EarthAU

Thanks everyone for your help and quick replies. It has only happened since they left the breeding cage. The 3 of them spent 3 months in a cage that was 68 cm L x 42 cm W X 42 cm H. (this was the parents original home) I bought them a new cage 3 weeks ago that is aprox 79 cm L x 46 cm W X 90 cm H Will try and get a picture of the cage in real life and no there is not and never was a nest box in either cage. ( I have a seperate cage that lets you pull out the nest box and check on the babies while mum eats) So would it be best to put the parents back into the smaller cage for a fortnight then put the new budgie in with the baby into the main big cage so they can bond, then put the parents back in? Can 4 budiges get along in a cage that size? Do the parents lose that parent baby bond? or is this a case of the female will just reject everyone but her mate? Yeah maesie that may be the case. Dad was real randy around the time of the last attack, he gets this glazed over look in his eye and keeps trying to mount the hen (tryiing to pin her with his foot) and he won't shut up with this continual excited transfixed chatter. She just tries to push him off. Generally he is completely subservient to her and if she does not want to be touched and he gets a nip he backs off but when he gets that glazed look he is like a violent drunk that won't take no for an answer. (or may be it really is a case of "stop it I like it")There is no breeding box in the cage but I did puta nest looking thing that I bought from the pet shop about 6 weeks ago. The hen did everything to destroy this as quick as possible. Thanks!

I have a male and a female budgie that had 3 little babies back in early November. This was their first ever batch of babies. They were all so cute and although I wanted to keep them all I knew this was not possible I gave the youngest 2 away and kept the oldest. Before giving the younger 2 away I weaned all 3 of them in a seperate cage next to their parents. (they were about 12 weeks old and the 2 youngest babies had become very destructive, getting dirty, noisy and swinging off each others tail feathers) After taking the youngest 2 to the pet shop I put the oldest baby back in with mum and dad. I found him a few hours later with blood coming from the very top of his head. (enough to stain the feathers) From then up until now his mother will having nothing to do with him and will chase him away if he gets to close to her, his father will let him hang around and sit next to him but you just know he would rather be kissing and talking to the wife. Now I am not sure who is responsible for the pecking on the top of the head but it happens every month to 6 weeks. I come home to him being all bloodied up on the top of his head. When he was a baby him and his dad was unseperable and did everything together, you could see he was the apple of his dads eye. His dad is a beautiful bird that allows me to handle him (pick him up and stroke him) his mother will wriggle backwards on her belly to get away from me when I have to pick her up to put her back in her cage. I have owned a few budgies in my time and time and I have never had a female that is as vicious as what she is. She bites and then she will continue to adjust her beak to get more preasure just like a vice. (the middle baby was a female also and from about 10 weeks of age used exactly the same method of biting) Now my concern is for the young fella because he really has no friends in the world and it is affecting him. What should I do? My thinking is that I will go and get him a friend of his own and put them in a seperate cage together for a week or so before adding them into the main cage, allowing them to bond.

Well unfortunatly it is now 31 days since the first egg was layed and 21 days since the last egg was layed and not one has hatched. I am guessing that there was not enough of the wild thing happening to fertilise the eggs or Tweety is still just learning the ropes. She is still nesting on the eggs, so I am guessing that being 21 days since the last egg was layed I will need to remove the eggs and start again. Is there any best way to do this. ie. remove her from the cage and dispose of the eggs out of her sight? how soon till I should put the male back in with her? and should I leave her in the cage with the breeding box? :angel1:

Thankyou Bubbles that is some great info and a really cute picture to finish it off with. Michael

Thankyou everyone for your advise. I am now hoping that any day I will have some chicks. She layed her first egg on the 5th of Feb and over the next 10 days layed another 5. (6 in total) She did not activly sit on the eggs for about 5 days after laying the first egg. (she slept outside and did not spend alot of time on the eggs but rather sitting next to them) So I am guessing that the 5th of Feb + 5 days + 18 Days brings me to the 28th of Feb (today). I am getting impatient. Is there any hard and fast rules for handling the chicks when they are born. How old should they be before i can have a hold and will mum take them back after I have? Once again thankyou for all your help!!!!

Thanks for the quick reply lovey. This is the first time that either of them have bred. There are a total of 6 eggs.

I have a 4 year old female and an 18 month old male that I recently put a breeding box into there cage. The female layed her first egg 6 weeks after putting the box in the cage and over the space of 10 days laid another 5. (6 in total) The first egg was laid on the 5th of Feb and as of last weekend she has started to attack the male budige. She stalks him in the cage then jumps on his back and rides him around burying her beak into his head. Several times she has ended up with blood on her and he currently has a bit of a nick on his eye and screams blue murder when she goes on her rampages. Prior to adding the breeding box they got along as well as most male and female budgies generally do, she could be a bit precious but nothing like this. He has always been a perfect gentleman but would stand his ground and not allow her to push him around. I have on 3 occassions removed him from the cage and put him in a second cage where he rests for 6 or so hours and then gets his pep up again and wants back in with the female. She will come out of the nesting box periodically to check for him. When I put him back in to the main cage he stands guard outside the nesting box and the two of them kiss and preen each other like crazy. The attacks are generally 2 days apart and on one occassion last week occurred in the pitch black of night around 1am in the morning. What is going on here? And what should I do? The babies are about to hatch and I am guessing she needs him in their to help her. OTHER INFO (The cage is 80cm long 40cm wide and 50 cm high) Diet consists of Trill, corn, silver beet, carrot +there is Grit and cuttle fish in the cage Also I have put straw, feathers and wood chips in the cage for her to use to make a nest but as yet she has not touched them. I was told there needs to be a nest or the babies will be deformed. Is this true and do I need to make the nest for her and put the eggs on it. Thankyou Michael