Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 1/12/2008

Question
i had my parakeet for over 3 years now(male) and it's still not used to me. every time i put my finger near the cage it starts screaming and runs away. it is always scared of my other(female) bird who is over 5 years old now....why is this happening? also they had mated a few times but the female always starts to break her own eggs...it worries me... then she starts to fight with the male....why is this happening?

Answer
Hi, Bob,

I found your post in the question pool this morning.  For some reason, the person you sent your post originally to could not answer.

One problem you have is that birds prefer other birds to humans and the best pet bird is a single bird in the home.  The male obviously is not tame and is frightened of you...this is why he runs from you.  Not all birds get along with each other.  Just because we want them to or we put them together doesn't mean they will get along.  Some birds are just more aggressive than others, some are more compatible with others, etc.  You may have 2 birds that just are not compatible with each other.  However, I'm confused when you state they have mated a few times.  In order to have mated, the 2 birds had to have pair-bonded, i.e., have been "in love" with each other.  What happened?

Are you sure of the sexes of your birds?  In general, males have blue ceres and females have white/brown/tan/beige.  Obviously, you have a female if eggs were laid, however, female birds can lay infertile eggs without the benefit of a male.  In order to answer your question about egg breaking, I need more details about your setup, nesting box, age of birds, how soon after laying did the female destroy her eggs, any other birds in the same cage, etc.  Birds break their eggs for many different reasons.

The more detailed information you can provide, the better I'm able to help you and your birds.

Chrys