Budgies mating again

Question
QUESTION: My budgies are trying to mate, again even though they are still caring for young. How do you get budgies to stop mating? I can't separate them because the father needs to help with feeding. My plan is to remove the nest boxes once the chicks are out. How can you get birds to stop mating? They are determined!

ANSWER: Hi again, Amy.

The only way to stop mating completely is to separate the birds.  A lot of parrots will stop mating/breeding when the nesting box is removed.  However, a certified avian vet can give the female a hormone shot to stop her from breeding for about 9 months.  Daddy feeds mom if babies are still in the nesting box...he usually doesn't feed the babies.  If mom is eating on her own and feeding the babies, you can probably remove the male, but you'd need to be sure what is going on.  If the babies are still too young, you'll need to leave daddy in the cage for mom's benefit.

Yes, budgies are very prolific!  You could also pull all the babies for handfeeding and then remove the nesting box(es) before mom starts laying again.  If you don't catch the female before she starts laying again and you don't want any more babies, you can let her lay her clutch, then remove the eggs as soon as 4-6 are laid, boil them for a few minutes, let them cool down, then place them back under the female OR remove any laid eggs and replace them with dummy eggs.  Problem is when you remove eggs as they are laid, the female will continue to lay and lay and lay until she has a full clutch of eggs under her.  So you need to leave them all alone until she done laying, then do something like replace with dummy eggs or boil them.  Ideal situation would be to remove the nesting box before she lays again.  A nesting box is a que to your birds to go to nest so it needs to come ASAP.  Also, keep available light sources to 8-10 hours per day...this discourages breeding.

Chrys

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Doesn't the father bird help with feeding the young as they come out of the nest? I read that its the father bird who helps teach the young how to eat and drink on their own.  

Answer
Hi again, Amy.

Daddy budgie feeds babies that are out of the nestbox and in the cage.  My statement should have read "...he usually doesn't feed babies that are still in the nesting box."  Yes, he teaches them what to eat, how to drink, how to maneuver about the cage, etc.  However, your post indicated the babies were still in the nestbox.  As soon as that last baby leaves the nesting box, remove the nesting box.  Once all the babies can eat and drink on their own, you can separate the adults and/or get that female the hormone shot.

Chrys