temporary_moment

Yes i'm not keen on the idea of bird farms either, i dont even want to know what happens to the poor budgies who never find a home. It was only an option, however a lot of friends have shown great interest so i think they will find homes very quickly without involving the bird farm. Lastnight my sister & i moved the egg into the breeding box along with a little bit of saw dust, Blinky seemed a little confused as to where it had gone, but obviously not too concerned as within 5 minutes she was at it with Pedro making another one Thismorning she has been in and out of the box so we can only hope she's catching onto the idea for the next egg which is due tomorrow. Lots of fun and games! Thankyou all for your help, i will keep you posted on her progress.

Thankyou birdluv I've just had a phonecall at work that egg #2 has just been laid. However, Blinky did it on the bottom of the cage again in her newspaper pile. It cant stay here because there's no way we'l be able to clean the cage and 3 weeks is a long time to leave it without fresh paper. I'm thinking of putting on some gloves and moving it into the breeding box with some newspaper, to encourage her to use it. I've read about this on a couple sites already and they say the egg might not survive but it may encourage her to lay the next egg in there. What do you guys think? Also, how to recommend checking if the eggs are fertile and how soon can this be done? A few sites have suggested using a "special torch" or a candle method. What do you suggest?

Thankyou guys for your help already. We have made the decision to allow Blinky to lay her eggs & give her the best chance of them surviving. This is partly because when we were younger, we did not experience anything like this, but more importantly we feel that this is such a surprise for her to fall pregnant, we'd like to let nature run its course. With that said, any advice you can give now to encourage her to use the box to lay her eggs, whether we should lay something down (i've been reading MANY contradicting ideas) and anything else we need to consider would be so much appreciated. When we initially discovered her pregnancy, the local bird farm offered to buy her chicks when they are old enough, and we also have a few friends interested, so finding homes for these babies is no problem. i just thought i should add that in there so no one thinks we are doing this for the sake of it. Oh and also, yes they are all over 12 months. I believe the boys are both about 19 months, and i suspect Blinky is about 15 months now. The only reason i say i'm concered about her preparation for motherhood is that i worry she wont know what to do, and i can only hope that she will discover this instinct naturally. If she stays in the cage with Pedro whom we dont think is the father, will he be able to take on the role successfully?

i noticed thismorning my 1 yr old has a missing toenail, as if it has just fallen off. Will it grow back? Also, about 6 months ago he had a parasite which we treated him for, but it involved an inflamed nostril which was abnormally larger than the other. We assume the infection has healed, however the nostril is still quite large. Is there anything we can do to resolve this or is it now permanent? I'm concerned it may be giving him grief or discomfort

I might as well take this opportunity to introduce myself as I am new to the group... I have 2 budgies, Pedro (male) and Blinky (female, as confirmed thismorning). I moved home recently so the pair have become quite good friend's with Mum's male Banjo. All 3 get along quite well except over the past month the 2 males have been having little squabbles so they are not allowed together over long periods of time. Pedro & Blinky are very much in love, however Blinky is very much in love with Banjo also, and tends to go between both males as she pleases. Blinky and Pedro live in the same cage, and are separated from Banjo at night. I hope this isnt too confusing already, it's bad enough for us at home We have caught them mating on a few occasions, however only for a few seconds at a time. Thismorning we awoke only to discover Blinky had laid an egg on the floor of her cage, however it had broken & she began eating it. I thought they could only be impregnated with a breeding box, however i'm informed this is not the case. I'm very concerned she is not ready for motherhood, and she can be quite gnarly sometimes and likes to do her own thing. We purchased a breeding box, but i'm worried she wont use it to lay the eggs, can anyone suggest a way to encourage her to use it, and also should we put some sort of nesting material in there? For a number of weeks she has been ripping the newspaper lining of her cage, and Banjo has also done so in his. In this case i would assume he is the father, but i dont know for certain. Will she be okay with Pedro in the cage or should i swap he & Banjo around? I'm quite concerned on all accounts, however i really want this to be a success, as the idea of chicks is very exciting. Any advice on all aspects would be so greatly appreciated! Thankyou!