Hi! I currently have four budgies. One hen and three cocks. I was wondering if it would be okay to put a nesting box in with them (they're in a large flight cage) or if it's necessary to separate the breeding pair from the other cocks.

 

She is not old enough yet (I think she's about 8 months old now) and haven't decided if I'm going to breed this one at all yet, but I wanted to know in advance. Thanks so much!

 

Sorry I did put myself as a breeder as I hope to breed soon. I have a white DEC cock that I hope to breed to produce more... we'll see if it works out! I need to find him a suitable mate first... wish me luck!

I am sure a more experience person will come along but let me just add a few points.

 

1 If you want to know who's the babies are yes then you need to separate because you will want certain results.

 

2. Males may compete for the hen's attention and there can be squabbles.

 

3. If the babies are born a male that is not caring for the babies could attack the babies and kill them so he can then bred with the hen

 

For what I have read (and I don't breed) I believe it is always best to separate unless you are an experienced at aviary style breeding and even then you can never forsee what may happen.

 

Just closed breeding brings possible issues, such as if the parents refuse to feed the baby can you hand feed every 3 hours, what if one of the parents attacks a baby, if they get sick can you afford to vet them...of course there are always positives too :-).

 

Either way I wish you the best in your research, learning and more in becoming a responsible breeder.

No, it’s not always necessary. It’s generally a good idea to place the same amount of nesting boxes as there are hens in the cage, as it reduces competition and possible clutch destruction.

 

It really depends on if you think the other cocks will be a problem. If so it may be a good idea. Is the hen bonded to one of the boys yet?

She seems to really get along with both Sammy and Huey... Sammy is a yellowface sky blue and Huey is a recessive pied (as far as I can tell). She couldn't care less about my white DEC...

 

Also Sammy is ready to breed as his cere is bright blue now. I could take the two out and breed them separately or just keep them in there and see what occurs... like I said, this won't happen for few more months though...

They really do need to be separated from the other males. Many males seeing a pair mate will interfere with the mating..often times jumping on board also at the crucial moment. I have seen 5 males one on top of the other all on top of a hen !! Its the activity that instigates them to get involved. Then you have stress conditions with the male who wants the hen trying his best to ward off the other boys. If you ever colony breed you actually need twice the amount of boxes as there are hens, not just enough for one each as they do fight over nesting boxes. Breeding is a stressful time for birds and stress brings out illness. So, anything you can do to reduce stress levels is best all round. If you can separate as you have said you can, then that would be best. Good luck

Edited January 28, 200718 yr by Bubbles

Thank you! I have all the supplies ready and a breeding cage so it will be no problem to separate them. I think I'll do that just to be safe.

I once had two males courting the same hen and as i was inexperienced i put both males in with the hen. Possibly just luck, but i had no troubles. Both males fed and cared for the hen and babies. I wouldn't try it again though, i would always recommend seperating into pairs and not trios.

Edited January 30, 200718 yr by Bea