Advise For First Breeding

[Aristotle 0]

Hi to all fellow budgie lovers

 

Attikie laid her first egg yesterday creating a bundle of nervous energy as this will be my first breeding experience. The initial thought is that baby boy Aristotle is too young to provide fertilisation?

 

A brief history

I purchased Attikie from a member - 'Cindy' - of this forum a good year and a half ago. Well Attikie used to be called atticus but to attract a mate she changed to Attikie

 

Attikie will be 2 years old on 9th May this year, and her recent friend Aristotle is currently about 5mths old.

 

Aristotle was purchased from a pet shop, who told me that he was 4 weeks old, this sounded too young but based on that info I am estimating that Aristotle is about 5mths old.

 

The cage is large, taking up a quarter of my bedroom, and the bare nest box - 'love box' -was introduced about two months ago.

 

i was not expecting eggs so soon thinking that Aristotle is too young. either way they have been spending alot of time in the 'love box' together over the last month, and yesterday afternoon the first present was received.

 

Is Aristotle too young, will the clutch be infertile, do i need to do anything special if this is the case or do I just let nature take its course? Should I cover half the cage with a sheet to reduce stress?

 

Also, I usually take Attikie out everyday for a fly and some TLC, however yesterday it was nothing but growls, so I was not persistent.

 

The taming of Aristotle has also been tempermental as Attikie gets insanely jealous (I have managed some neck scratches which was so cute).

 

What should the training regime be during nesting time? I am thinking that I should just let them be, doing the standard food change and if they come to play I will play?

 

Sorry for such a long blurb...

 

Thanks

[**Liv** 0]

Welcome!

 

 

 

Attikie laid her first egg yesterday creating a bundle of nervous energy as this will be my first breeding experience. The initial thought is that baby boy Aristotle is too young to provide fertilisation?

 

Congrats on your first egg!!!

 

Attikie will be 2 years old on 9th May this year, and her recent friend Aristotle is currently about 5mths old.

 

She is in perfect breeding age

 

Aristotle was purchased from a pet shop, who told me that he was 4 weeks old, this sounded too young but based on that info I am estimating that Aristotle is about 5mths old.

 

Typical petshop... a picture might help us answer your question on age.

 

Is Aristotle too young, will the clutch be infertile, do i need to do anything special if this is the case or do I just let nature take its course? Should I cover half the cage with a sheet to reduce stress?

 

Males dont need to be over 12months like females but he still sounds quite young. He will have a lot to learn when the chicks hatch. First time parents often have intertile eggs, it takes some practice to get it right.

 

What should the training regime be during nesting time? I am thinking that I should just let them be, doing the standard food change and if they come to play I will play?

 

I would say, leave them be. He will still be tame after breeding, especially if he isn't stressed

[**KAZ** 0]

Hi there,

Your male budgie will have been able to fertilise an egg. Should he have been put in a cage with a hen and nestbox at 5 months is another question entirely. YES he can fertilise and yes he can produce chicks. But at 5 months perhaps not raise them successfully. All advice with regard to breeding is to wait until the budgies ar a minimum of 12 months old for maturity, health and safety, and raising of chicks.

I would not have put a 5 month old down to breed. Putting the nestbox in forced that to happen. Time will tell as to the outcome.

 

I can see Liv posted while I was posting an answer. I have bred thousands of chicks and kept hundreds of budgies. This is where my expereince and answers come from in advice that I have given you.

Edited January 28, 2008 by KAZ

[birdluv 0]

Hi, welcome to the forums

l would love to see pics of your flock.

Edited January 28, 2008 by birdluv

[*libby* 0]

Hi and welcome... I honestly would be removing the nest box and taking the egg/s... He may be able to fertilise it, but i think you'll find it will be a very tough for the pair to raise the chicks and can cause alot of heart break when the chicks start to "struggle" to survive.... especially when you're not experienced in taking over for the hen.... this is just my thoughts... and will probably be argued upon... but it's to prevent a disaster happening so it's best to wait until proper maturity....

[Elly 0]

I agree 100% with Kaz and also let you know she is completing tell the truth on where she received her experience. At 5 months old he is just a baby himself and if he does not feed the babies or care for the hen like she wants him too you may find a dead cock instead. Hens can get very upset when they are not tended to properly and I have read enough about them through this forum and others that if they are not tended too they can be quite nasty.