Purchased Breeding Pair-Don't want to breed yet

[rmorche]

I purchased two gouldians. They are male and female and they were already bonded to each other. Of course they were the exact colors I wanted.!!! I went with my heart and bought them even though they were male and female and I was looking for two of the same sex.

I am not against allowing them to breed but I have read I shouldn't let her breed until she is 2+. She is only 10 months. However, whether I want her to or not, she is already laying eggs.

What should I do to make sure she stays healthy? Will she get upset/is it unhealthy for her if I simply remove the eggs and dispose of them? I don't really want to become a "breeder" but I don't want to be cruel either. Any advise is much appreciated. Maybe I will become a "breeder by force"

[EmilyHurd]

If you really want to you can breed her at a year. Gouldians can be tough to breed sometimes so you should see if they'll do it for you before you worry about removing eggs.

[rmorche]

So, if I just leave the eggs in the nest and see what happens, chances are the eggs will just never hatch anyway? And if so, at what point should I remove them?

Thanks so much for your help. I am a complete newbie and I just want to do the best thing for my birds.

[Hilary]

It depends. If they lay and actually incubate, you'll probably get chicks. Whether they'll be good parents or not is another story. Congrats on the birds!

[rmorche]

Thank you for your help!

[hilljack13]

Did you buy them at a petstore together? The reason I ask is sometimes you will see pairs together but there are no guarantees the pair weren't picked from the breeder as a "pair" but as brother/sister. I would assume most wouldn't do this but some I have seen sell just for the profit and do not care about these things.

[rmorche]

The lady at the store talked to me about her breeder and about other breeders that may not be so reputable.

She said her breeder had decided to get out of the business and this was his last pair. She didn't really state that they weren't brother and sister but I made the assumption due to the fact that she was talking to me about reputable breeders....

I hope that I didn't make a wrong assumption. I might call and ask her though. It hadn't even crossed my mind that she may have sold me bro/sis.

[EmilyHurd]

If your finches continue to lay on them for over a month, I would probably remove the entire nest. Gouldians do fine perching on a perch at night.

[Sally]

I agree with Emily--Gouldians only use the nestbox for breeding, so putting one in the cage encourages them to breed. Otherwise, they are on perches every night and perfectly fine.