Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 2/3/2008

Question
I have 2 young teils who wont be 1 intill may 1st and may 2nd. They came from my aunts house whos tiels had a clutch and these were the 2 survivors, of 5 eggs. We of course didnt know the sex of the birds, but, characteristaclly we felt we had a male and a female. The last week my male has been mounting my female. I have read about teils mating, and have seen alot on not mating young birds under age 18 months and also mating family members is strongly unadvised. I dont want any harm to come of my birds (egg bound and such) and I have been "interrupting" them everytime I catch them, but of course I cant be there all the time. They are so close, being together since chicks, and I dont have a spare cage to seperate them. They also get very upset when they cant see each other...I am at a loss. I am sure this happens in the wild all the time though...any suggestions???

Answer
Hi, Melissa,

No, this does not happen all the time in the wild...Mother Nature doesn't work that way!  This happens when humans cage birds together that are related.  You need to separate these 2 birds into different cages so they will not mate and produce offspring.  I see you don't have a spare cage, but I recommend you obtain one.  Allowing these 2 birds to mate would be similar to you mating with your brother!  Babies produced from matings of related animals can result in offspring with developmental problems, birth defects, etc.  Then you'll have offspring you can't sell or give away.  A cage doesn't have to be elaborate...you can make one with some cage wire, etc., very inexpensively, that you can obtain from a local hardware store.  They may be upset for a while until they get used to being separated, but you can allow them to come out of their cages and be together.  Sitting side-by-side should be OK...the male may be upset because he can't mate with the female, but you have to decide what you want to do here.  You may only need to keep them separate during breeding season and/or when their hormones are active.  If the current cage is large enough, perhaps you can place a separator of some sort between them.  If you leave them together, they will mate.

Chrys