Advice on bonded pair who have eggs

[Miko_the_birb]

Hello everyone I have so many questions! First intros I have a 3 yr old female pineapple named Miko who is very sweet. I made the mistake of treating these birds like potato chips and got two more Kermit and Duckie. I also made the mistake of not taking the time to bond with Kermit and Duckie and they bonded with each other and Miko. It got to where i could not put my hand in the cage w/o Kermit attacking me. I have since rehomed Kermit w/ my mom (who happens to live next door) Kermit is absolutely thriving now! (I love how happy and confident he is) I have tried to separate Miko and Duckie to hopefully bond w/ Duckie but eventually they start calling to each other & the noise level is insane I had planned on surrendering Duckie to a rescue but they started mating around Xmas and between 1/4-1/11
Miko has laid 4 eggs. I’m now concerned with how Miko will be affected if I surrender Duckie after the babies are weaned (if they are viable/survive)

I’m sorry for the length.

Appreciate any insight, advice, etc

 

[DonnaBudgie]

She will get over it I promise you, and separating them so she doesn't keep breeding is the best thing for both of you. Just give her lots of love and attention. A new cage would be good so she's in a "different" environment and
won"t look for him as much, and new toys to distract her.

Remember that they are birds not humans and are being drivin to breed by hormones not love. You'll be doing her a favor to break the cycle becausr she can't break it herself.

I had to break up two bonded budgies who would have bred themselves to death had I not separated them. They were both fine in a week. It may take longer with green cheeks but she has you and won't die of a broken heart.

She may start mating and laying eggs again before the chicks fledge and wean. If they do, remove the eggs and substitute dummy eggs as they are laid.

What are you going to do with those adorable babies?

 

[Miko_the_birb]

Thank you! Ultimately I feel like this is the best. I also feel like a new environment will be good for Duckie (I know he had the potential to be a great pet) if the babies survive (are viable) I plan to adopt them out and may keep one (if I dna and keep a female will it be ok to keep her with Miko?)

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Ideally you should adopt them all out but if you insist on keeping any it would need to be a girl and you will need to get a DNA test to find out.

Are you planning on handraising any of them? They generally make better companions if you do or if you handle the babies a lot as the parents raise them but I don't know if your parent birds would allow you to handle them.

Handraising is not easy especially when the chicks are very young. If you want to Handraise you need to learn how to do it safely. If done incorrectly you can kill the babies.

I've handraised baby budgies from hatching if you need any advice on it.

Good luck!

 

[Miko_the_birb]

I plan on handling them but leaving most of the rearing to the parents. As of now both parents don’t have any issues with me handling the eggs or changing out food/water which was actually a problem before , Duckie would constantly try to attack me. I plan on DNA testing all the babies. I want potential homes to know what they’re getting especially if someone may want 2 (I will only adopt out same sex pairs)

 

[DonnaBudgie]

That's a great plan. Having babies is is so exciting! Baby parrots are so incredibly cute and irresistible. I'm happy the parents let you in the nestbox because handfeeding is not easy.
Have you candled the eggs for fertility and development?
Do you know when they're due to start hatching?

 

[Miko_the_birb]

They just started incubating them today & I believe you have to wait a few days to a wk to see if anything is developing (as of now I’ve just seen a yolk)

 

[kme3388]

Bonded pairs of birds are so important. I have 2 conures who’ve bonded, and one isn’t especially nice right now. I know at the end of the day I will never be able to provide the amount of attention that those 2 will be able to provide to one another.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

What source was this AI from?
Are all conures the same in this respect? Conures are a large diverse group of parrots. What happens in nature when one conure of a bonded pair dies? Doesn't the surviver do as most wild birds do and find another mate?

The thing that worries me about allowing two breeding conures to stay together is more unwanted breeding that drains a hen's calcium reserves putting her at risk for egg binding, which is usually fatal. Or exhaustion from raising chicks. Ideally, bonded birds should stay together IF you can avoid/prevent repeated egg laying. Separating the pair physically but not visually may prevent mating and fertile eggs but the hen may continue in a hormonal state and continue to lay infertile eggs

I agree this is a difficult situation.

 

[Miko_the_birb]

View attachment 62884
Bonded pairs of birds are so important. I have 2 conures who’ve bonded, and one isn’t especially nice right now. I know at the end of the day I will never be able to provide the amount of attention that those 2 will be able to provide to one another.

Sorry I’m not going to go by what AI states alone. I’ve had Duckie (hatched 11/1/22) since July 2023 and he has never really accepted any of the humans in our home. When he is away from Miko for a few days he starts to come around , he will let you pet his head. He has never allowed anyone to pick him up or step up on your finger. I admit that I made the mistake of allowing him to bond with the other birds before forming a bond myself. I’m only able to keep them apart for a week or two and then one of them starts making noise and the other hears it and it’s absolute chaos. I’ve thought about doing side by side cages maybe if they see each other they’ll be ok.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

The troubling thing about the AI answer is that it implies also that if a bird is strongly bonded to a same sex bird or a human and that bird or human dies or must rehome said bird, that the bird will experience extreme emotional distress that it may never recover from and may pluck their feathers in grief.

Now, this may be true in some cases, but having to worry about this ever happening would make me, and a lot of people who think about the future consequences of decisions made today (often too much to enjoy anything risky), never get a bird. Are birds even less resilient than people and dogs (to owners)? Or wolves? Apparently wolves are among the rare mammals that are monogamous. Most birds are monogamous and birds also have a fairly high mortality rate in the wild from predators and accidents. Do wild birds suffer extreme emotional distress when their mate dies? I hope not. I feel bad enough when a bird hits a window without worrying about its surviving mate, too!

I think that with enough attention and distraction, bonded birds can thrive again after losing their mate.

 

[Miko_the_birb]

And ultimately they will thrive better in a home where i am not stressed over them. Kermit is a prime example after a few days at my mom’s he was fine. Now he has such a bond with my mom. I want that for Duckie too

 

[widor]

hm, probably not the best opininon here but for me birds' best company is other bird...and if they get along fine it is best for them. Do you feel left out? You still can be their friend and train them whihc is hard work but if you want cuddles or anything else maybe not a bird is the right answer for that...?

 

[Miko_the_birb]

I want a bird who doesn’t attack me when I’m simply trying to give it food/water I want a bird who will allow me to pick him up or step up when necessary. Miko is very independent & comes to us for cuddles on her own terms (mostly prefers my 12 yr old son)

 

[kme3388]

The troubling thing about the AI answer is that it implies also that if a bird is strongly bonded to a same sex bird or a human and that bird or human dies or must rehome said bird, that the bird will experience extreme emotional distress that it may never recover from and may pluck their feathers in grief.

Now, this may be true in some cases, but having to worry about this ever happening would make me, and a lot of people who think about the future consequences of decisions made today (often too much to enjoy anything risky), never get a bird. Are birds even less resilient than people and dogs (to owners)? Or wolves? Apparently wolves are among the rare mammals that are monogamous. Most birds are monogamous and birds also have a fairly high mortality rate in the wild from predators and accidents. Do wild birds suffer extreme emotional distress when their mate dies? I hope not. I feel bad enough when a bird hits a window without worrying about its surviving mate, too!

I think that with enough attention and distraction, bonded birds can thrive again after losing their mate.

I didn’t mean to be rude. I was being lazy because I didn’t want to type out everything so I just googled should you separate a bonded pair of conures. I knew that green cheeks bonded for life because I just had this discussion with a vet due to my own situation. I was informed the only parrot I have that’s not monogamous is my Ekkie. Again, I’m sorry I was rude. I just don’t think a bonded pair of conures should be separated unless dire. Parrots are so social.

 

[Miko_the_birb]

I want a bird who doesn’t attack me when I’m simply trying to give it food/water I want a bird who will allow me to pick him up or step up when necessary. Miko is very independent & comes to us for cuddles on her own terms (mostly prefers my 12 yr old son) if it was just a matter of him only wanted the attention of the other birds i would be absolutely fine with that it’s the biting/attacking not being able to touch Miko when he is near (and oh boy he is quick as lightning) I’m stressed and I know it’s rubbing off on the birds

 

[Miko_the_birb]

I didn’t mean to be rude. I was being lazy because I didn’t want to type out everything so I just googled should you separate a bonded pair of conures. I knew that green cheeks bonded for life because I just had this discussion with a vet due to my own situation. I was informed the only parrot I have that’s not monogamous is my Ekkie. Again, I’m sorry I was rude. I just don’t think a bonded pair of conures should be separated unless dire. Parrots so social.

I did not take your post/comment as being rude. I feel like I am in a dire situation and hopefully since it’s he is still young it will be ok.

 

[kme3388]

I want a bird who doesn’t attack me when I’m simply trying to give it food/water I want a bird who will allow me to pick him up or step up when necessary. Miko is very independent & comes to us for cuddles on her own terms (mostly prefers my 12 yr old son)

Unfortunately this can happen with any bonded pair of birds that are monogamous. They can become aggressive when they are protecting a “nest” during their breeding seasons. My female conure is still nice to me, but my male has drawn blood on myself, and my husband since he started mating with my female. He is protecting his mate, and that’s what he should be doing. That’s a natural instinct. He feeds her, and cares for her.

This decision is ultimately yours of course. I just wanted to advocate for the parrots.

 

[kme3388]

I did not take your post/comment as being rude. I feel like I am in a dire situation and hopefully since it’s he is still young it will be ok.

I also wanted to mention I do still attempt to handle my male even when he’s grumpy. Once I get him away from his nest in a different area of my house, and away from my female he is a little easier to work with. He contact calls a little but he allows me to handle him & work on training. If he’s anywhere near my female, or the cage they share I’m getting bit! I’m hoping this passes after breeding season.

 

[Miko_the_birb]

The biting has been on going for a yr and got 10xs worse when we add hormones (Miko gets spicy when she’s hormonal so I’m well aware) I’m all for advocating for the parrots but at some point my wellbeing has to count for something too.

Surprisingly now that she’s laid eggs he is actually less aggressive towards me. I have considered after the babies (if they survive ) are weaned putting him in a cage next to Miko maybe look into a cage with a divider. Perhaps if he they can still see each other and I would work with Duckie one on one.