The 'zons aren't wasting any time!

[IcyWolf]

The amazons are doing great, I think we just decided tonight that we want to call them Rasta and Reggie, I couldn't help but keep thinking that the red, yellow and green on their faces looks like the rastafarian flag so it just seemed to fit They have been great the six days we have had them. They haven't had any seed and have been voraciously eating everything I've given them, fruits, veggies, pellets, you name it, they eat it lol. About an hour ago we witnessed them mating for the first time! I can't believe they are breeding already! They haven't even been here a week, but I guess that means they are happy in their new home So far, I have seen Reggie go completely into the nest box but Rasta has only gone about half way in, I suspect she should be venturing in to check it out soon though

 

[cockatielfan17]

awsome hopefully u will end up with some eggies soon

 

[chksbak]

great news.

 

[roxynoodle]

They are definitely much happier in your home

 

[IcyWolf]

They were mating again today The male keeps going into the nest box, making this weird crying noise and then he will come out. It seems like he is trying to lure the female to the box or something. I don't know exactly how to explain the noise he makes but he only does it when he's in the box and it usually entices Rasta to go check it out. She has only been about half way into the box so far but it's only been about a week so I'm not stressin' it.

I have never seen birds mate the way these guys do either, Reggie doesn't actually climb on her back at all, both times it has happened, they have been on top of the cage and they just kind of sit right next to each other and he puts his tail under hers and they do their thing Is this normal amazon mating? She also puts her head down and holds the bar on top of their cage with her beak. Sorry for such a weird question lol.

I also have been giving them free access to be in or out of the cage since the third day they have been here. Originally, I let them out during the day and then at night I would just put some treats in their bowl and dim the light and they would both go in so I could close the door for the night. After the first two nights they got wise to this and now they've devised an evil plan...One of them always sits on top of the cage. They take turns going in to eat and no matter what I try I can't ever get both of them in the cage At first I was kind of upset that they were doing this but then I realized that's it's always been sort of an unspoken rule that if you don't leave your cage then you don't need to be locked in. That's what we do with ziggy, I don't think her cage door has been closed for a couple months, she is almost always out, unless she is eating or sleeping or wrestling with her toys but she NEVER leaves the cage. So for now, I've been leaving their door open as well, although if I have to actually leave the house I'll be sure to get them in, I don't quite trust them enough yet to be left out unsupervised. But back to the point I was getting at, is there anything wrong with allowing them out all the time when we are trying to breed them? I would hate to have to lock them up, I don't know how long they lived with their previous owner but he didn't let them out of their cage, ever. They seem so happy now that they can be out and on top, I don't want to take that away from them.

Oh, one more thing, I caught one of my female budgies in her nest box today as well! She's had the box since early december and hasn't shown much interest in it until now, so hopefully we will have some budgie babies too Sorry if my writing isn't very comprehensible today, I've been feeling horrible(sick) all day and I think it's affecting my brain:52:

 

[MikeyTN]

They don't waste any time do they....lol... the mating thing your talking is how they mate...but making noise inside the nest box I have no idea as I've never bred zons before...

 

[merlinsmom13]

Congrats! The noise could it be a eeeeeeaaahhhh, lol Merlin make this as a contact call for me when I'm not in site.

 

[ann]

It's great to see there settling in so well, I hope you get some babies soon!

 

[henpecked]

The squealing in the nest box is pretty normal.Usually it's the excited hen doing this.I wouldn't stress over them being out, when they start nesting they won't get far from the box.Mating doesn't mean they are going to nest,many of my zons mate in the AM even when not nesting,(it's more of a ritual).

 

[lene1949]

WOW!!! you must be soooo excited... I certainly would be... lol

 

[IcyWolf]

Glad to hear that his nestbox noise is normal, although it's funny that he's the one doing it and not her. They do remind me of an old married couple though, sometimes he wants to mate and she will yell and lunge at him and then other times she the one waving her tush up in the air at him while he pretends she doesn't exist. I've actually seen them mating about 3 times now, and each time is in the evening. How exactly do they mate while they aren't nesting? Can they retain sperm the way some reptiles do? These guys aren't what I would consider nesting yet either, although they will go in the nestbox occasionally. I have begun giving them shredable stuff to try and encourage them to mate as well, hence the paper toweling hanging off of their cage topper Here's some pictures I just took of Nick handfeeding them some broccoli The female will eat anything from our hands, but the male makes sure to supervise us so we don't do anything shady

 

[sssaucey]

Sounds exciting, it's funny how you can get excited over someone elses birds haha

goodluck

 

[IcyWolf]

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I either missed something....or this is spam.... lol, I'm thinking the latter but I'm not about to click on anything with the words "asian" and "escort" in the link :31:

On a better note, the female went completely in the nest box tonight

 

[angel2k6]

Congrats my ringnecks have been acting weird today also he has spent most of his time in the nest box while she stands outside of it on the perch we also leave the cage door open so they have free reign to get out and play with their toys or get on their swing. My rindneck also makes a strange noise while hes in the box and the only way I can explain it is that it sounds like a bed squeaking lol she will get in the nest box for a little while with him but never alone I'm hoping that this is part of the mating ritual since ive never mated birds before this is all new to me I keep watching them to see if they mate and there are times its almost like they are but im not really sure lol so I guess only time will tell im just confused as to why he is more interested in the box than she is

 

[IcyWolf]

Sounds a lot like what ours are doing. They are both a sleep on top of the cage right now It kind of makes sense though, isn't the male usually the one to start building the nest? If that's the case then it seems like it would make sense for the male of a first time couple to go in first and then be like, "Hey, hunny, look what I found"

 

[angel2k6]

That was my thought exactly we actuallyhave realized that they only seem to go in the box when their cage isnt covered we keep doing little test to see their reaction so they had been covered for a little while we checked on them they were both in seperate corners we took the cover off and now the male is investigating the box again and now he just went inside as we speak lol all the nesting material is still just sitting is there and they havent started buiding anything as of yet cuz were nosey and we just checked before he went in lol

 

[IcyWolf]

We don't cover any of our birds unless something happens like the power goes out and I need to make sure they stay warm. I used to cover my birds at night, years ago. But since we've gotten back to having birds I haven't covered any of them, I've dealt with a few birds that have night frights and even ones that just fall off their perches at night and I like them to be able to see a little even at night in case something happens to keep them from getting disoriented. I know a lot of people that cover their birds without problem though, so it's entirely up to your and your birds' preference.

You may want to be cautious with how often you check the box, I know you're excited but you want them to feel secure with their nesting site and you will know when she has eggs, she will be in the box quite often and the male will(should anyway) start coming to feed the female. Good luck with your ringnecks, I was very interested in them and wanted one for awhile but we ended up with our alexandrine instead, sometimes things just work out differently than we plan

 

[angel2k6]

Thank you the ringnecks are my first bird and at first I was terrified of them just when they fly anyways Ive kinda had to put my fear on the back burner and not show them the fear we are trying to train them to step up at the moment to build trust with them and I think I actually shocked my boyfriend when I told him I wanted to try so now they are like my babies I just gotta get used to the flying

 

[IcyWolf]

Well, you gotta start somewhere! It sounds like you are off to a good start, it is a little harder to tame bonded birds but it's not impossible, just don't be discouraged if either or both of them start to get aggressive if/when they start nesting and breeding.

I would recommend finding a breeder that could teach you how to hand feed now, before you even have any eggs. I've just recently started breeding on my own but I worked in pet stores for a few years and volunteered at a local bird "farm" before that so I've had some experience with breeding and a good bit with hand feeding. I've always taken babies between 2and 3 weeks and most parrots have a 20-30 day incubation period so once those eggs are laid it doesn't give you much time to prepare if you've never hand fed before. It's not hard but you definitely want someone that knows what they are doing to show you and maybe get some practice in before you are doing it on your own.

 

[angel2k6]

we have been trying the hand feeding they will eat a carrot or a slice of apple out of our hand while their standing on their cage but sometimes their very tempremental and want to do it themselves just like kids lol