We can’t be a mate, so touching the body is off limits.

If there is no metal floor grate, then do not use any bedding or paper in the cage tray – leave it bare and clean it daily.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda