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I have my 9 'tiels in a huge macaw size utility cage, divided down the middle, with boys on one side and girls on the other. I'm thinking of opening the whole thing up though, giving them more usable room in general and a better arrangement of perches, and making it where I only have one large cage to service instead of what amounts to 2 side by side ones.

I do not want more birds. I handfed 5 of these little monkeys and I don't think my nerves could take more (9 'tiels and an Amazon in another cage). And I wouldn't be able to give more the level of care these currently enjoy.

So last year, it dawned on me to take the eggs they'd lay (you know how they will do it, fertile or infertile) and put them in the fridge to keep them from developing just in case they were fertile. Let them cool, put them back with the 'mom' for the month of gestation, and she'd get her nesting instinct over with and I wouldn't be handfeeding more monkeys. I've found this much healthier for the mom because in the past when I'd completely do away with the eggs, she would continually lay, and you know how that's not healthy.

My question is this: will putting boys and girls together together increase egg laying? I don't mind an increase in my having to rotate eggs thru the fridge, but I don't want to compromise their health. Right now the girls are probably nesting 3 times a year each. Do you think this would increase if they were put with those randy boys 24/7? Their main diet is Zupreem fruit blend flavor pellets, with various seeds for treats, and they get plenty of exercise out. So they should be in good shape, health-wise.

Thanks,
Darbla

That may depend on if they are tempted to nest or not! I had two males and two females in one cage (family, mother, father, son, daughter). The son has now been adopted, which is good!!! Before they came here, one of the girls kept laying eggs but could never sit on them as they would always crack. The parents would mate and so would the kids once they arrived here... however no nesting was encouraged, they got plenty of sleep, and thus no more eggs.

If you want them to all share a cage, I suggest first getting some fake eggs....
http://www.fakebirdeggs.com/

Second, I suggest also including lots of fresh foods into their diet... there's two threads that go into detail about some good foods to feed, so I'd start with those two...

Third, make sure they get at least 12 hours of sleep each night, if not 14. Increased daylight hours can trigger hormones.

Fourth, be sure to remove anything that can be perceived as a nest or nesting material.

MFids wrote:...I suggest also including lots of fresh foods into their diet... there's two threads that go into detail about some good foods to feed, so I'd start with those two...

Third, make sure they get at least 12 hours of sleep each night, if not 14. Increased daylight hours can trigger hormones.

Fourth, be sure to remove anything that can be perceived as a nest or nesting material.

I agree with MFids, though I stress the importance of her first point, about fresh food, regardless whether you allow your birds to comingle. I used to refrigerate eggs but then found gently boiling them a quicker way to ensure a newly-laid egg wouldn't hatch. Must be done the same day or next day that the egg is laid, and boiled eggs must be marked for quick identification.

Since your birds are right next to each other, I really don't know if removing the cage divider will encourage more egg laying. Comingling your birds will enable them to pair off and live much happier lives. I heartily endorse that idea. It might encourage the females to lay, but you seem to have a good handle on keeping eggs from hatching.

The biggest concern is whether the females will lay too often and, calcium depleted, get egg bound and die -- a concern you've surely had even with them separated. Are you able, financially, to provide Lupron to hens who get stuck in egg-laying mode? Are you able to observe your tiels enough to know if one is straining to lay too long and getting weak? Are you in a metropolitan area with good vet resources 24/7? I don't know that these questions are any less critical with your birds separated. But I do think your birds would be much happier in pairs.