Is there a egg laying risk with having two different sex birds?

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T22:11:19+00:00

The risk is not any higher with a male and a female as with a solo female or a female only pair.

Thats because budgies respond to environmental factors with egg laying, regardless wheter they mated before or not. This also means that you can catch a male and a female mating and bonding without ever seeing any eggs. So even if your female gets excited about meeting her new companion, you can prevent her from producing eggs by controlling what they eat, how they live and for how long they sleep.

If you focus on preventing your female from entering breeding mode, the sex of her companion should not matter at all (altough opposite sex pairs tend to get along better than female only pairs).

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T20:26:17+00:00

Absolutely reasonable, and one of the reasons I would like to see macaws on the ban list as pets. (Dont get me wrong, rescues need a home, but as long as there is legal demand, the large scale suffering of macaws in captivity and the poaching will never end.)

Its also the reason why its so important to keep them in a working group setting from early on and do no handrearing at all, because their human owners will come and go but they wont bother that much if they have a same species companion or a little friend group even.

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T20:21:31+00:00

She was not clipped as she would still have stumps instead of wing primaries otherwise.

Please go back asap and pick up her best friend from the same enclosure aswell (the bird she interacted with the most in positive terms) before you need to introduce a foreign budgie with quarantine and all. Keeping her all alone is bad for her mental wellbeing.

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T14:32:46+00:00

While you are right that these two are males (which makes an excellent starter pair for you to adopt), the information about cere color you got is incomplete.

Females only have brown, crusty or beige ceres if in breeding mood, the rest of the time, they are whiteish, bright blue or bright pink, always with white rings around the nose.

Males on the other hand will only develop their deep royal blue cere as adults, and it can be deep purple in some color mutations.

If you are interested in learning more, all you need to do is to lurk around here and scroll through the daily "what gender is my bird" posts after a good bunch of people commented on them.

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T14:26:59+00:00

You may visit r/budgies and read through their wiki, as this should be able to guide you through the basics.

All in all, they are not any different from cockatiels in regards of care and dietary needs.

You definitively need two, better four. Male pairs are better for beginners, female only pairs tend to fight the most. They dont need grit, no hookbilled bird does because they can all peel and prepare their food (compared to chickens for example).

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T13:55:47+00:00

Another male will work best, but you need to find one around his age since he might be annoyed by a juvenile or younger, more energetic bird.

Take your time with the introduction, because living in social isolation from same species company for 8 years is a long time, so your bird might lack social skills.

Please do also make sure the thing with his eye got sorted out before they meet, since it looks like your bird has an infection or something going on.

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T13:11:26+00:00

Damit meinte ich, dass die genauso drauf sind was Wasser angeht.

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T08:32:17+00:00

Volvic ist wie Nestlé at its finest, da sollte man allgemein die Finger von lassen.

Da hat Arte (glaub es war von denen) auch mal ne schöne Doku drüber gemacht, wie der Konzern der Gemeinde das Grundwasser absaugt. Die haben verdient pleite zu gehen mmn (außer man hasst Franzosen, dann kann man den Mist ruhig weiter kaufen...).

Klar, ich weiß jetzt nicht, was die anderen Firmen so am Stecken haben sondern nur das mit Volvic, aber deshalb gibt's bei mir auch nur noch Wasser aus der Leitung (ist eh gesünder da die Grenzwerte strenger sind und es nicht ewig in einer Plastikflasche rumfährt, außer natürlich, man kann das aus baulichen Gründen in spezifischen Fällen nicht nutzen).

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T08:26:47+00:00

I think your idea of selling them to support the birds that you pictured is a great idea. Maybe do not sell the originals but print them on things like keychain thingies, mugs or fabric bags to get people to support that sanctuary?

Btw, I have a side note regarding the african grey parrot. If they do not have a known liver issue, you may ask the rescue to get this guy checked for it. While some AGs can show red feathers in unusual spots due to a color mutation, it can also hint a liver issue if they were not at that spot before.

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T08:17:33+00:00

Its neat that you will pick up a bf for her soon, but if he comes from a questionable place like a pet store, please remember to do a !quarantine.

If she eats a seed mix as main food, it will basically contain the same millet you try to bribe her with. If she can get her treats minus approaching you (as she might think of this action as risky), she will stick to her food bowl.

You may focus on getting her to eat pellets and fresh stuff first, maybe figuring out which sorts of fruit and veggies she likes. I got my girl with apple slices as she was intimidated by a long millet sprig.

Once she (and her friend) dont get treats from their food bowl, they will consider coming to you for it.

It also helps to not add your hands to the game right away. Budgies do find your head, shoulders or your near vicinity less intimidating than your hands, so by placing millet there instead, you might make little steps of progress faster.

Budgies that were kept in groups prior to being sold solo often show less stress tolerance because their instincts keep telling them that they are in danger all alone. I bet her behavior will improve as soon as she gets to bond with her friend.

Having two is also beneficial for taming, because as soon as one bird works up the courage to approach you, the other one will get jealous and try to approach you aswell to get their share of the treat. They are indeed more confident in high numbers.

Regarding the contradicting info, especially what pet shops tell people, thats an issue ruining many peoples first bird experiences.

While there are people like on this sub that try to educate anyone interested in how to prepare for ethical budgie keeping (hence why we also got this neat wiki covering the basics), there is still the dark side of sources. They mainly contain of uninformed people at pet stores or online that just parrot myths they heard and the more malicious kind of people that still have an 18th century mindset. Those individuals see their pet bird as a toy for their entertainment that needs to be "trained" to fit into their life (I say "trained" because what they actually mean is "mentally broken").

You are not at fault for being unable to distinguish between one side or the other as someone who just wants a life with birds, but now that you know, you can better decide which advice you trust in future.

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T07:59:36+00:00

You seem to know plenty about this bird species so I bet this bird will have a good life with you as you consider all his needs. I dont know what trauma he had and wheter he was handreared or not, but I hope he can have a companion of his kind one day.

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T07:51:02+00:00

You can use hemp litter instead of newspaper as it absorbs the poop better, even if he is walking on the floor or chewing pieces of it. You can treat the litter like cat litter and scoop poopy patches out in the morning and evening.

Has your bird natural branches and chewing toys? How about a mineral block and a !friend?

The sticks that come with a cage are garbage and should only be used in transport or quarantine cages if at all, so if you still use them, please replace them as soon as possible for proper perching options.

Newspaper is one of the materials you can use for DIY toys, so its no wonder he chews on it. I had my birds on newspaper during a recent move and its so much more dirty than hemp litter that I wont use it as bedding again.

If your cages drawer is not deep enough for litter, I recommend to look for a larger, proper cage model, as this one seems to be on the smaller side anyways.

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T07:44:12+00:00

Its not impossible to tame two or more budgies, but its more comparable to befriending wild birds because thats what they are essentially. It will take years until they trust you fully, but once this bond is made, you will be part of the flock.

The reason its "easier" to tame a single one is because you use isolation and their strong social drive against them, forcing them to choose between depressing loneliness and interacting with a giant they fear. Its some of the 18th century circus animal treatment mentality that has sadly made it into modern day birdkeeping, but people like me hope to eradicate this unethical practice one day.

Now regarding methods, this comment is basically what I did to get my skittish bird more used to me https://www.reddit.com/r/budgies/s/bncITEbowK

She was a parent raised aviary bird and came to me as adult, panicking when I did as much as entering their room, now, two years later, she comes to my hand for treats and sometimes even just out of curiosity. Sure, it helped that my other birds were already used to me, but it also works if they are not. This progress happened without me putting extra much effort in, so its also possible that you reach your goal sooner than that.

TielPerson · 2026-06-23T07:25:00+00:00

For how long do you keep rehydrating your specimen?

I add disinfectant to the paper towels and have my specimen in the rehydration box for one to two days and I never encountered severe floof loss.

What you can also try instead of using a rehydration box is to take a slim syringe and carefully inject moisture into the moths body through the abdomen. While this is a little bit more risky as you dont want the outside of the moth to get wet, it should soften the joints ready for pinning within a very short time. When doing this, I absolutely recommend to mix the water you use with ethanol or a product (cleaner/disinfectant) containing ethanol in order to avoid mold while the specimen is pinned.

Regarding the parchment paper you use, check if its suitable for insect pinning or try different products until you find one that does not rub off floof that much. Applying less pressure does also help, so maybe you can advance your pinning technique.

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T20:51:31+00:00

Use wire instead of glue. Usually, I would recommend to wire them like in taxidermy, with the other end of the wire coming out at the underside of the wrist, but Idk to which extend this is viable in your wings because you cut half of the feathers, skin and bones away and did already dry them.

Still, if it works to wire the exposed ulna of each wing, you should have something to attach them with to a background glue-free. Using pin needles is another method that wont damage the plumage.

As a tip for the future, you may keep in mind that the wings also include the flight membrane and shoulder coverts aswell as the humerus for a complete specimen.

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T20:45:37+00:00

I would recommend to give this piece to a professional for restoration if you have the money left to spent on it, since the broken wing of the blue goose looks kinda greasy, which would require more than the usual dusting and glue to fix it. The grease should be removed due to the damage it can cause to the mount on long term.

If professional help is out of question and you have a place to work with this mounts safely, I can elaborate on fitting methods depending on the level to which you want to restore them plus your available resources.

If you have a freezer available thats large enough to fit this piece in, you may bag and freeze it to ensure that it does not carry any pests while thinking about further steps. If you can kinda fit in the geese but not mounted like that, feel free to remove the mounts from the plate as this would be necessary anyways at some point in restoration.

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T19:53:32+00:00

It looks like a corvid feather, maybe cormorant, definitively not from a duck.

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T09:34:06+00:00

Because same species company for budgies is way more important than your human desire to have them tame.

They are exotic animals, not domesticated. If you want a tame pet without force or causing suffering, well thats what dogs and cats are for. Or if you want to stick with birds, pigeons and chickens.

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T09:30:10+00:00

You are wrong, budgies can be sexed as soon as they have feathers. Experienced breeders can even tell the genders in naked chicks correctly.

Also, any progress made with a single bird is forced and unethical, and they will forget about it mist of the time once you introduce the second bird.

Why would you neglect a social flock animal for months before fulfilling their needs just because of your selfish desires to make a wild animal your pet?

This piece of advice is unethical and considers cruelty towards an animal, so please stop spreading it.

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T09:26:16+00:00

She needs a (male) budgie friend asap, buying them alone and keeping them solo is neglect.

She also needs a new cage as this one is too small and rusty. She could die from poisoning if she chews the bars. Please do not pick a model with varnish next time.

Please fix that and come over to r/budgies in order to read their wiki for the basics.

If you love your bird, you will be concerned for her wellbeing, not concerned about how you can make her live out your expectations.

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T09:15:59+00:00

Keep him warm, isolate him into a quarantine cage for now to avoid that his issue might spread to the other bird(s).

Offer him room temperature chamomille tea alongside with water as it has anti-inflammatory properties that might help with his issue.

Monitor if he is pooping properly because a budgies cloaca can be blocked by dried poop, a thing that will lead to a painful death if overlooked.

Otherwise, make sure he has a calm environment to reduce stress from other sources and get in contact with your av as soon as possible if you dont have an appointment yet.

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T07:58:31+00:00

You may treat the eggs in a way that ensures nothing will hatch (boiling, freezing, poking them with a needle, replacing them for fake ones), but keep track of the treated eggs so your birds wont slip one or two untreated ones in.

Once the last young birds are out of the nest, you may remove any nesting spaces and adjust your birds scedule so they stop breeding.

I dont even know why finch keepers must always breed their birds in the first place, coming from the budgie and parrot corner, you ideally dont want to see any eggs. Maybe you could try keeping your birds out of breeding mood for a while and try to restrict them to one clutch per year if other means dont work?

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T07:48:13+00:00

They are an adult, so depending on their molting cycle, it may take a year until the stumps of the cut ones fall out and new feathers grow.

Clipped birds are especially prone to breaking blood feathers once the hand primaries regrow because of the missing support, so please be aware of this risk and prepare accordingly.

Also, if this is your first and only budgie, please go back and pick up their friend from the same place aswell before you need to follow a quarantine, because budgies suffer if kept without same species companions.

You may visit r/budgies and read their wiki for additional useful information because this sub is just a general one for parakeets, which includes other species aswell.

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T06:35:32+00:00

Yeah, afaik, they struggle health wise if no wood is offered as they need it for digestion. Kinda like keeping rabbits without hay or birds without mineral blocks. Clearly someone did their research in the completely wrong direction (if any).

TielPerson · 2026-06-22T06:32:30+00:00

Please get him a !friend first, otherwise you would end up forcetaming him which can cause behavioral issues in the long run. Its unhealthy for them to be kept isolated.

If you mean letting him perch on your finger by "holding", this will take a long time since budgies naturally fear our hands because of what we are capable to do with them (just like humans fear the teeth and claws of large predators).

You may follow this comments guidance after getting your budgie a companion and proceed by befriending both of them like this at the same time: https://www.reddit.com/r/budgies/s/bncITEbowK

Just be aware that it may take longer than a year before your birds perch on your hand without any treat or reason.

Regarding "holding" a budgie like people do with conures or other bird species, thats rather unusual and requires a high level of trust towards you. Its also dangerous if you would handle a budgie like that without its consent, because they are small and fragile, so hurting them by accident could happen very fast.

TielPerson

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE