August 7, 2020
Not breeding again.
I would like to have the two unrelated pairs together but no breeding box. Can I take a chance with that?
Question:
Answer:
Hi David,
Yes, sorry, that’s what I meant by a communal cage. So no nest box and watch for the hens getting broody. Even if one lays eggs, you don’t have to give her a way to incubate the eggs. If the cage has a metal grate, this prevents incubation. If not, you can buy fake eggs and replace the real ones. Or you can use a pin to poke a hole in each egg. As long as you do this within 48 hours of the egg being laid, the egg will not have started growing at all.
To keep them as non-breeding, set them up like pets with toys and swings, even a couple of mirrors. Make sure there are as many food and water bowls as birds, in different parts of the cage. If they start breeding behavior like pairs mating or keeping away from the other pair, reduce their daylight hours to no more than 8-10 per day, rearrange toys, perches and bowls in the cage, and even move the cage to another place in the room or turn it to make it different. This shakes things up a bit and makes them feel like it isn’t a good time to raise a family. Also limit their fresh foods to only a couple of times a week.
We recently hosted a 2 part webinar on dealing with pet birds and hormones and the Vet offers some great tips on reducing egg laying or deterring breeding. I’ll provide the links so you can watch the videos if you want.
Webinar: “Spring Is In the Air: How To Deal With Your Pet Bird’s Hormonal Behavior!”
Thanks for the update!
Brenda
