Hi, all! Just thought I'd update you all on my insestuous pair. I got the male, Branch, a new mate that I named Naughty-- short for Nautica because of the sea-green color she is and because she got loose in the attic when I first brought her home. Naughty Bird! I put the new pair in a seperate cage in a different room from Branch's sister. Twig (Branch's sister) already had another male in the cage (a lutino named Lemony) and she took to him right away. They preen each other and snuggle. It's so cute! I think she and Lemony were good friends before I took her brother away from her, so her transition was fast and easy. Branch, however, has been having a harder time of it since his new cage-mate is a stranger to him. He calls for Twig all the time, but she doesn't answer. My cockatiel does, though! Through all of this, Ollie (the last member of my flock) seems a little left out, but he's still really young, so once I have some babies, he'll have his chance.
Anyway, shortly after seperating the siblings, Twig distroyed the two eggs she had laid and hasn't laid any more. I had already disposed of the previous eggs, since I didn't think it was a good idea to let her raise babies that might die or be malformed in some way. She'll have another chance to raise babies with Lemony someday.
I do have one question, though, Mavis- do you think I will ever be able to put Twig and Branch in the same cage again or will it be confusing for them to be back with their old mate even if they have a new one?
Thanks again for all your help!
-Laura
PS- Good luck with your budgie breeding, BigBrush. I hope she figures out what the nest box is all about. Sometimes it takes a while for a budgie to get used to new things in the cage. Mine won't go near a new item for a week or so. I guess they want to make sure it's not going to kill them or something!
