Hi,

A few weeks ago I put a nesting box in the cage with my three birds (2 budgies 1 small parrot). I wasn't really planning to breed, just give them refuge from the cold during winter. Anyway, within two weeks the two budgies had laid eggs. 3 in total, but one was laid outside the box and broke on the floor. Mummy and Daddy budgie (to go by their real names "The Hulk" and "Very Lucky" - don't ask!!!) are taking very good care of the other two eggs, but I fear that they may be too young to be parents.

Does anyone have any advice for me? After these eggs hatch (if they do) I am planning to seperate the adult birds - is this the right thing to do?

Cheers

Lesa

Edited June 21, 200618 yr by Lesa

Hmm... there are a few issues here that I'm sure other people will pick up on too.

 

Obviously by now, you've figured out that you shouldn't put a nest box with a pair of budgies if you don't want them to breed. Sometimes it's all the trigger they need for instinct to take over and nature to take its course. How old are your budgies if you think they might be too young?

 

The other thing that quite worried me was that you said you have a small parrot in the cage with them. As far as I know, it's generally not a good idea to keep budgies with other species due to aggression and the potential for injury. I especially wouldn't think it was a good idea if chicks might be on the way.

 

Obviously now, you're just going to have to do all the research you possibly can about what you'll need to do now. Also, if your birds are a bit too young, you might have to start thinking about what you'll do if their chicks hatch but they don't look after them properly. Both mum and dad care for the babies once they're hatched - well,mum takes care of the babies and dad takes care of mum, so I wouldn't make a single parent of her in too much of a hurry. In theory, it should be enough to stop them breeding just to take away the nest box once the babies are old enough.

 

I'm sure some of the experienced breeders will be able to help you out a lot. Keep asking questions, lots of them. There are lots of people here who will be able to help you along in this.

Edited June 21, 200618 yr by Janette

If you're going to let these eggs hatch you'll have to remove the other parrot (it should be moved to its own cage anyway, never house different species in the same cage. As you're aren't really prepared for this clutch i would remove the eggs and the nest box, if you decide you do want to breed later on once the budgies are old enough then you can re-add the nest box.

Edited June 22, 200618 yr by Bea

The other thing that quite worried me was that you said you have a small parrot in the cage with them. As far as I know, it's generally not a good idea to keep budgies with other species due to aggression and the potential for injury. I especially wouldn't think it was a good idea if chicks might be on the way

If you're going to let these eggs hatch you'll have to remove the other parrot (it should be moved to its own cage anyway, never house different species in the same cage. As you're aren't really prepared for this clutch i would remove the eggs and the nest box, if you decide you do want to breed later on once the budgies are old enough then you can re-add the nest box.

when l read the post , this also concerned me too .

l agree with Janette and Bea that different species really shouldn't be together , the small parrot should have its own cage .

Edited June 28, 200618 yr by birdluv

okay first things first, you said you didn't mean for this to happen, but you can still stop this, since you believe your birds are too young I think this is the better option to take:

 

REMOVE THE EGGS AND BOX NOW!

 

Pure and simple, this is not going to harm your birds the hen might lay some more for a while but should stop. Breeding and raising chicks take a lot of work from the mother and after wards takes months to recover fully from giving all to the babies. Young mothers have twice the work since they are also still trying to get all that their body needs to be at tip top condition. As others have stated, young budgie parents have trouble with raising babies sometimes by not feeding or even attacking the babies once they hatch.

 

If later you’re thinking of breeding them, use this time to gather all the knowledge you can.

Agreed, agreed, agreed! For the sake of your birds, remove the box. Replace the eggs with fakes so that the female isn't constantly replacing them with real eggs (thus stressing out her body) and please put the "small parrot" (what type of parrot is it? even budgies are small parrots) in its own cage.

 

No one means to be offensive or harsh, but these are all things that will benefit your birds.