In the wild budgerigars can and do breed from the age of eight weeks. That is why in a good season there can be huge flocks of them. It has been reported in places that budgies can get so thick the flocks can block out the sky.

 

I have heard arguement both sensible and senseless about the proper age for breeding budgerigars. I have heard people say anything from five months right up to eighteen months.

 

I have a few questions to ask people.

 

1. What do you believe the minimum age should be for breeding

 

2. What evidence do you have, scientific or other, for this age.

 

I myself am a beginner and a learner and do not have an opinion.

 

I have also posted this on a UK Forum as well where I know that some members breed from the age of 5 months.

 

Thanks

 

 

Derek

Edited May 10, 200817 yr by Derek

Definately an interesting topic Derek, I think it depends on your goals. Breeding at a young age in many animals has been shown to stunt the growth of the female. So going on that it would be unwise as a show breeder to risk having smaller hens as a result of breeding them if you wanted to put those hens on the show bench in the future. Of course this small size is not genetic so this is only really an issue if you plan to show a bird. Most of my birds are over a year old so I haven't had to deal with this issue much yet, although personally I think as long as they are in the best of health I don't see any problem withbreeding a bird from about 8 months, but if they showed any sign of not coping I would be inclined to remove them and wait until they were older and foster eggs or chicks, but I guess that goes for a bird of any age.

The show birds are different to the wild birds as they have more maturing to go through. They are larger and need more protein for the feather development.

 

Derek like many animals, it depends on the animal. If the animal if fit for breeding and I mean by that that the hen is mature physically, then she is bred at a younger age. Many breeders that will pair and breed a hen at 6 months will not breed a cock until 12 months.

I personally recommend a minimum of 12 months.

I don't have scientific evidence or any proof stating this age is proper, however i have experienced the breeding of young birds, egg binding and the problems that can occur from those birds raising a clutch/trying, should they have made it to hatching. At first i only said to go with 12 months as that was the more knowledgeable peoples words. In time and experience of the concequences that happened from breeding a bird a little younger or sometimes even at 12 months i decided I personally choose to wait and not risk the life of the bird, nor the chicks in jumping the gun. Younger birds are more suspetable to egg binding as you could imagine a 10 yr old having difficulty giving birth also with not being fully grown to the extent of what is needed within the body frame and vital organs for reproduction. They don't know how to settle on a clutch of eggs well (the odd ones will) so most eggs will be broken, DIS or addled from either being knocked around, left cold or just not cared for well if they even managed to fertilise them in the first place and once it gets to young chicks, if it actually does, more often than not they don't know how to care for chicks well and will make vital mistakes in the warming and feeding of these chicks. Just like with humans I think it takes time for them to build up their knowledge from around them and learn. Not all will do so as we all know some hens are just bad mothers, but others i think need the chance to get old enough to be able to do a good job, same as with humans. I would not choose to support a teenage girl, should she wish to get pregnant so i try not to breed my bird too young either unless caught unaware, in which case it is halted.

In the wild budgerigars can and do breed from the age of eight weeks. That is why in a good season there can be huge flocks of them. It has been reported in places that budgies can get so thick the flocks can block out the sky.

 

I have heard arguement both sensible and senseless about the proper age for breeding budgerigars. I have heard people say anything from five months right up to eighteen months.

 

I have a few questions to ask people.

 

1. What do you believe the minimum age should be for breeding

Personally I think 12 months is a good Minimum age for Hens and 15 - 18 for Cocks

 

2. What evidence do you have, scientific or other, for this age.

Younger cocks have produced clear egg for me I had a hen who was 10 months when she first laid 3 out of 5 chicks died due to not being fed and looked after, This is wear MATURITY is a KEY FACTOR IN BREEDING Yes a budgie is sexually active from the age of 6 - 8 Months if i remember correctly However they aren't Old enough in the head to rear young .....

 

I myself am a beginner and a learner and do not have an opinion.

 

I have also posted this on a UK Forum as well where I know that some members breed from the age of 5 months.

 

Thanks

 

 

Derek

I am not always as strict as many suggest on here with what age I breed my birds. My main book on Budgies is “Cult of the Budgerigar by W Watmough” who used to be the recommended reading, of course this was in the 50’s or 60’s & Budgerigars have changed a lot from then. Even in his book he suggest that some believe you shouldn’t breed before about 12 months, but he says he can’t see any good reason to prevent a healthy bird from breeding when she is ready. The larger show birds may take longer to mature & definitely if bred very early may not build up enough to compete in shows.

 

I think whether a bird is a good breeder or not is mainly genetical, they don’t “learn” like a human would, if a hen is going to be a good breeder or not it just is from it’s breeding, you can get as many bad old breeders as young. Also I think a lot has to do with your selection. If you use younger birds & cull any that don’t preform well from your breeding team, you will eventually breed a strain of birds that preform well under these conditions. If you patch up birds that don’t breed well or get sick & continue breeding with them you will continue to get problems from your birds. With a bird that is not going to be much use after about 4 years for breeding, if you wait too long to start breeding you are wasting it’s life, in my opinion. Also if you select birds that continue breeding into old age you will eventually get a strain that last longer, I have seen on here a few people that have birds that are breeding well still at 6 years, but all the old birds that have been given to me from breeders have been useless at 6 & mostly have soon died. Even some males I have bought aren’t producing fertile eggs even at 4. I have tried to improve Canaries for something like 12 year & still have problems with lots of hens that wont breed well & mostly after 3 years they are useless, I have had one male Canary that produced fertile eggs when it was 12 years old it died about a year later. Budgies & other small bird like this only have short lives especially in nature, that’s why they have the ability to breed at an early age. If you want to be a good livestock breeder in my opinion you have to select for the characters that you want & hopefully in time you will remove the characters that you don’t want from your strain.

I would like to see a wild bird breed at 8 weeks , Id doubt it to be possible, they fledge at four weeks ?

The wild bird is small very small ,smaller than a canary. they breed quick and grow quick. the avairy bird has alot more growing to do and depending on the size of your birds depends on how much growing needs to be done before they can breed.

My view is if a hen can lay eggs then she can breed.If the cock can produce fertile sperm then he can breed.

But I dont breed until 9 months with hens and only if they have excellent condition , I know breeders that use hens at 6 months purely for the fact that they can produce two generations in one year thus speeding up the line breeding results.

Cock birds I will leave until 12 months as they just dont show the maturity to be able to mate and feed the hen and the young , its too much for an imature cock. And to loose a round is invaluble with show birds they take too much effort to risk on an imature cock.

That is great reasoning from you all ..... I am impressed

Edited May 11, 200817 yr by Neat

I am not always as strict as many suggest on here with what age I breed my birds. My main book on Budgies is "Cult of the Budgerigar by W Watmough" who used to be the recommended reading, of course this was in the 50's or 60's & Budgerigars have changed a lot from then. Even in his book he suggest that some believe you shouldn't breed before about 12 months, but he says he can't see any good reason to prevent a healthy bird from breeding when she is ready. The larger show birds may take longer to mature & definitely if bred very early may not build up enough to compete in shows.

 

I think whether a bird is a good breeder or not is mainly genetical, they don't "learn" like a human would, if a hen is going to be a good breeder or not it just is from it's breeding, you can get as many bad old breeders as young. Also I think a lot has to do with your selection. If you use younger birds & cull any that don't preform well from your breeding team, you will eventually breed a strain of birds that preform well under these conditions. If you patch up birds that don't breed well or get sick & continue breeding with them you will continue to get problems from your birds. With a bird that is not going to be much use after about 4 years for breeding, if you wait too long to start breeding you are wasting it's life, in my opinion. Also if you select birds that continue breeding into old age you will eventually get a strain that last longer, I have seen on here a few people that have birds that are breeding well still at 6 years, but all the old birds that have been given to me from breeders have been useless at 6 & mostly have soon died. Even some males I have bought aren't producing fertile eggs even at 4. I have tried to improve Canaries for something like 12 year & still have problems with lots of hens that wont breed well & mostly after 3 years they are useless, I have had one male Canary that produced fertile eggs when it was 12 years old it died about a year later. Budgies & other small bird like this only have short lives especially in nature, that's why they have the ability to breed at an early age. If you want to be a good livestock breeder in my opinion you have to select for the characters that you want & hopefully in time you will remove the characters that you don't want from your strain.

 

Hi Norm

 

I find that very interesting about good and bad breeders regardless of age. Spoke to a breeder just recently who talked about buying a $200 hen and never ever getting a fertile egg out of it regardless of the cock bird. They sold it to another breeder and hey presto ....... 6 to 8 good fertile eggs and babies everytime.

 

Thanks for the replies everone. I consider myself never to old to learn.

 

 

Derek

Interesting thread Derek. I'm not a breeder so I've got no knowledge on the topic but its a good read for when I do decide to breed.

I generally dont breed until the 12 month mark. But I have hens that are 10 months and are in condition so I have put them in the cabinet over the weekend and they are already interested in the nest box.