• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Just caught a stray female, but I already have 3 males... 2 questions

Skynyrd

Meeting neighbors
Joined
2/4/18
Messages
26
Location
NJ
Real Name
Shannon
1. Is it possible for one female to live peacefully with 3 males?
2. Where can I find reliable information about female parakeet health issues?

This morning I was able to catch a stray female parakeet. She and another parakeet have been flying around my yard/neighborhood for maybe 3-4 weeks now. Now that I have caught one, I will do my due diligence to try to locate the owner so she can return home if that is a possibility for her. I posted in my community groups asking if anyone lost a bird or two weeks ago, with no response indicating anyone is looking for their lost birds. I see parakeet flying around all the time. This is the 8th parakeet I have seen in the last few years. I feel like people just let them loose and don't care. But I really don't know what happened to these two. So first I will try to located owners.

It is getting very cold out (below 30 degrees at night). I don't know how resilient parakeets are in this cold. The other may possibly no longer be alive? I don't know. If I see the other, I will try to catch that one too. But I don't know what to do with them once I catch them.

My three males have a lovely life. They have a room to themselves that I spend time in with them. Every morning their cage doors are open and they fly around as much as they want. They eat well, play, socialize with each other and/or me. They seem happy. I could easily add more. I have room.

But, I have never owned a female parakeet. Is it possible to safely integrate her with the males (after her vet check and quarantine)? I don't want to breed them. There are enough lose parakeets around me for some reason.

I also don't want them to fight. They are a peaceful flock. I am happy to keep her if I can do so safely. I have no other room for her. I don't want two rooms in my house for birds. One room is enough. I don't want to keep her caged while the others have freedom.

I am not sure what to do next. I need to educate myself on what to expect.
 
Last edited:

camelotshadow

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
11/9/11
Messages
21,494
Location
S California
Real Name
Christine
Right now just be sure you protect your flock. Quarantine in case of illness.

Then you have to decide what to do with this lucky one whom fate seems to have delivered to you.
 

reetybird

Strolling the yard
Joined
8/15/21
Messages
98
Location
North Carolina
Real Name
Casper
1. Is it possible for one female to live peacefully with 3 males?
2. Where can I find reliable information about female parakeet health issues?

This morning I was able to catch a stray female parakeet. She and another parakeet have been flying around my yard/neighborhood for maybe 3-4 weeks now. Now that I have caught one, I will do my due diligence to try to locate the owner so she can return home if that is a possibility for her. I posted in my community groups asking if anyone lost a bird or two weeks ago, with no response indicating anyone is looking for their lost birds. I see parakeet flying around all the time. This is the 8th parakeet I have seen in the last few years. I feel like people just let them loose and don't care. But I really don't know what happened to these two. So first I will try to located owners.

It is getting very cold out (below 30 degrees at night). I don't know how resilient parakeets are in this cold. The other may possibly no longer be alive? I don't know. If I see the other, I will try to catch that one too. But I don't know what to do with them once I catch them.

My three males have a lovely life. They have a room to themselves that I spend time in with them. Every morning their cage doors are open and they fly around as much as they want. They eat well, play, socialize with each other and/or me. They seem happy. I could easily add more. I have room.

But, I have never owned a female parakeet. Is it possible to safely integrate her with the males (after her vet check and quarantine)? I don't want to breed them. There are enough lose parakeets around me for some reason.

I also don't want them to fight. They are a peaceful flock. I am happy to keep her if I can do so safely. I have no other room for her. I don't want two rooms in my house for birds. One room is enough. I don't want to keep her caged while the others have freedom.

I am not sure what to do next. I need to educate myself on what to expect.
So glad you were able to take this baby in! Here’s my advice, I would honestly use another cage for her instead of keeping her with the boys. Introducing birds take awhile anyways and can be hard to do. So it should work best if you keep her in a separate cage. They will begin to breed eventually so if you are against eggs, keep her in a separate cage.
 

Sparkles99

Biking along the boulevard
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
8/9/20
Messages
6,315
Location
Ontario, Canada
If no one claims her & you can’t get the other one, I think it’d be fair to let her pair with one of the boys & keep them in twos. But I, too, have never kept a female.
 

Shezbug

ASK ME FOR PICTURES OF MY MACAW!
Super Moderator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/28/18
Messages
25,823
Location
Vic, Australia
Real Name
Shez

Ripshod

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
12/6/18
Messages
7,529
Location
UK
Real Name
Linden
It's just one female, she should integrate fine with your three boys. It's more the females that'll get in fights. She chooses her mate. All three may court her but she will choose the one. The males will only compete for her attention, there may be some chasing by the males but that is rather friendly. Once she's chosen the other two will pair up and be happy with each other's company.
If the m-f pair do mate you'll have to keep an eye out for her laying, retrieve the eggs and bin them. It is that simple.
Keep the cage available though, on the off-chance their natural instincts are messed up by breeding (read inbreeding etc). Natural instincts should prevail though as they have a large range. If you have to split them you'll be better giving the pairs seperate fly time, once the female has chosen she may not appreciate the attention of the other males.
The important thing is to just watch them and follow your gut.
That said, is there a real chance you could catch her friend for her?
 

Kassiani

Biking along the boulevard
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
9/12/20
Messages
6,832
Location
Southeastern U.S.
You say there are or were 2 loose budgies? Do you hope to catch the other? They may already be a pair.
 

Skynyrd

Meeting neighbors
Joined
2/4/18
Messages
26
Location
NJ
Real Name
Shannon
Thank you all. She is in a separate room in her own cage quarantined. I emailed my local bird rescue, local animal shelter and posted in my town's FB group to ask if any one lost a pair of parakeets. So far I haven't heard anything back. If there is a person who is missing these birds I first want to get her home. If I don't get any responses about an owner/guardian looking for her, I will make her a vet visit and get her checked out in the next week.

I am looking for her friend outside. I have the feeder filled so if the second shows up, I do think I can catch "her" too. All I need is for the bird to come to the food.

This one is actually the second parakeet I have caught. 4 years ago, Skynyrd (my screen name and profile picture) was my first parakeet ever. He flew to my house for 7 months before I was able to catch him... he lived only a short time with us. During that short time I acquired him some friends and that is now why i have 3. I wasn't looking for more but here she is... Now I just need to figure out what is best for her and the boys.

Tonight it dropping to 18 degree (F)... I worry about the one that is outside. I hope "she" come to me so I have help her too.

I named the female Lynyrd... I think I had to. :)
 
Top