Ask Lafeber

Mating

My female come near male but male refuse what is the problem

Hi Zain,

You didn’t mention what species you have, but generally when one bird isn’t receptive, it is too young. Small birds like cockatiels, parakeets and lovebirds should be at least 2 years old before you give them a mate and try to breed them. If you have one of these species and they are younger than 2, separate them until both birds are 2 years old. Conures and similar sizes need to be 3-5 years old before you let them breed. The larger the bird, the older it should be before being paired with a mate. Even though a bird may be sexually mature, it will still have some physical and emotional development to go through before it will be a good breeder. Young birds that are encouraged to breed too soon will often not take care of the eggs and are very likely to develop bad breeding habits that will ruin them for ever being a good breeder. And young hens are at a high risk of becoming egg bound and dying due to underdeveloped muscles. It’s very risky to have one bird that wants to breed and one that doesn’t. Often the bird that wants to breed will end up getting aggressive and start attacking the other bird, and it can end up killing the other bird out of frustration. It’s also possible that the birds are simply not compatible. They choose a mate in the wild, and do not always like the mate we choose. And some birds never make good breeders. If your birds are old enough to breed, and won’t bond, then separate them and try different mates. You can’t force a pair to bond, and if one continues to refuse the other, most likely these birds are not going to ever be compatible.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda