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First bird as second's surrogate?

Cockatango

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I have a 10 month old cockatiel who I'm pretty sure is a girl. If I were to introduce a second bird to keep her company, I've heard it's better to introduce one of the same species. But when she begins to lay eggs, what if I put an egg in there... of a completely unrelated bird?
Say if I were to put a lovebird egg in a cockatiel's nest, is the mother likely to adopt it as her own? Would the size of the bird affect this? Say having a budgie egg compared an indian ringneck.
 

cosmolove

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Not all female birds will lay eggs unless in the right circumstances. Are you planning to try to get a fertile egg for her to adopt essentially?
 

Cockatango

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Not all female birds will lay eggs unless in the right circumstances. Are you planning to try to get a fertile egg for her to adopt essentially?
I'm not sure yet - she's still pretty young and I don't expect anything to happen for a while. My current thoughts are that if she does end up laying an egg (whether encouraged or by chance), would she adopt another species of bird?
 

cosmolove

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I'm not sure yet - she's still pretty young and I don't expect anything to happen for a while. My current thoughts are that if she does end up laying an egg (whether encouraged or by chance), would she adopt another species of bird?

I guess its possible but its also possible she hatches out the baby and rejects it after its born. I also don't know where you'd get a fertile egg from another species. Encouraging her to lay eggs is going to put her at risk for a lot of health concerns. If you're looking at potentially a lovebird why not rescue one or get one from a breeder? I'd imagine it'll be cheaper and put your bird at less of a health risk.
 

Archiesmom

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I guess its possible but its also possible she hatches out the baby and rejects it after its born. I also don't know where you'd get a fertile egg from another species. Encouraging her to lay eggs is going to put her at risk for a lot of health concerns. If you're looking at potentially a lovebird why not rescue one or get one from a breeder? I'd imagine it'll be cheaper and put your bird at less of a health risk.
I agree- And even though they may be of different species, it is possible for them to bond and be able to spend time together outside of the cage, supervised :) My GCC and my Gold Capped are friends and enjoy one another's company. They will gladly share treats/preen one another when out of their respective cages.
 

Tiel Feathers

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I'm not sure why you would want to have her sit on an egg and adopt a chick from another bird?
 

TheOddFlock

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I am also unsure why you would want to do that. But my guess is yes she would.
Ever of a cuckoo bird? The common cuckoo lays eggs in other birds nests, and then those birds raise the baby cuckoos, which are normally larger then the bird itself.

I don't see why she won't care for it, but that won't stop her from rejecting it. She could even reject her own eggs, she's more likely to reject eggs and/or young if shes a new parent
 
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