Regurgitating for another bird

[mmb]

Hey, so I have a bit of a question. I have two GCC (a pair of siblings) that were born either January/February (I got them in May and was told they were about 3-4 months old). The one (yellow-side named Duckie) unfortunately injured her leg attempting to fly (wings were already clipped before I purchased them and she landed wrong). Duckie is doing a lot better now (just has a slight waddle when she walks and we are still trying to help her regain the weight she lost while injured). The odd thing is that once she was placed back with our other GCC (pineapple named Mojito who turned a bit nasty when we had to separate them due to the injury), he taught himself how to regurgitate food and has been attempting to feed her (and has actually been successful, as she started gaining/maintaining her weight since he started doing so).

From what I read, this is usually a ‘courting’ behavior or something parents do to feed their young. But I thought the two were too young for courting behavior and I know they are the same age as they are both still growing.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Is this typical? Can they start showing courting behaviors before their first year of life?

 

[jsams5059]

Hey, so I have a bit of a question. I have two GCC (a pair of siblings) that were born either January/February (I got them in May and was told they were about 3-4 months old). The one (yellow-side named Duckie) unfortunately injured her leg attempting to fly (wings were already clipped before I purchased them and she landed wrong). Duckie is doing a lot better now (just has a slight waddle when she walks and we are still trying to help her regain the weight she lost while injured). The odd thing is that once she was placed back with our other GCC (pineapple named Mojito who turned a bit nasty when we had to separate them due to the injury), he taught himself how to regurgitate food and has been attempting to feed her (and has actually been successful, as she started gaining/maintaining her weight since he started doing so).

From what I read, this is usually a ‘courting’ behavior or something parents do to feed their young. But I thought the two were too young for courting behavior and I know they are the same age as they are both still growing.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Is this typical? Can they start showing courting behaviors before their first year of life?

Green cheeks can breed at 10 months old. Sometimes the male might not be fertile yet the first time the eggs are laid. Also it helps the sperm to get where it goes if you pluck the hens downy feathers around the hens vent. Be sure the pair has cuttlebone and a diet that's rich in calcium and protein. I feed my pairs boiled eggs with dried crumbled shell and I sprinkle powdered moringa on top of the eggs. Of course they also get veggies-like corn, kale, field peas, carrots, along with pieces of fruit and nuts in their chop. My turquoise pair usually lay 4-5 eggs but since I added the dried moringa they hatched 6 healthy babies. I fostered the 2 youngest with another pair because keeping 6 babies fed might result in losing the 2 youngest.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I had parent raised budgie chicks that would feed eachboyher

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Oops. My budgie chicks would feed each other after they fledged the box at 8 weeks old. I think there's a strong social instinct to feed and be fed that has nothing to do with courting and breeding. Budgies start to go through puberty at about 5 months old. When one of my male hand raised budgie chicks, Tiki, was 3 months old he met and befriended an adult male budgie, Big Fluffy, and they feed and groom each other. Tiki, now eight months old and fully mature, still follows Fluffy around, feeding and grooming. Neither male shows any interest in girls.