Help?

[Dusty]

Hi, I have 3 conures all housed together in a large cage and 2 of them have started to mate for the first time in their 5 years of life (theyre also siblings), of course i assumed they were all male or all female until this point but will she lay eggs? I dont want her to be egg bound but if she has been fertilized will she not lay them if her area doesnt seem fit for laying eggs? Or will she develop eggs anyway and either lay or become bound? Please help

 

[sootling]

@BrianB

She will need to lay any eggs she has, and if she cannot find a nesting box, she will lay them elsewhere. Once she lays them, you boil them IMMEDIATELY. Inbreeding birds is extremely dangerous. You will also need to separate them by gender to prevent further clutches.

 

[Mizzely]

They can even lay eggs without mating. Once it is developing, they either reabsorb them (pretty uncommon) or they lay them. Egg binding occurs when they are physically unable to pass the egg, either due to medical reasons, complications, poor diet, or not enough exercise

 

[Zara]

2 of them have started to mate for the first time in their 5 years of life (theyre also siblings), of course i assumed they were all male or all female until this point

They still could be... it´s not unheard of for same sex bird pairs to bond and even mate.

I dont want her to be egg bound

Allowing time out of the cage for exercise, as well as offering a good diet will help to reduce the risk of any egg problems.

Here is a good article to read to familiarise yourself with the signs to watch out for, just in case;

https://nilesanimalhospital.com/files/2012/05/Complications-of-Egg-Laying-Activity.pdf

Mating doesn´t always mean eggs will come to fruit as Shawna said, so just keep an eye out so that if you do spot any eggs, you remove them. I don´t know if they need to be replaced, I think they might need to be boiled and put back. @webchirp hopefully can answer that better.

 

[webchirp]

I always flood my girls with plastic eggs and remove the real ones. I do not give them anything to nest with intentionally and usually they will lay them on the bottom of the cage if they are going to lay. Keep an eye on weights. A bird in egg laying mode will steadily increase weight.

 

[Dusty]

They still could be... it´s not unheard of for same sex bird pairs to bond and even mate.


Allowing time out of the cage for exercise, as well as offering a good diet will help to reduce the risk of any egg problems.

Here is a good article to read to familiarise yourself with the signs to watch out for, just in case;

https://nilesanimalhospital.com/files/2012/05/Complications-of-Egg-Laying-Activity.pdf

Mating doesn´t always mean eggs will come to fruit as Shawna said, so just keep an eye out so that if you do spot any eggs, you remove them. I don´t know if they need to be replaced, I think they might need to be boiled and put back. @webchirp hopefully can answer that better.

Hi, I have 3 conures all housed together in a large cage and 2 of them have started to mate for the first time in their 5 years of life (theyre also siblings), of course i assumed they were all male or all female until this point but will she lay eggs? I dont want her to be egg bound but if she has been fertilized will she not lay them if her area doesnt seem fit for laying eggs? Or will she develop eggs anyway and either lay or become bound? Please help

Thank you all for the advice, I hope this tags everyone who replied

But if she is a female, arent they used to lay a test egg every year or so? She never has and she is almost 5, none of them have

Does this mean they must all be males?

And if an egg is layed must I boil it and put it back or completely remove it?

 

[Mizzely]

No, my mother in laws quaker was like 13 before she ever played an egg. They definitely do not have to lay every breeding season.

 

[Dusty]

No, my mother in laws quaker was like 13 before she ever played an egg. They definitely do not have to lay every breeding season.

Oh okay, thank you
So i have to keep an eye on her to see if shes male or female and wait for her to lay an egg because they have already mated approximately 3-4 times everyday this week, no point of separating them now until i know what gender she is (cant afford a dna test at the moment)

 

[Zara]

And if an egg is layed must I boil it and put it back or completely remove it?

Boil it, allow to cool and put it back. Mark it with a dot using a Sharpie pen so you know which eggs have been boiled.

 

[BrianB]

I would replace the eggs with fakes, or boil the ones she has laid and out them back. Just removing them may stimulate her to keep laying. I would also remove anything they nest in. Replace anything that they can shred and make nesting material out of.

two girls will go through the motions of mating and start to lay eggs. If you’ve got no intentions of breeding then don’t make it easy for them to do so. Siblings should never breed.