Rec'd some disappointing news...I think

[marlowsix]

I had taken my two babies to the vet last week for their first check up and to get DNA'd. They are very healthy - thank goodness :happy: Today I got the call regarding their sex...they are male and female. I had planned on keeping them, bought a very cool new cage for these guys and now I'm wondering if I can keep them together. I really don't have room to bring in another cage to seperate them (already have another cage with the parents) ...not to mention the fact that keeping the babies in cage #2 was about all my husband could tollerate. He's so not an animal person. So I need to hear what you think about these two little ones...can I keep them together? will I need to give one up :cry: If I do have to give one up, should it be done soon - so these two don't bond anymore than they already have? or do I have some time?

Thanks!
Jayne

[linda040899]

Jayne,
There's no reason why you can't keep them. You just can't let them have babies together. Being a male/female pair, it goes without saying that there will be eggs. That's just nature. Even if you kept just the female, single hens lay eggs, too. At least you know the genders of these 2 so you can plan accordingly.

[Tango's_Mom]

As long as they are getting along, I see no reason to separate them, you can prevent them from producing babies by either boiling any eggs the day they are layed (and allowing her to sit on the boiled eggs until she abandons them) or by replacing any eggs with fake eggs. If you do a search you will find an enormous amount of information on preventing them from breeding.

[Susan27]

I bought a pair that were from the same clutch, and they are bonded and my most friendly of all my lovies. The breeder 'guessed' they were both female....well....4 babies later...um....definitely a boy and girl!

I don't know how bad it is for siblings to breed, if that's what you are worried about. I am guessing that in nature this happens often. I have been told on this forum, that to breed siblings to get specific mutations should be done by an experienced, knowledgeable breeder. I am guessing that it is possible to get undesirable behavioral traits, or continue and amplify a genetic abnormality. Since my 2 birds have the most wonderful birdie attitude and come from a respectable breeder, I didn't have too many concerns when their babies hatched....guess I will see when the babies grow up (well, the one that I am keeping).

If your babies seem bonded, I don't think that them being siblings would necessarily make a difference to them. I don't know that 2 birds that bond would care or know that they are brother and sister, or parent and child, or 2 birds from different parents all together.

I wouldn't see a problem keeping them both together in the same cage and keeping them that way as long as they are bonded. Just because they seem to love each other now, that isn't always a life time situation. One day they could decide they don't like each other and you would have to split them up. This would probably have little to do with their parentage, just who they are and what they decide they want.

If you are concerned about them breeding, there are always ways to attempt to prevent the eggies from developing.

This is my opinion. There are many more experienced lovebird people here who may know good reasons for siblings not to be housed together.

Good luck!

[Janie]

As long as they are getting along, I see no reason to separate them, you can prevent them from producing babies by either boiling any eggs the day they are layed (and allowing her to sit on the boiled eggs until she abandons them) or by replacing any eggs with fake eggs. If you do a search you will find an enormous amount of information on preventing them from breeding.

Agreed! :)

Jayne, if they like each other, I'd definitely keep both and cage them together. Just prevent any eggs from becoming fertile when that time comes. When I got my last two I did have them DNA'd because I only wanted males but a DNA'd male is not 100% so I knew there was a very slight chance that one (or both) could be females and one, VERY BOSSY, reminded me of what a hen might be like! :D Two years later, it's now obvious that both are males but after having them for a full week I could not have parted with either of them, even if I'd found out they were hens. Hopefully your hubby will "come around".....mine sure has! :D It's normal now to see him sitting at the kitchen table with 1 to 3 lovies on his shoulder and head! :lol The very same lovies that he was determined not to get attached to! ;)

[marlowsix]

Thanks so much for the info. I had been told by my avian vet that I should seperate them. My vet is one of the leading avian vets in the country (so I've heard) and so I felt like I should take his advice...but I just hated the thought. That's why I brought it to this board. I much prefer the advice from all of you - so I will keep them together. They do love each other and it just broke my heart to think of breaking them up. They are my babies afterall!!!

Thanks again!
Jayne

[mjm8321]

Jayne,

I have a pair of siblings that I keep together because they are bonded. They lay eggs, but I boil them and return them so she can complete the cycle. I don't have the heart to separate them as they are so sweet and obviously love each other.

We have bred siblings in certain cases, for certain mutations; however this was done full knowing that the parents of the siblings were not related at all. If I didn't know the genetic background of the parents, I wouldn't have done so.

Give those cuties a kiss......and ummmmmm, any new pictures? :lol

[marlowsix]

Thanks MJ. I am so relieved that I can keep these little ones together. Not sure why my vet didn't offer any other alternatives except split them up - oh well, thankfully I didn't listen. I will post some new pics soon, they are all grown up now and look just like their parents. In fact, they are almost identical (even the vet said so). It's been a real challenge trying to tell them apart - I have studied them to try and find something different about them - but no luck. The only way I can at the moment is when I pick one up - my little girl (Izzy) bites and my little boy (Frankie) doesn't...he's such a love. I've been working with her to address her biting, but if I get her to stop - then I'll never be able to tell them apart :omg: ...not until they start getting frisky I guess!! Anyway thanks again for the info.

Jayne

[Janie]

Jayne, btw, my two that I got at the same time and had DNA'd before I bought them are brothers....clutch mates. They were very bonded when I got them and remained bonded till they were around 9 months to a year old. They don't fight but they don't snuggle together anymore either. They share a cage but separate happy huts. Both of them like my older bird, Oliver, more than each other and after being a single bird for years, Oliver is now a very well preened bird, thanks to Big Boi and Shy. They also like to try to feed him but he's not real receptive to that so far. :D

I hope your two will have a very happy bonded life together! :D