Preventing Breeding

User Question
Thank you so much for all of the information. I recently adopted a parakeet. He was very skitish when I first got him. For his whole life he has had another bird (a cockatiel) as a companion. He is not quite hand trained, but he now allows me to stroke his stomache. To tell you the truth the cockatiel hates him. The little fella follows the cockatiel around, trying to preen him and be close to him. I feel bad because he craves another bird's companionship.

I have decided to buy another (hand raised if possible) budgie. Do you know of any breeders near Northampton Massachusetts? My most important question is since I have no clue if my budgie is boy or girl, is there a good chance that they will mate if it turns out one is a boy and one is a girl? I am not at all ready for babies. I know you have information about this already on your site, but I need more specific answers. Are there ways to discourage them from laying eggs? Thanks again for all the helpful information.

Lisa's Answer
There's really no way to tell for sure if a keet is male or female, other than going to a vet. And if you have a male and female, they will breed if they want to. You can't stop them :) I would go to a vet, get your current bird sexed, and then ask the vet for recommendations for breeders in the area. Checkups are pretty cheap, and in this case it seems well worth it. I'm afraid I don't know of any breeders out there.

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