Inherited way too many birds, I need to have my head examined!

[Chinnychews]

A few days ago I received an email from a friend, her business (A petstore) is really struggling and she needed to let all of her breeding stock go. So I agreed to take the birds and now of course have way to many. Besides my own flock of English Budgies, I also now have big flock of about 16 cockatiels, 2 conures, 6 parrotlets and a flock of budgies and a few babies. I am on a big learning curve right now.
The conure is a pineapple is only about a year and has already attempted four times to produce viable eggs but most of them were clear and a few were dead in shell. I have taken out the nesting box and am planning on giving this poor baby a rest and letting her mature a bit, but am wondering for how long?
The cockatiel hens are a ratty looking bunch and several of the nesting boxes attached to the cage had clear eggs in them. I took all the cockbirds out and removed all the nesting boxes. I would like suggestions as to how to help these poor ladies get back into condition again?
I did the same with the Engish and American budgies, separated males from females and removed nest boxes. Luckily these birds have not been bred very much, I know this because I was the one who had picked up the birds from the breeder and they could have only had time for two clutches if that.
Lastly there are three pairs of parrotlets. They do not look to bad.

 

[Bailey]

I'm sure you're overwhelmed. Why do tyou want them to eventually breed again? I'm sure they'd be happy to just be aviary birds, or maybe even pets.

 

[Chinnychews]

I'm sure you're overwhelmed. Why do tyou want them to eventually breed again? I'm sure they'd be happy to just be aviary birds, or maybe even pets.

By condition I meant, healthy and happy with beautiful plumage. There is no way that I could find homes I will be breeding some of them, but not all of them.

I'm sure you're overwhelmed. Why do tyou want them to eventually breed again? I'm sure they'd be happy to just be aviary birds, or maybe even pets.

By condition meant healthy, happy and with beautiful plummage. There is no way I could find homes for the cockatiels right now with the way they look.
I will at some point breed some of them but not all of them. I already breed English Budgies and my daughter is asking for a hsndraised conure.

 

[VictoriaVague]

I'm sure you could get the pineapple Conure tame for your daughter

 

[Anne & Gang]

It does sound pretty overwhelming...I am sad that you had to separate the males and females..if they were bonded then they are probably really missing each other...remove all the nest boxes from them...they deserve a break..maybe forever..start feeding them lots of good food, veggies, scrambled eggs brown rice etc to them all. there are so very many tiels in rescues etcv that I highly recommend just leaving them be birds for a change. It may take quite some time for them to get healthy again.

 

[Momto3boys]

Why did you separate the males and females? Just take their nest box away. You can buy dummy eggs in case they lay eggs, the girls definitely don't need the boys to lay eggs so theres no sense in separating them.

Im sure you know this but look on kijiji, craigs list, petfinder, etc and you will see SO many budgies and cockatiels looking for homes. Breeding more is going to add to that population.

 

[petiteoiseau]

Rremoving the nests, putting them at a strict solar schedule and reducing protein while increasing fresh produce (with a little help from a bit of vitamins and calcium at the beginning) during the winter should take care of the problem. The conure would have to rest for an entire year (if not longer) to catch up because, at one, she is like a 12 year old girl, already capable of producing offspring but definitely not at an age that she should. Please consider how many of these birds are in rescue and in Craig's list and whether you would be able to take all of the babies back if they don't work in their homes before you start breeding them as we are responsible for all animals we bring into this world for their entire lives because, after all, they breed because we provide all the conditions for it.

 

[roxynoodle]

I wouldn't say you won't find homes for any of them due to how they look. My amazon had malnutrition and fatty liver and I knew as soon as I saw him. I took him anyway. It's been 2 years now but he's finally starting to look pretty nice. He's still missing some normal feathers on his thighs, but they used to be all downy feathers. His other feathers are brightly colored and shiny now, his beak is hard and shiny and his feet look good.

One of my CAGs plucks, but she's still beautiful to me, and it didn't stop me from adopting her either.

Trust me, there are good people out there who won't mind them looking "ratty" and give them a home as a pet.

 

[moonchild]

You could also surrender some of them to a reputable local rescue, if there is one in your area. That many birds really does sound overwhelming!

 

[Birdbabe]

You have a big heart.now.....clear eggs as in clear shell? Get those girls on calcium therapy, lots of good vegis, scrambled eggs, quinoa, sprinkle KNOX unflavored gelatin on all theyre food. Thanks for helping.

 

[LunaHestia]

You have a big heart.now.....clear eggs as in clear shell? Get those girls on calcium therapy, lots of good vegis, scrambled eggs, quinoa, sprinkle KNOX unflavored gelatin on all theyre food. Thanks for helping.

I am curious....what is the KNOX gelatin for? I have never heard of giving that to birds before.

 

[Chinnychews]

You have a big heart.now.....clear eggs as in clear shell? Get those girls on calcium therapy, lots of good vegis, scrambled eggs, quinoa, sprinkle KNOX unflavored gelatin on all theyre food. Thanks for helping.

No, clear eggs as in I candled them and they are all empty. The Knox Gelatin sounds like a super idea for replenishing the calcium! How much do you use?
I already make up a food for my birds that contains. freshly chopped veggies, hardboiled eggs, a mix of quinoa, wild rice, brown rice and red rice. I pulverize the eggshells from the hardboiled eggs in my vitamix and add that to the mix as well. Then I add a vitamin D supplement as this is the cloudy time of year for us.

 

[Chinnychews]

You could also surrender some of them to a reputable local rescue, if there is one in your area. That many birds really does sound overwhelming!

I would prefer to not put them through the stress of another move etc. I will give them a few months to settle and get healthier and then decide what to do with them.

 

[Chinnychews]

Rremoving the nests, putting them at a strict solar schedule and reducing protein while increasing fresh produce (with a little help from a bit of vitamins and calcium at the beginning) during the winter should take care of the problem. The conure would have to rest for an entire year (if not longer) to catch up because, at one, she is like a 12 year old girl, already capable of producing offspring but definitely not at an age that she should. Please consider how many of these birds are in rescue and in Craig's list and whether you would be able to take all of the babies back if they don't work in their homes before you start breeding them as we are responsible for all animals we bring into this world for their entire lives because, after all, they breed because we provide all the conditions for it.

I am giving the cockatiel hens only 8 hours per day of light to hopefully kick them out of the egg laying habit.

 

[Chinnychews]

Why did you separate the males and females? Just take their nest box away. You can buy dummy eggs in case they lay eggs, the girls definitely don't need the boys to lay eggs so theres no sense in separating them.

I'm sure you know this but look on kijiji, craigs list, petfinder, etc and you will see SO many budgies and cockatiels looking for homes. Breeding more is going to add to that population.

Actually there are very few Budgies available, parakeets yes, Budgies no. What you often see listed on Craigslist as Budgies are parakeets. A Budgie is breed of parakeet, but a parakeet is not a budgie. Kind of like all spiders are bugs but not all bugs are spiders.
I am already an English Budgie breeder and when I do look on Craigslist etc I often find that I am the only one in a several hundred mile area who breeds baby English budgies and there are even fewer who breed handtamed ones.

 

[moonchild]

Budgie (budgerigar) is actually the true name for what people in the US call "parakeets" -- there are many other types of parakeet, including grass keets, ringnecks, etc. It means a small parrot with a long tail.
The ones you breed are called English or show budgies, but the smaller (non-show) variety are still budgies. And they are the same species.

 

[Chinnychews]

It does sound pretty overwhelming...I am sad that you had to separate the males and females..if they were bonded then they are probably really missing each other...remove all the nest boxes from them...they deserve a break..maybe forever..start feeding them lots of good food, veggies, scrambled eggs brown rice etc to them all. there are so very many tiels in rescues etcv that I highly recommend just leaving them be birds for a change. It may take quite some time for them to get healthy again.

I separated them to totally avoid and chance of anything happening. Often when breeders breed budgies they are only together during the mating season and then put back into the male and female flocks for a rest. If they do miss their mate it is only for a short time and then they move on. I just had to remove a male from a cage because he kept going into the nesting box and kicking the eggs around, my poor little hen was very distraught and kept crying out. As soon as he was gone she settled right down and went back to incubating her eggs. He had never exhibited this kind of behavior with eggs before. He went from being a sensible adult to a bratty teenage boy.

 

[VictoriaVague]

Budgie (budgerigar) is actually the true name for what people in the US call "parakeets" -- there are many other types of parakeet, including grass keets, ringnecks, etc. It means a small parrot with a long tail.
The ones you breed are called English or show budgies, but the smaller (non-show) variety are still budgies. And they are the same species.

Yup. I lived in Oz where they come from . Budgie's everywhere! And here in England we call them all budgies too as other types of parakeet are sold - grass, ringnecks
ignore sad face. My phone is playing up)

 

[Chinnychews]

One reason that I do not want to rehome these birds right away is because of the risk of them putting them into breeding again right away. As soon as they walk out my door I have totally lost control of what happens to these poor birds. If I can get them healthy then at least I know that if they are bred again that the risks of them dying etc are lower.

 

[Chinnychews]

Yup. I lived in Oz where they come from . Budgie's everywhere! And here in England we call them all budgies too as other types of parakeet are sold - grass, ringnecks
ignore sad face. My phone is playing up)

I stand corrected, I had been misinformed. But bottomline, the ones that you see advertised all the time are the for the most part the smaller variety, not the larger English or Show budgies like what I have.