Any celeibate couples out there?

[buurd]

I have 1 M & 1 F rosy bourke's parakeets. The person who was chucking them out was a breeder who was mad that they weren't laying eggs.

I do not want them to lay eggs. I dont want to have to worry about my girl having egg problems. I also read that bourke's ,once they start laying, are prolific. I just read that. I have no idea how true it is.

So I was wondering how likely it is that they will never lay eggs?
Has anyone here had a M & F who never laid eggs? Is it possible for a female to never lay an egg?

Does not laying eggs cause them any adverse side effects?

They were housed together, and their age is approx 2-3 years old. I do not want to separate them; they get along with one another and will sit side by side. Ive never seen the female be receptive to any courting. The male has halfheartedly tried, but she shut him down, and he was like, 'ok ,' and backed directly off.

I dont put anything in their cage that they can nest in. And I took out some preening toys that I made them, because I just read that they will see these as nesting material. But bourke's also do not play much with toys, I have read, and they like to every once in a while pick at preening toys ( bourke's, i have read, dont preen one another, and I have never witnessed them do it, either). So I dont really like to have to remove any preening toys, either.

I also read not to feed them warm or soft food. The softest thing I give them is some sprouted bread about 3x a month.

Incandescent light is supposed to get them horny, so I dont have more than a 60watt on at night, and they sun themselves on the window ledge.

I dont want to just toss in a few fake eggs, because they have no nesting area to put them in, and I dont want to suggest anything to do with babies in front of them.

What if I acted like their baby? Would they just think they have a big ole baby all the time, and so they have no reason to have any more..? JK about that one, but if it's worth a shot ...

 

[Kiwibird]

Are you certain they are indeed male and female? Just because whoever you got them from claimed they were doesn't mean they are.

Perhaps they just don't find each other attractive. Parrots of all sizes are in fact very selective about their mate and I believe even the small parakeet species mate for life. Unlike dogs and cats in heat, 2 hormonal parrots who happen to be male and female also have to LIKE each other to want to raise babies. Probably has to do with the fact birds raise chicks as a team, not alone, so they have to get along.

 

[EllenD]

First off, let me say that Bourke's DO like to play with toys, I don't know where you heard that, but my mom bred them for many years, and the breeder's along with the babies in their weaning-cages played with toys the same as American Budgies do. I think the issue is that a lot of Bourke's are not tame birds, they are breeders and the babies a lot of the time are parent-raised, and as such they are never introduced to toys in their weaning-cages, so they actually don't know how to play with toys; however, if they are introduced to toys at a young age or they are shown how to play with them, they will, just the same as any birds. They are intelligent birds and they need to be able to keep busy and not become bored and just sit in their cage all day, no different than any other parrots.

As far as the breeding/egg-laying, no matter the species of bird, there is no way to tell whether or not an opposite-sex pair of birds will bond closely and have that type of relationship with each other. Birds are very much like humans in the way they pair-up with each other, and they may really like each other and bond closely and mate, they may like each other but not mate, they may simply tolerate each other, they may dislike each other, and they may hate each other and be aggressive. There is no way to know how two birds will react to each other, and simply putting a male and female together will not automatically result in them mating/breeding...Birds don't work like dogs, cats, etc. They have to basically "have a relationship" first before mating.

So if your male and female have been together already and lived together in the same cage already for 2-3 years and they have yet to mate, then chances are that they aren't going to. However, if they are not aggressive towards each other, and they seem to like each other and get along, cuddle together, preen each other, etc., then there is always a chance that they might start breeding in the future, you cannot fully rule-out that possibility, so it's important that you make sure that there is no next-box in their cage, no nesting/bedding material, etc. If you ever see them starting to feed each other on a regular basis, and start exhibiting pre-mating type of behavior like that (preening each other, feeding each other, etc.), then that's the point where you'll want to separate them into their own cages and let them sit next to each other, but that way they won't start to breed.

****However, even if they never become a breeding-pair, that doesn't mean that your female will not ever start laying infertile eggs. That can happen at any time, some female birds start laying infertile eggs right after puberty, some not until years later. There's really no way to know if that is ever going to happen, but doing things like making sure there's no nesting material in the cage, no nest-box in the cage, etc. will help...however, having her just living in the same cage as her male "friend" (we'll call him a friend for now) can trigger egg-laying during breeding-season.

The best thing that you can do for your female is to make sure that there is always a mineral block and a cuttlebone inside of her cage so that she'll always be getting extra Calcium, and that you're feeding her a diet that includes lots of fresh veggies and dark, leafy greens. The two major risks of a female who lays infertile clutches of eggs are #1) Egg-binding, and #) Malnutrition, nutritional deficiencies, and weight loss. Any female bird can lay infertile egg clutches, but some females are prone to laying clutch after clutch after clutch, which is very bad for their health, as it depletes all of the calcium from their bodies/bones, and it causes malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies in-general. So it's extremely important to keep her on a very healthy, well-rounded diet and to keep lots of sources of calcium inside of her cage...

Egg-Binding is the most dangerous risk to egg-laying, as it is 100% fatal once it happens without medical intervention. The major cause of a female becoming egg-bound is a calcium deficiency. Basically what usually happens is that a female starts laying eggs, and they may be initially healthy and have normal blood calcium levels when they start laying. However, their bodies use all of the free-calcium they are eating to make the eggs, and eventually if they aren't taking-in extra calcium from a mineral block, cuttlebone, Egg-Food, etc., they end up not having enough calcium to make the eggs properly. Their bodies may start leeching the calcium from their bones, which is harmful to them in and of itself, but the problem is that they still aren't getting enough calcium to form proper eggs, and they end up with eggs inside of them that have soft, rubbery shells. These soft, rubbery eggs cannot pass out of their cloaca properly, and they end-up becoming "stuck" inside of their reproductive tracts. When this happens, usually another egg will be formed behind the one that is stuck, and eventually this causes the egg shells to rupture/break and the yolk leaks out into their abdominal cavities, which cause a systemic infection. More urgently, when an egg becomes "stuck", it causes all kinds of internal issues, such as pressure on organs, obstruction of feces being expelled from the cloaca/vent, etc. And without immediate medical help, the female bird will typically die within hours of becoming egg-bound, and it's a very painful way for them to die. So keeping a constant source of extra calcium in their cage is the best way to prevent this from happening.

 

[buurd]

Are you certain they are indeed male and female? Just because whoever you got them from claimed they were doesn't mean they are.

Perhaps they just don't find each other attractive. Parrots of all sizes are in fact very selective about their mate and I believe even the small parakeet species mate for life. Unlike dogs and cats in heat, 2 hormonal parrots who happen to be male and female also have to LIKE each other to want to raise babies. Probably has to do with the fact birds raise chicks as a team, not alone, so they have to get along.

So if that's the case, I guess I want to know if anyone has had any anecdotal experience of having a M&F, but the female never laying eggs.

There is very little info on bourke's out there, I thought Id read it all by now. But then I just read something that said, once they lay an egg, they become prolific. I dont want to inject them with anything or do anything to harm their psychology. I just want to successfully deter any egg laying. Separating them might be the last resort. But they seem to like one another. She just doesnt want him to fed her, but she will cuddle next to him, even under his neck.

Also, before right now, I never considered them being brother & sister. I think I probably know the answer to this but Ill ask anyway: is that a natural deterrent, being bro & sis?

 

[buurd]

First off, let me say that Bourke's DO like to play with toys, I don't know where you heard that,....

So if your male and female have been together already and lived together in the same cage already for 2-3 years and they have yet to mate, then chances are that they aren't going to. However, if they are not aggressive towards each other, and they seem to like each other and get along, cuddle together, preen each other, etc., then there is always a chance that they ....

****However, even if they never become a breeding-pair, that doesn't mean that your female will not ever start laying infertile eggs. That can happen at any time,..

The best thing that you can do for your female is to make sure that there is always a mineral block and a cuttlebone inside of her cage so that she'll always be getting extra Calcium, and that you're feeding her a diet that includes lots of fresh veggies and dark, leafy greens.

The two major risks of a female who lays infertile clutches of eggs are #1) Egg-binding, and #) Malnutrition, nutritional deficiencies,....

And without immediate medical help, the female bird will typically die within hours of becoming egg-bound, and it's a very painful way for them to die. So keeping a constant source of extra calcium in their cage is the best way to prevent this from happening.

Ok; here's my thing: the prospect of her becoming egg-bound or the like terrifies me. Im new to birds, and Im worried I may not realize that this is happening, or that she's even 'with egg' until it's too late.

I also dont want to inadvertently kick off her motherhood by doing something innocuous because of my ignorance, eg, putting nesting material in the cage.


I have read and watched about all I can of Bourke's off the net and it's been said so many times that they dont play with toys, that it seems like the no.1 'factoid' about them. [Can i especially say how much i hate , again, selfproclaimed experts who go on youtube to post clips saying this, and other damaging things? There's another level of unconscious trust you give someone who says something , talking into into the cameras eye, that you just dont realize.] My anecdotal experience with the birds, is that they did not touch the hoop links, but that they liked to swing on the swing, and rarely, i have seen them touch the preening toy, to ring the bell. They show no interest in balls, but they love to throw around the foraging thiings I put in there for them, to get to their food. I guess I didnt consider these 'toys'' but they are a sort of toy.

Maybe they were just bored of these other toys tho? They came with the birds. They show more curiosity outside of the cage. They specially like to hop around on my glass desk and try out things. Jumping on packages that make crinkling noises. Testing out my backscratcher. Trying to reorganize the items on my desk. They love to swing on the top of a silk curtain. I
Im looking at new toys to buy them now. Any suggestions?

There is a cuttlebone the cage that they use. What is a good mineral block?
I keep reading that eggfood should be given if you want the birds to breed. Is it mushy or something? Should I be giving it to my birds, even though I dont want them to breed?


They seem to favor spinach, but I read that spinach is not so good for them; again, dont know if that's true. I love kale, so I try to give them chopped kale. They like it, but usually in a chop with cabbage, etc.
They didnt like dandelions. Arugula made them more poopy than usual... I try to give them a mix of dark greens, but they show the most interest in spinach, right now.

Does your mom post on the board? I really would like to get more info on bourke's. Everything I tend to read about budgies and grass parrots, always seem to have the caveat that it doesnt apply to Bourke's parrots ;(

 

[eliholtman]

Just remember lots and lots of toys...especially right now bc pretty much all birds like toys but you have to find the toys that they like. My budgies love shredding toys and this basketball hoop thing so I just always have to buy more shredding toys and such...occasionally add new stuff too


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[reeb]

My pair of budgies, a male and a female, show absolutely no interest in each other, have never mated, and live together with a cockatiel. If anything, my male is more interesting in my 'tiel, which is pretty funny!

what has helped to prevent my two from any hormonal behaviour is long hours of sleep (more sun leads to a sense of mating season), so my birds get around 14-15 hours of darkness a night. They go to bed at around sunset, and of course no nesting boxes or other materials.

All advice given above is solid, this is just my experience with a pair of "celibate" birdies haha!

 

[buurd]

My pair of budgies, a male and a female, show absolutely no interest in each other, have never mated, and live together with a cockatiel. If anything, my male is more interesting in my 'tiel, which is pretty funny!

what has helped to prevent my two from any hormonal behaviour is long hours of sleep (more sun leads to a sense of mating season), so my birds get around 14-15 hours of darkness a night. They go to bed at around sunset, and of course no nesting boxes or other materials.

All advice given above is solid, this is just my experience with a pair of "celibate" birdies haha!

Aw great; well we are headed into fall/winter in my neck of the woods, so that ought to curb them, for a bit

I stupidly bought eggfood just to see if they wanted to try something new, and after i saw it realized that it might be considered 'soft' food, and that giving it to them might encourage mating behavior. And sure enough, the male was trying to feed the female with it. So is ther a way to mix this in with something else and not encourage mating behavior with it, I wonder? Or do i need to toss it for good?