Hi All,

 

I have posted before in regards to pairing budgies.....But have a question.. My Hen is 13months old and the cock is bout9months old, Now when I purchased them I noticed the cock had a mate already... One which I didn't want. I have know had them for 2 weeks together with no interest in each other... I have noticed the hen attacking the male at his feet not to much though, just if he's in her way.....

Just wondering if there is still a chance of them pairing up considering the above!!!

 

Cheers

NOWBUDGIE :28:

I think the cock may be too young, and if you were to wait until the warmer is weather is past and pair him with a hen in March you would have better results.

Perhaps his clumsy efforts has put the hen off being with him. I dont use cocks that young.

They will probably bond in time. Some pairs take a long time to bond and others bond immediately

Cheers thanks for that!!!

 

Also I wanted to know if my couple don't bond....could I get another male and keep the other male in the same breeding cage, would'nt want to put him on his own... Don't think it will be a good idea to get a female ay!!!

Thanks

NOWBUDGIE

If you mean get another male and remove the female yes you can do that

But if you mean keep the female in the breeder cage with 2 males wouldnt they fight? Especially if their was a nest box.

Agree with Pearce... the two males will fight over the female... best to stick with one female and one male per breeding cage. And agree with kaz and others... wait a few months and see how they go... he might mature and 'get' what to do!

It has been suggested to me in the past on here to add another male to the mix and maybe the pair will step up their game or the female will bond to the new male and you will at least have a breeding pair. IF you do this I would introduce the additional male WITHOUT the presence of a nest box... then after a few weeks reintroduce the nest box and see what happens. The most that may happen is that the one male will "disturb" mating by being nosey or wanting in on the action. But if you had it the other way around and had 2 hens and one cock all heck would break loose.

 

As for the ages of your keets I agree with KAZ, this cock is too young. 12 months old is rule of thumb for breeding, but his young age may also leave him without experience... making the bonding/mating thing a little more of a project. I don't know much about the weather there as I live in the US, but you may want to make sure they are even in "condition"... is her cere brown and crusty? She may be chasing him off because she is out of season and isn't ready for breeding right now.

 

Just my thoughts.

It has been suggested to me in the past on here to add another male to the mix and maybe the pair will step up their game or the female will bond to the new male and you will at least have a breeding pair. IF you do this I would introduce the additional male WITHOUT the presence of a nest box... then after a few weeks reintroduce the nest box and see what happens. The most that may happen is that the one male will "disturb" mating by being nosey or wanting in on the action. But if you had it the other way around and had 2 hens and one cock all heck would break loose.

 

As for the ages of your keets I agree with KAZ, this cock is too young. 12 months old is rule of thumb for breeding, but his young age may also leave him without experience... making the bonding/mating thing a little more of a project. I don't know much about the weather there as I live in the US, but you may want to make sure they are even in "condition"... is her cere brown and crusty? She may be chasing him off because she is out of season and isn't ready for breeding right now.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

Thanks Chrissy

The Hen looks Ready to me her cere is brown (dark) but not so crusty!!! I'm sure the cere on past hens I've had has had the same colour as this hen does... could be wrong though!! The male isn't baby like, and he was paired with another hen when I got him....didn't like her at all so got him another!!! That made me think he know what to do

Edited December 20, 200816 yr by KAZ

At his age it would be a bit like a 15 year old boy having kids, yes it's possible and chances are pretty good he knows what to do but that doesn't mean he'll do a good job of it. Birds at that age have more of a tendancy to smash eggs and also to have babies simply die due to bad parenting. Really better to wait

Breeding age for budgies should be 12 months to 4 years for hens and 12 months to 6 or 7 years for cocks. Obviously they can breed younger but do not usually have the maturity to raise babies well before 12 months. Any hens who breed under 12 months are using calcium from their own growing bones to produce eggs.

Edited December 20, 200816 yr by KAZ

just because someone else paired him up doesn't mean that he is old enough... I know I was trying to pair up at 14 and 15 years old... didn't make me ready...

I know I was trying to pair up at 14 and 15 years old... didn't make me ready...

what guy isn't... c'mon lets be honest. Its the reason I won't be having any daughters.

Edited December 20, 200816 yr by JimmyBanks

I know some breeders from the uk use birds from 6 months old but theirs always a big risk that they could smash eggs, kill babies, leave the nest and not incubate, dont feed the chicks etc etc. I have also read that sometimes younger parents cant cope with all the babies so they either die or neglect the chicks all together. I would wait till 12 months old for both parents, better to be safe than sorry.