fleming@acsu.buffalo.edu (christine m fleming) (05/20/91)
Recap: I have a pair of parakeets (one male, one female) and a maybe male, maybe female cockatiel. The male parakeet (Calysta) has been courting(?) the cockatiel (Rutger), and ignoring the female parakeet (Maranga). The cockatiel was weirded out, Maranga was getting sadder and sadder, and Calysta was... just Calysta. Talking to my breeder, and some net people (THANKS Sue and John!) and seeing how the situation has progressed, i was getting more and more worried about Maranga. She had been getting weirder by the day. Anyway, it was suggested by a few people that her sadness may be due to her being in breeding condition, and not being set up in a proper and condusive atmosphere for such things. Has anyone had experience with a lone or unhappily paired female during breeding season? Maranga has traditional sickness indicators: she is puffed up a lot more than normal, she sleeps a little more, and she sings less. BUT, she is more than happy to sit on people or fly around (in fact, she seems to enjoy this more than ever, and flys hither and tither and all around), and she is eating and drinking normally. Her droppings are also normal. Is she just... "broody"?? If so, i have been thinking that i will set her up with a nest box. Does anyone have suggestions on how to go about this? They have a tall (rather traditional) parakeet cage. It is pretty large (enough to house one or two more birds comfortably...) and it has a door on the ceiling and one on the lower left side of the cage. Where do i put the box? (Their food is normally on the floor in two shallow bowls, and their water is in the hook-on cups that usually come with a parakeet cage... They have three perches in it now, but, used to have a tiered set up with ladders and partitions. I'm not sure if all of this matters much...) The problem is that we will be moving into a new house as of June 1st, and i don't want to disturb her further. Should i put the box in to let her get used to it? Should i take out and/or re-arrange the perches? How? I have also been considering getting another pair of parakeets. If i do, will the older pair be more likely to breed, or should i wait? It has been suggested that i remove the cockatiel from their room: is this possibly a/the reason the femamle parakeet is uncomfortable about her environment? [Anyone have any suggestions for a good cockatiel playground that will keep him amused and my housemates from killing me for having a messy "killer bird" in the living room??...;)...] [Right, "killer": he doesn't even understand the concept of "bite"...:)...] Thanks for any help... ...jones (fleming@sun.acsu.buffalo.edu) ps: John, mail to you bounced again. "oakhill" doesn't work either..:(