# Help! Budgie mating with Cockatiel



## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

I have two male budgies (about seven months old) and a female cockatiel (about 5 or 6 months old). 

Piper, one of the male budgies, has been mating with Emma, the cockatiel, every day. They seem to have really bonded to each other. I have had them on long nights (about 13 hours) for about three weeks, but they are still mating. It happens at least a couple of times every day.

I live in a small house and it is not possible for me to keep them completely separate. They are all used to lots of out of cage time every day.

Why does this keep happening? Will Emma be stimulated to produce eggs? Why is Emma so receptive to the budgie, even with the long nights and no nesting material? What should I do?

Sometimes if Emma is perched on my forearm, the budgie flies at her to chase her off. It seems as though he is jealous if she spends time with me.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

You shouldn’t really be housing them together anyway regardless of how well they get on, it is not recommended. Best thing to do is have them in separate cages (even if you were to keep the cages side-by-side) and give them separate out of cage times to stop it from happening.


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## LaurulCat (Jan 4, 2014)

The why they are doing this is answered by the song 'Love the One You're With". They both have an urge to mate and they have worked out a compromise between them. Myself, I see no problem with a budgie mating with a tiel; they are probably not able to produce viable eggs. However, it may encourage the hen tiel to produce eggs just as a natural progression of having mated. It is not always a guarantee the hen will, but it does make it more likely.

My older tiel, Gracie, lost her mate when she was 11. She lived without a mate for three years and just hung out with the flock. Then my six year old lovebird cock, Harley, lost his mate. After a short grieving period, he started courting Gracie; and they came to an agreement also. Despite frequent mating, Gracie had stopped laying eggs when she was 10 and did not produce any eggs from the matings. When Gracie was almost 17 years old, she died of a brain bleed. Harley was upset and grieved her loss. So I went to Craig's List and found a hen lovebird for rehome and now Harley has BluBird as a mate and he is very, very happy. 

I was surprised there was no aggression between the lovebird and the cockatiel, but cock lovebirds are non-aggressive; while hen lovebirds are the aggressive ones. I currently have two cock budgies and no budgie hens. The budgies constantly try to convince the hen cockatiels to mate with them, but so far, no takers. The budgies masturbate all the time on the boings and any towels they can find in the birdroom.

As long as there is no aggression between the cockatiel and the budgie, I see no problem with allowing them to continue their relationship. Birds are sexual creatures just like we are and need an outlet for their sexual needs. At least you know they cannot produce live eggs.


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

Dear Laurulcat,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. It's good to know another's experience with this kind of thing.

Dear Renae,
I know it is not recommended to house them together. I have two cages. However, Emma wants to be with the budgies. I guess I am just not strong minded enough about it, given her inclinations and the fact that she is not finger tamed yet.


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

I also see no problem with them having a little inter species fling... if she shows signs of getting broody , I would do the long nights hormone reducing thing. I have 5 budgies. 3 hens and 2 males. One hen is bonded with my male parrotlet and I have seen them mate before altho not often. He does not seem to get her "come on baby" signals...lol I also have a full, same clutch brother/sister bonded pair who mate quite regularly. She will lay a clutch or 2 of eggs each spring. I cannot allow her to hatch these eggs and she gets very aggressive to the rest of the flock when broody so she gets removed from the flight with her bro/hubby and placed in a small cage. I replace each egg with a white marble and let her sit till she is over it...lol I reduce the # of hours of daylight for her and stop feeding her fresh soft foods. As soon as she abandons her 'eggs' The pair is replaced in the flight cage again.


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## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

LaurulCat said:


> The why they are doing this is answered by the song 'Love the One You're With".


I love that song  

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I think the biggest issue here is not the housing but the stimulation. If the mating can not be curbed is can stimulate the hen to lay eggs and this can lead to complications such as egg binding. Honestly, I'd prevent it if at all possible, including removing the female cockatiel from the budgies. Male budgies are nicer than females for sure, but there's still no guarantee that the tiel will be safe if the budgie decides to be a bully. And laying eggs is not always a safe experience either. 

But, one thing to also remember, birds mate for pleasure as well as for making babies. So if they're on the long nights and still mating, you may not get any eggs but you sure will get mating since they obviously like each other. At that point its up to you to decide whether you want to let them continue it or not.


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

Thank you, Roxy Culver. This clears up why I am still seeing mating despite the long nights. 
I would really like to keep Emma separate from the budgies. However, to do this, I think I would need to not let the budgies out. Emma gets upset if the budgies are out and she can't join them. I do enjoy watching the three of them fly around the living room together. They are a happy flock, and so far I don't see any bullying.


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## LaurulCat (Jan 4, 2014)

*? It is not safe to allow egg laying???*

That is like saying it is not safe for human females to get pregnant. Yes, there are always risks, especially with a 'virgin' human or bird. One never knows if either female has a dangerous malfunction in their reproductive organs that could cause complications and death during birth or egg laying. Plus, if either the human or the bird is not physiologically in top condition, the process of being pregnant or producing eggs could deplete the female's body so much they could die.

The purpose of life is to produce more life. Fighting the sexual and reproductive instincts of your pet birds is a lesson in futility. The physiological body is going to do what it is made for; reproduce. I feel it is better to keep a female in top physical condition and allow whatever sexual behavior they wish to have than it is to discourage breeding by not providing conditions that would make egg laying safer; like top conditioning and excellent nutrition.

I also feel the more a pet parrot is permitted to express their instincts, the happier and less neurotic that parrot will be. We make sure they have stuff to chew, to play with, to keep their mind occupied, but we discourage them from having a mate, expressing their sexuality and living in emotionally bonded pairs like they do in the wild. And it is not true that if a pet parrot has a mate they will not be interested in interacting with their human owner. Your pet may be more interested in laying eggs and raising babies for a few months, but they will come back to you after that hormonal time is over. I have had it happen time and again with my pet parrots.

We say we want our parrots to be happy, well adjusted pets, but we deny them the most crucial need for which they evolved; reproduction. It does not seem to matter if they never hatch a live chick and raise it; their hormones only tell them to mate, produce eggs, brood the eggs and if it ends there, the birds do not seem to suffer emotional or physiological problems. I imagine it is rare in the wild that a clutch of eggs actually hatches and the babies fledge. There are so many, many predators out there looking to eat the eggs and the chicks, it is probably a successful mating if even one chick fledges from the nest.

OK. Off my soapbox. I am not saying we must allow our parrots to produce chicks to make them happy, but I am saying we need to allow them to follow as much of their instincts and hormonal behavior as we can to allow them a well adjusted and happy life as a pet.


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