Sex and breeding

[strudel]

I am 100% (and I mean 100%) clueless about bird reproduction. When I got my budgies, I was told that if you don't put a nest box in, they won't breed and that's that, I didn't put a box, they didn't (not sure of their sex so don't know whether they could've if they'd wanted to). I've since adopted a pair of weiros/cockatiels (not sure of their sex either, but the previous owner said they had not bred) and a galah (no issues with galah, she's single, the weiros are in together but don't seem inclined to be "up to stuff").

So, my budgies will be going from a flight cage to an aviary..... What arrangements do I need to make in relation to sex? If they are in a group, will they need to/want to "do it" and should I let them/put a box there so they can? If they breed, can the babies stay in there or would there be some kind of turf war/fighting? If a baby stayed in there, would there be incest and would any babies come out "wrong"? How quickly/often/many babies would happen? Is it depriving them of something by not letting them "do it"? And what about egg-binding and going "broody" (do budgies to that?) I don't want to breed, I just want the birds not to have problems if there will be issues from curtailing their needs if those needs will come into play when they are in a "flock". Also, if they pair up, do I need to get more or less equal numbers male/female?

 

[MikeyTN]

If you don't have any idea of it now then I wouldn't start! Don't put a nest box up, it doesn't mean they won't try but if you try to eliminate the possibility then your better off. If you keep the offspring within it's only going to populate more and very likely to have siblings mating with one another. The offspring should always be removed when weaned. Egg binding can always happen so that's something you must be careful about. They would only breed when they're in the mating mood as the female's cere turns crusty brown when they're ready to mate. They will choose their mates but if you try to have equal amount of each sex it would be better as they would pair off.

 

[strudel]

Thanks, I suppose my real question is whether they are being deprived by not having an outlet for "nookie". Is it ok to keep them without a nest box and preventing them from doing what "comes naturally"? It didn't really bother me when my 2 were inside, but because they'll be out there in a bigger group flying about and being more "natural", I wouldn't want them to go all frustrated (or whatever).

If I carry on as I have been, no nest box, what do you do if one goes all broody (or however they go)? Do you then have to accommodate them by letting them have a "litter"?

 

[MikeyTN]

If you want you can have all males in the aviary so you wouldn't have to deal with it.

 

[strudel]

I've already got 2 girls..... (I think)

 

[MikeyTN]

What colors are they? You can usually tell by the cere color to sex them while the regular colors have the dark blue being males and light blue being females. Also the nostril shape can sex them too while one is more round while the other sex is more oval. It's been a long time since I sexed parakeets so I forgot which is which.

 

[strudel]

They've both got brownish ceres.

 

[MikeyTN]

If they're crusty brown then both are females for sure and they're in mating mood.....

 

[strudel]

No, not crusty, but they are brownish, not blue. One is quite young so I don't know whether she's properly "grown up" yet.

 

[MikeyTN]

How young??? You can usually tell by the bars on their forehead about how old they are. But that depends on the color mutation. Do you mean purplish color or brown brown? Have a picture of it???

 

[strudel]

The new one I think I've had since about September and she was sort of a baby, I think. My other one, I've had for ages. She's fully grown. Their ceres are a sort of beige-y brown. Definitely not blue.

 

[LovebirdLover]

The younger one should have its cere color but sometimes it does come a little late. Just wait a little and you will know for sure!

 

[MonicaMc]

Pictures would help.


When I got my budgies, I was told that if you don't put a nest box in, they won't breed and that's that
This is actually false. Birds can, and will, mate and try to reproduce if they are in the mood. Hens, even single hens, will become nesty and lay eggs.

So, my budgies will be going from a flight cage to an aviary..... What arrangements do I need to make in relation to sex?
If you don't plan to breed, it shouldn't matter. If you do plan to breed, then you should have more males than females. Never have more females than males!


If they are in a group, will they need to/want to "do it" and should I let them/put a box there so they can?
Birds can decide to have sex anywhere. Aviary. Cage. Couch. They don't particularly care when the mood strikes! Although males are usually more sex driven than hens. (not always)


If they breed, can the babies stay in there or would there be some kind of turf war/fighting?
If the cage is large enough, they can, however some parents have been known to attack their offspring.

If a baby stayed in there, would there be incest and would any babies come out "wrong"?
Quite possibly. Birds don't have our morals or ethics. They don't care if they are related or not! I wouldn't expect the first (few?) generations of "linebred" offspring to be unhealthy, but after several generations you would definitely see something wrong with them.


How quickly/often/many babies would happen?
Most hens generally lay around 5-6 days, so that's say 2 weeks of laying eggs. Some hens have been known to lay 10 or more eggs. It takes about 18 days for the eggs to hatch, give or take. Say we're up to 5 weeks now. They generally wean around 6 weeks of age, so that's about 12 weeks (rounding up, since all chicks don't hatch the same day, thus some will wean before others). If you don't remove chicks, the pair could easily have 3-4 clutches a year. Of course, this isn't counting pairs where the hen will start the next clutch when the current chicks are 3-5 weeks in age.

If you started with one pair, and you allowed them to breed three times, you could easily have 15-25+ offspring within one year.

It's generally not recommended to allow a pair to reproduce more than twice a year, although there are many breeders out there that will have their pairs reproduce three times. If you pull the chicks, the parents are more likely to start another clutch sooner rather than later. I recall someone selling a pair of cockatiels that produced *SIX* clutches a year. Parrots are not chickens. They have not been bred to grow quickly, mature early, and start reproducing quickly - laying as much as 6 eggs per day. Chickens may have about the same expected and potential lifespan of cockatiels, but a factory chicken that lays eggs may have a lifespan of 6 years or less.


Is it depriving them of something by not letting them "do it"?
Well, yes, it is, but most people are not set up to breed, nor should they. I know of one person that allowed her egg laying eggs to go through the entire process of breeding and laying eggs - but it stopped there. She would replace all eggs with fake eggs, so the hens could go through a natural egg laying process - just the eggs never hatched. Once the hens abandoned their "duds", nests would be removed and things would go back to "normal".

As it stands, we already have a lot of over-sexed hormonal pet birds, I don't feel as if allowing most of these birds to go through a "breeding cycle" (without producing offspring) is going to help!

I think many owners are depriving their birds of valuable learning as well as exercise by clipping their birds wings and keeping their birds clipped, but this isn't a topic for that!


And what about egg-binding and going "broody" (do budgies to that?)
Yup, they sure do! If your budgies are healthy, fed a good diet, and they get exercise (oh look! flight! funny that... flight can potentially help prevent egg binding!) then there shouldn't be a big worry about egg binding. It's still possible, but less likely. Birds who are unhealthy and overweight, or those that don't get enough exercise are the birds that may be more prone to egg binding.




I used to have small flocks of budgies, although more often than not, I usually ended up with more hens than males. There were a couple of times that I had even amounts, but over time I still ended up with more hens! I've had petstore budgies, rehomed budgies, and a couple of breeder budgies (not breeding pair, but from a breeder).


If you want an aviary of budgies, then have an aviary of budgies! They would be fun to watch! I don't have any budgies right now, but I can definitely see myself with an aviary of purple/violet budgies! (and another aviary of bourke parakeets!)