I have posted theis elsewhere but was told to ask here as I will get more help.

 

Well, I've had Isis (girl) for 8 weeks now (she is about 6 months old). She has been in quarintine for 7 weeks and just last week I put her in with the rest of the gang. Automatically she and Arkady (5month old boy) hit it off and got on really well. Later that night I saw Isis perform the U shape to Arkady!!!. She has only been in this cage for one day!! and there is no nest box. I wasn't intending on breeding them until Christmas this year. Anyway the next day I saw her and Arkady practicing. So far he hasn't got any balance.

But what should I do they are too young and I do not want to seperate them as Isis only just got put into that cage and she was so lonely and depressed in the other one and now she is so happy.

Can they mate without producing eggs? And if they do produce eggs should I take her eggs away and replace them with false ones so that she doesn't exhaust herself by continuously laying eggs. It is autumn here at the moment so it gets dark early, however I study in the room they are in and I can't move them to another room. Their cage is 165 by 89 by 89 cm so will be very impractical to cover. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

You could try an old double bedsheet to cover them with. Or what about just working with a lamp focussed on your desk or wherever you work - the rest of the room would probably be quite dark then.

lol you must have the same water as Phoebe.. lol Sorry. Is there anything that can resemble a nest or nest box. If so remove it. If not... PHOEBE your Call

Oh dear, I am not a breeder, I am not a psychologist or expert on bird behaviour so I really cannot presume what to do. I have tried separation, fake eggs, hormone shots, cooler/darker rooms, other same sex partners with Star and Comet but they would not give it up and poor Star is now up for adoption in a single budgie home only. I truly believe that these two are a bonded pair and them some, have never seen such intense behaviour and concern for each other. They were together about three to four months before the mating thing started and mature budgies (especially Comet) and would still go at it 365 days a year given the chance. What you do have on your side is that your two budgies are younger and just met, can they bond that quickly?, I really don't know, all I know is that the more you keep them together, the closer they will get. So you can choose to separate them now or go with the conseqences, maybe they were just goofing around but most probably not. I mentioned before how I envy budgie owners that keep several budgies in one cage, not possible in my case as they either love and want to reproduce or hate each other.

Have no idea if they can actually lay fertile eggs as they are very young but it sounds like they want to. Have had male and female pairings for years with no untoward effects up until now, will never do that again.

Best of luck in what you decide to do and sorry I couldn't be more helpful. :glare:

I have a little wooden platform in the cage that Isis likes to walk over, more so than the other budgies. Do you think she is considering this as a nesting spot? I have taken out all the spare food dishes too.

Don't know if a small, wooden platform would be considered as a nesting spot but nothing surprises me anymore, hope they have stopped trying to mate. :dbb1:

Well, the one surefire way to stop them is to separate them. It's something that has to be considered anytime you get more than one budgie. Sometimes it's just a necessary thing to do and that's the case if they won't stop attempting to mate. If it comes to this, you can keep their cages close together and give them supervised out-of-cage time (with the cages closed so they don't pop in and try to make themselves at home together) but house them separately.

 

Before doing that you can try making sure they get 12 hours of complete darkness and quiet every night, rearrange their cage every week, and definitely do as Daz suggested and make sure ANYTHING resembling a nest box is taken out. Is there a grate at the bottom of the cage? Some birds try to nest in corners if there isn't. They also try to use food dishes so that's another thing to watch out for. I've seen little logs (I think they're sold under the name kozy keets?) that are probably the stupidest idea ever as females will try to hollow them out and make a nest. Anything like that would be a bad idea.

 

But as mentioned, if all else fails, separating them will do the trick. I know it's hard to split up a bonded pair but sometimes, whether they like it or not, that is what's best for them.

Are they still acting that way? My budgies seem to flirt around a bit here and there and I get a little worried, but nothing ever comes of it. I would definately remove the platform and any big seed dishes you might have, and then reduce the light. If all else fails you may have to separate if you don't want any babies, or at least until they are old enough.

One thing to remember is even if you catch them mating, the hen will not lay unless she is happy with a nest box. Yes they will consider a seed dish or a spot in the corner. George and Angel have been caught mating on and off for the last two months but we get no babies. The hen decides if she will lay not the male.

 

Phoebe, don't know what to do about yours, but I'm not drinking any Canadian water thats for sure.

Edited April 14, 200619 yr by daz

There is a little wire platform that is actually like a bridge and I hang it upside down from the top of the cage. They have been hanging out there quite a bit. I think I will take it down. If I move her back into another cage, it will be quite a downsize for her, as their current cage, as I mentioned above is 89cm x 89cm, x165. (taller than me)

I haven't been home much lately, but in the time that I have been home I haven't seen them mate. But I think I will take that bridge out.

:hap: Probably a very good idea, they might consider something a potential site which we don't.

Well It has been 13 days since I put her in, I spent a lot of time with them yesterday and they didn't mate at all and so far no eggs, so all is looking good.

That is good to hear.

Still no eggs. Phew

But I saw that naughty little couple try again. I didn't let them get very far though.

Don't worry about it Sailor!

My Grayson & a lutino boy have been at it hammer and tong for the past month and a half & have produced 2 eggs that I just throw out. Grayson hasn't laid anything for the past 3 weeks now.

It is just another form of exercise for non breeding budgies, perfectly normal. Just ask any human teenager.

I hope it's just a form of exercise

Yes I hope so too. Arkady now has better balance.

 

But still no eggs!!! yay