Budgies Won't Breed!

[babychat 0]

Hi all,

 

I have an aviary with 13 budgies in it. 7 female and 6 male. All except 2 are over 12 months of age. I have been trying to breed them for 6 months now with no success.

 

I watched and waited for a pair to bond then moved them to a separate breeding cage. No interest in the nesting box at all. I have done this with 3 different pairs.

 

I have now put nesting boxes into the aviary. I know what people think of colony breeding but I thought I would try it as the separate cages wasn't working. Only one of the females has shown any interest in the boxes, she is one of the pairs, but although she goes in and checks it out no eggs have been laid. Her cere is now gone passed the nice light brown and getting a darker brown so I am thinking she is prob coming out of condition.

 

I have attached a photo of my aviary. Can anyone give me any advice. Is it normal with 6 females of breeding age and at least 3 in pairs to not have any eggs laid?

Is there something wrong with my setup?

 

I am happy to go back to breeding cages but it is very frustrating when the birds show all the signs but nothing eventuates.

 

Thanks,

 

Babychat

 

 

[robyn 0]

Firstly I'm no expert but I'd say your nest box's are way to low in aviary, they like to nest higher up. If your birds are in breeding condition, even if they aren't bonded in aviary you can still pair them up in cages and they will usually breed after a while when no other birds are present.

Do you have pics of your cage set up? Are your nest box's set high in them etc.

If everything is right for them to breed they will , what signs are they showing of being in condition? It's hard to advise without seeing birds condition etc.

[Bird Junky 0]

Hi. Colony breeding No nest boxes till birds are in condition. (Give details of their diet)

When the birds are in condition for breeding, boxes need to be high up & at least 2 ft apart

There should be at least 3 extra boxes to give hens a choice. Or fighting for boxes will cause

problems. Seed & water etc needs to be low down or on the floor ..B.J.

Edited January 13, 2013 by Bird Junky

[L__J 0]

one more tip no perches above or on same level as nest boxes. I made this mistake.

 

Also setup a shelf so the nest boxes will have no gap between the roof and nestboxes. So nest boxes squeeze in between the roof and shelf. this way no birds will be climbing on nestbox roof. if some of your nestboxes aren't the same size cut some old boards up and sit on top of them or bottom. this will fill the gap inbetween the roof and nestboxes that are smaller.

 

Also setup your food a bit lower.

 

Also I done what you done. with natural branches I done that.

 

But I got annoyed with it.

 

I setup 2 x "4x2" bits of wood on each side on a angle on each side. so highest at back lowest at front.

 

Go to the hardware store and get some bits of 3 lengths of dowel. it cost me about 10 dollars for the dowel maybe a bit cheaper.

Get some stainless steel self tapping screws.

 

cut the dowel to the length of the cage now setup a back perch about 20mm space from back of aviary.

screw each end into the 2x2.

then cut another piece space it 20mm from the other perch. repeat steps.

 

Now for your other perches use that other bit of dowel but now cut down smaller bits and put on that angled bit of 4by2 only do the left side, this will make it easy for you to enter cage. for my door entrance I have left these out.

 

Also use some of your natural perches use stainless steel thin wire to make sure these perches stay where they are. I also use the cage wire to lock some of my branches into place.

 

 

I Will take photos of my setup.

 

I'm no expert just helping you out, because my cage setup is working.

Edited January 16, 2013 by L__J

[Finnie 0]

I was also going to suggest that your natural branch perches are awfully large for budgie feet. Changing your perch set up a bit might make them happier. In the aviary section of the forum are lots of examples of how other people have their setups. You might be able to get some ideas to copy from there. It's always good if you can set perches up so they have places to fly to from one end of the aviary to the other.

 

What are you feeding them? Maybe there is something you can do with your feeding plan that will help them to go into condition.

[babychat 0]

Hi,

 

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have moved the nest boxes up higher and will go searching for some thinner natural branches. I do have dowel along the top back that they spend most of their time on so maybe that is a problem, although they do also play on the bigger braches.

 

I feed them a finch food with greens every day.

 

I will have a look at the aviary section to get some ideas but can you tell me why the food and water should be closer to the bottom? It stays much cleaner higher up.

 

Thanks again,

 

Babychat.

[Finnie 0]

I don't know why it should matter where the food is located. IMO, you should put the food where it is most convenient for you when you change it. Develop some feeding procedure that is most efficient for you. Less work and with minimal waste.

 

But I have read interviews of breeders who said they think that by forcing their birds to fly to the ground to eat, it builds up their muscles and gives them more exercise than they would otherwise get.

 

Since they forage for food on the ground in the wild, that is another good reason to feed them low. Maybe it kicks in their instincts better, or makes them feel happier. Who knows, all just theories perhaps.

 

One thing I know, if their main perch is across the back of the aviary, they will basically waddle back and forth on that, and won't fly much. It's a good idea to give them opposing perches, so they can fly back and forth for exercise. My husband is impressed with how fast my birds can move side to side on their feet. I suppose it's nice that they have good footwork skills, but it's probably more important that they have good wing skills!

[L__J 0]

I noticed my birds use the 2 back perches for mating. they chase all the other males away before they mate.

 

They also have races across the width of the aviary, the other birds have naps on the back perches.

 

But I only have 4 in my aviary at the moment.

[babychat 0]

Hi,

 

A quick update.

 

I have moved the boxes up higher and changed the branches for perches and guess what,.... I have eggs!!

 

4 Hens have now laid but this morning one of the hens and another one (that hasn't laid) got into a blue. I have now moved all the pairs into separate cages with their nesting boxes and taken all other boxes out of the aviary.

 

Will they continue to sit now that I have moved them??

 

Also, one of the hens doesn't seem to have a mate, she has no-one feeding her or paying her attention. Should I put another male in with her or can she do it all as a single mum?

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Babychat

Edited March 1, 2013 by babychat

[hilly 0]

It is hard to say what they will do, they may just trash the eggs and start again it will depend on how well they except their new surroundings.

I would stick a male with your lone female as she may not have mated with anyone.

Hopefully some might choose to sit for you if they stop sitting or show no interest for a week make sure you remove any old eggs so they can start again.

Good luck.

 

Cheers Jenny

[Finnie 0]

I agree.