help my birds are breeding!

[flightfeathers]

I was not sure where to put this, so I hope this is the right board to discuss it.
I own two bourkes parakeets; I got them roughly 3-4 years ago from a local pet shop which informed us that both birds were female before buying.
However I had noticed in the recent year that the birds act very much like a paired couple but due to one bird being luntino I have been unable to successfully sex the birds without paying a lot of money for a test at the vets,

Though more recently I did get my answer, for a while my rosy bourkes has been laying eggs and trying to brood, I simple shook this off as her just feeling broody I haven’t supplied nest boxes or anything to encourage breeding however she has recently been sitting on the floor of her cage with the luntino tending to her and after leaving her for 2 weeks hoping she’d get out of it after a full incubation time, I decided to candle the eggs,
Two of them have turned out to be fertile but now I am stuck on what to do I know only experienced breeders should breed their birds but this has happened by pure accident and bad advice from pet shops,
Taking the eggs off her will cause her to lay more and quite frankly with them being quite far along I don’t have the heart to do it.

So I was hoping I could get some advice from longer term bird owners and someone who might know what they are doing.

After this I may have to get rid of my birds which is something I do not want to do but may have little choice as they are more of a birds bird that a human companion so separating them isn’t an answer.




I have no problem with raising baby birds but I know I am simply not educated enough or experienced enough to do it

[cml]

Im not very experienced with this but i have seen people reccommend that you either replace the eggs with fakes, or boil them and put them back (i am guessing this has to be done fairly quickly after they are laid).

[liz]

You are faced with a dilema. Odviously, like me, you don't have the nerve to shake the eggs and kill the babies and put the eggs back until she gives up.
Let them hatch - handle them as soon as you feel safe touching the little things - rehome before you get attached to them.

My cockatiels sometimes pull one over on me. That is what I do.

[marie83]

If you don't want to replace the eggs with dummy eggs or harm the growing chicks then I think the best thing you can do is to read up as much as you can over the next few days and give the parents what they need. Try to get in touch with a breeder of similar birds if you cannot find a bourke breeder so they can advise you and maybe step in if things don't go well. Other than that let them get on with it and don't interfere unless it's 100% necessary.

To prevent future issues you can replace any eggs laid with dummy eggs as soon as they are laid, personally I would do this as by the sound of it your bourkes are related and inbreeding needs to be avoided. You can also use daylight manipulation to reduce the chances of them coming into breeding condition. Other ways is by limiting the availability of soft foods and anything that could be considered nesting material like cardboard and paper. I don't think you need to get rid of your birds.
Another option if you dont mind getting more birds is by getting two DNA sexed birds and repairing them into same sexes. Oviously this will be costly to get a new cage, you need to quarentine them first which can be a hassle etc. You can get the sexing done independantly much more cheaply than the vets fees. Ollies breeder gets DNA done for £7, charges new owners £10 but the vets charge £25.....

[liz]

Would you believe I replaced eggs with white Jordan Almonds and the cockatiels accepted them.
That was a sweet move. Ha Ha

To help the parents when the babies hatch provide soft food such as eggs, oatmeal, applesause and etc.