Possible to prevent breeding?

[hollyk]

Hi again!
I recently got two budgies who, unbeknownst to me at the time of purchase, are opposite sex. The male has been estimated to be about 6 months and the female is only about 10 weeks, according to the very helpful feedback I've received on this forum. They're already very close and happy together, so I certainly don't want to separate them. I'm wondering, though, if there's a way to keep them from breeding? I've heard a lot of different advice from different sources and one person told me that there's no way to prevent it so do your best to make breeding a positive experience. I just don't know what to do if they do decide to mate in the future. I'd rather have chicks than separate my pair, but I'm hopeful that if they don't have a breeding box, etc. that they won't breed. Thoughts?
Thank you!

[Hezz]

Generally speaking budgies like to have everything nicely in place and the planets aligned before they look at breeding. So having a cock and hen is not the beginning of an unwanted clutch, necessarily. Make sure there is nothing in the cage that can be mistaken for a nest box, such as a coconut, snuggle hut, or anything similar. Most of the time that is all you have to do to put them off their game. Occasionally you will get a hen who is insistent on producing eggs, and that is where the fun starts. As your are still very young, don't let anything happen before they are both at least 12 months of age (if you change your mind). If your hen does start randomly laying eggs, we can talk about ways to put her off her stride, then. Enjoy your two little beauties.

[weelouie]

"Take out the nest box" is definitely the easiest way to stop budgies from breeding. My "Budgopolis" cage contains 2 males and 4 females. They engage in courting behaviour but I've never seen an egg. The whole lot were rescued products of accidental breedings in a small cage with two nest boxes. I have another cage with bonded male and female English budgies. They were bred and raised chicks before I bought them, but have never bred while in my care.

If you get really stubborn ones who manage to make their own nest somewhere, replacing their eggs with plastic ones will put a stop to any chicks hatching. As long as the real eggs are pulled within a few days of laying before embryos form, there's no cruelty involved. They sit on the plastic eggs until the time they'd normally hatch, then they abandon them. I keep pigeons as indoor pets and plastic eggs are what I use for them.

[milliej]

I had one pair for 9 years without problem (eggs) and the pair I have at the present, although they mate (when she'll let him!) haven't produced eggs either so as has been said, it doesn't necessarily follow that eggs are produced after mating.

[hollyk]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate all of your insights. I just want my babies happy and healthy, but preferably not producing more babies!