Ask Lafeber

Budgies breeding

We have one male budgie who is around 15 months old, our vet told us he was lonely and needed a friend so we got another budgie a month ago from the same place. They told us that the new budgie was male and the vet also agreed, however after looking online, we think she’s a female as her cere is a light blue and white colour. We’re not entirely sure how old she is, but the vet suggested that she may be around 6 to 8 months. We quarantined the budgies for a month and put them in together today, they seemed to get along too well and he has tried to breed with her. We’re concerned as we don’t want her laying eggs as she’s too young and it can be dangerous for her even if she were old enough. The male budgie is in breeding season, but as she is too young, her cere hasn’t changed colour, suggesting that she’s not ready to breed. Even though she isn’t in breeding season, is there still any chance of her laying eggs?

Hi,

The best thing to do is separate them again, and probably have them in separate rooms. A young hen should never be put with an older, mature male. He is at the minimum age for breeding – although it’s better to wait until a male is 2 years old. For a female, 2 years is safest, but the earliest she should be with a male is about 18 months. I know breeding was not your plan, but if this is a female, budgies will do what they want to if you put a male and female together. While it doesn’t mean you have to give them a nest box and let them hatch eggs, she will still lay eggs. You are correct she is too young, and even at the right age, there is always a risk with egg laying for any bird. Also, since you got her from the same place, there is a chance she is related to the male, if they buy their budgies from the same breeder each time. Most breeders who sell to pet shops are volume breeders and tend to breed indiscriminately – meaning they let them breed in a flock, and a lot of inbreeding goes on.

As for her sex, if she is a pale, pastel or solid color, then the cere is not a good indication of gender. It does not change color the way it will in the other color mutations.

Is your male a pet that you can handle? If so, then adding a bird to his cage will cause him to become wild again. A bird will almost always choose another bird over a human as a companion. If he isn’t tame, then I do agree he needs a companion. But it would be better to try to find a bird closer to his age, and another male since breeding is not in your plans. If you are not attached to the new bird, you might see if the pet shop would take her back and try to find you an adult male. If you keep the female, and put her with the male when she is older, you will end up dealing with egg laying at some point.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda