Hello all

I have another topic on this site but I decided to make another one as this is reguarding a different topic.

First of all I will post abit about my avairy and my birds.

I breed my budgies for fun and enjoyment, I dont sell them (I occasionaly give some away to friends/family).

I colony breed my budgies and will not breed them in seperate cages as I do not care what colours they turn out to be. My budgies are english budgies and are not australian.

My avairy is roughly 4 meters by 10 meters, It was an old chook pen that I turned into an avairy 2 years ago.

Recently alot of my birds died and I was left with only a select few. I cleaned the entire avairy and rat proofed it. I have 6 king quails, 8 Budgies (5 female, 3 male) and 1 cockatiel (I will get a mate for him)

If you wish to know any more info please ask and I will gladly post it.

 

Questions:

1. If I were to have 2 cockatiels and 10 quails, How many budgies could I have in my aviary without overcrowding it? I have 17 nesting boxes. The nesting boxes are all 1 meter apart and all the same height to prevent fighting for the higher box.

 

2. I heard a rumour that quails need to be in an avairy for 1 year before they breed. Is that true? I have straw in one part of the avairy and some sand etc...

 

3. I feed all my birds silverbeet 2 times a week, celery 2 times a week, cuttlebone/fish all the time, and bird seed all the time. Is that a sufficient diet for them to breed? what else should I be feeding them?

 

4. Could I have finches in my avairy aswell? Would the budgies fight with them? My cockatiel and budgies get along fine...

 

5. I want to grow my own millet but im not sure how.. Could I grow millet by just planting millet /bird seeds?

 

Thats about it I think

Please try answer as many questions as you can

If this post needs to be moved please move it and if it needs to be locked as I have another topic please lock it.

Thanks very much for your time.

 

P.S My budgies are in a temporary avairy that I bought until I could find what killed my other birds. I and many others beleive it was rats, I've killed 3 rats so far and I wont put my birds back in their till all the rats are dead.

Thanks

Edited June 24, 200816 yr by pearce

The only thing I can help you with is the seed growing. You can grow it but don't just go down to your local store and plant it and expect it to grow. as much budgie seed comes in from overseas and is hit with steam I think so it kills the seed. You would have to go to a plant shop and see if you can get it from there.

 

Other then that I will leave the rest to the other guys.

Questions:

1. If I were to have 2 cockatiels and 10 quails, How many budgies could I have in my aviary without overcrowding it? I have 17 nesting boxes. The nesting boxes are all 1 meter apart and all the same height to prevent fighting for the higher box.

 

With an aviary of 4m x 10m .... wow, you could have 150 or so budgies less if you get more cockatiels and if you have that many it would be best to cabinet breed to prevent issues in the flock.

 

2. I heard a rumour that quails need to be in an avairy for 1 year before they breed. Is that true? I have straw in one part of the avairy and some sand etc...

 

I don't know about quails, I only have 2 and have had them for about 8 weeks.

 

3. I feed all my birds silverbeet 2 times a week, celery 2 times a week, cuttlebone/fish all the time, and bird seed all the time. Is that a sufficient diet for them to breed? what else should I be feeding them?

 

I would also give them carrot and corn

 

4. Could I have finches in my avairy aswell? Would the budgies fight with them? My cockatiel and budgies get along fine...

 

NO! Finches are defenseless against the parrots. a budgie could bite a finches leg off in one nip :budgiedance:

 

5. I want to grow my own millet but im not sure how.. Could I grow millet by just planting millet /bird seeds?

 

You should be able to grow your bird seed. If you can't then the seed is NO GOOD!! Only viable seed is suitable for budgies to eat. Buy some millet from a fodder shop and plant it out in rows and see how you go

Hello all

I have another topic on this site but I decided to make another one as this is reguarding a different topic.

First of all I will post abit about my avairy and my birds.

I breed my budgies for fun and enjoyment, I dont sell them (I occasionaly give some away to friends/family).

I colony breed my budgies and will not breed them in seperate cages as I do not care what colours they turn out to be. My budgies are english budgies and are not australian.

My avairy is roughly 4 meters by 10 meters, It was an old chook pen that I turned into an avairy 2 years ago.

Recently alot of my birds died and I was left with only a select few. I cleaned the entire avairy and rat proofed it. I have 6 king quails, 8 Budgies (5 female, 3 male) and 1 cockatiel (I will get a mate for him)

If you wish to know any more info please ask and I will gladly post it.

 

Questions:

1. If I were to have 2 cockatiels and 10 quails, How many budgies could I have in my aviary without overcrowding it? I have 17 nesting boxes. The nesting boxes are all 1 meter apart and all the same height to prevent fighting for the higher box. In that size aviary you could have 150 budgie. You could have more if not breeding but I would say 150 with breeding would be fine. You would need to remove any budgies too young to breed ...into another area...that is any budgies under 12 months of age. With nestboxes in an aviary they will try and breed at 12 weeks onwards and that isnt the thing to do.

 

2. I heard a rumour that quails need to be in an avairy for 1 year before they breed. Is that true? I have straw in one part of the avairy and some sand etc...Not true. They will breed if of the right age and happy. You do not need a massive amount of nesting materials and having all that straw will present issues that you dont need. Put a few upturned plantpots in there and just a handful of dry grass in each and forget about the straw

 

3. I feed all my birds silverbeet 2 times a week, celery 2 times a week, cuttlebone/fish all the time, and bird seed all the time. Is that a sufficient diet for them to breed? what else should I be feeding them?Celery isnt of much use to budgies...all water no nutritional value. Silverbeet is no good for breeding budgies as it affects the way they absorb calcium. Grated carrot, boiled mashed up eggs, bok choy, pak choy, sweetcorn etc are good

 

4. Could I have finches in my avairy aswell? Would the budgies fight with them? My cockatiel and budgies get along fine...finches will die in with budgies...they will be maimed badly. Budgies can bite off the feet of finches and cause them serious injuries

 

5. I want to grow my own millet but im not sure how.. Could I grow millet by just planting millet /bird seeds? YES...just plant all the left over seed in pots and when it grows and seeds it can be fed to the birds in its green state

 

Thats about it I think

Please try answer as many questions as you can

If this post needs to be moved please move it and if it needs to be locked as I have another topic please lock it.

Thanks very much for your time.

 

P.S My budgies are in a temporary avairy that I bought until I could find what killed my other birds. I and many others beleive it was rats, I've killed 3 rats so far and I wont put my birds back in their till all the rats are dead.

Thanks

Edited June 24, 200816 yr by KAZ

Hello all

I have another topic on this site but I decided to make another one as this is reguarding a different topic.

First of all I will post abit about my avairy and my birds.

I breed my budgies for fun and enjoyment, I dont sell them (I occasionaly give some away to friends/family).

I colony breed my budgies and will not breed them in seperate cages as I do not care what colours they turn out to be. My budgies are english budgies and are not australian.

My avairy is roughly 4 meters by 10 meters, It was an old chook pen that I turned into an avairy 2 years ago.

Recently alot of my birds died and I was left with only a select few. I cleaned the entire avairy and rat proofed it. I have 6 king quails, 8 Budgies (5 female, 3 male) and 1 cockatiel (I will get a mate for him)

If you wish to know any more info please ask and I will gladly post it.

 

 

I colony breed to as cabinets are to stressful on my hens ( I limit my breeding to 3 hens at a time thought, as I have had a few fights)Questions:

1. If I were to have 2 cockatiels and 10 quails, How many budgies could I have in my aviary without overcrowding it? I have 17 nesting boxes. The nesting boxes are all 1 meter apart and all the same height to prevent fighting for the higher box.

I am no good with measurement but the others have answered that for you 2. I heard a rumour that quails need to be in an avairy for 1 year before they breed. Is that true? I have straw in one part of the avairy and some sand etc...

NO idea but CLICK HERE FOR QUAIL BREEDING INFO

3. I feed all my birds silverbeet 2 times a week, celery 2 times a week, cuttlebone/fish all the time, and bird seed all the time. Is that a sufficient diet for them to breed? what else should I be feeding them?

You can feed them heaps, carrotts, corn, peas, grass, brocoli,beetroot,apples, pears there is a section in the FAQ's page

 

4. Could I have finches in my avairy aswell? Would the budgies fight with them? My cockatiel and budgies get along fine...

NOPE THEY WILL END UP BEING EATEN

 

5. I want to grow my own millet but im not sure how.. Could I grow millet by just planting millet /bird seeds?

YES, break off the seeds from the stem ( packet millet works too) and plant it . If it doesn't grown don't buy that brand anymore !!!!!!! i have accidently grown millet by tipping the seeds on the lawn

 

Thats about it I think

Please try answer as many questions as you can

If this post needs to be moved please move it and if it needs to be locked as I have another topic please lock it.

Thanks very much for your time.

 

P.S My budgies are in a temporary avairy that I bought until I could find what killed my other birds. I and many others beleive it was rats, I've killed 3 rats so far and I wont put my birds back in their till all the rats are dead.

Thanks

Edited June 24, 200816 yr by Neat

okay some questions i can help you with.

i give my birds corn (absolutly love), apple(not that keen on) , milk thistle(absolutly love), carrot(not keen on), silverbeet(love), bok choy(getting used to it), pears, nectarines and peaches when my trees has fruit and will start trying pumpkin.

the quails will breed when they are ready. my aviary is an old wood shed so there is plenty of bark and leaves on the floor and i throw in fresh stuff when i cut wood. the quails love digging around through the bark.

if the aviary is large enough then finches the finches should be okay as in my aviary has budgies, java sparrows, zebra finches, pair of bourke parrots and a pair of turk parrots and they all get along. i have 3 seed containers and 4 water containers.

i just plant some of my budgie seed in pots.

i hope that helps

Thanks very much to all who have posted I'm Hoping to have my avairy ready by next week.

One last question if I were to cut some branches off my gumtree and left the leaves on the branches could I put it in my avairy? Is gum trea leaf harmfull to birds? What about the branches themselves? Thanks

Gumtree and gumleaves is fine. They also like peppermint tree very much.........and hibiscus...

 

Hose them down first and put in.

Edited June 25, 200816 yr by KAZ

Thanks for the posts, My avairy is almost ready. Another question, Most of my budgies are green and yellow (I was told this is the common colour). If my budgies breed will I just keep getting green and yellow seen as though that is the only colours I have? If 2 green budgies mated, Could I get a blue/white/grey budgie? the reason im asking is because I colony breed and I would like a few different colours instead of all green/yellow.

 

Thanks

A budgie that appears green or yellow will unless split for blue continue to produce green budgies. UNLESS you have any Yellowface blues in your aviary which after their first moult appear to the untrained eye to look like a green and yellow budgie. If you can post some pictures soon we can identify your budgies for you and help there. Green is a dominant colour in budgie breeding. The only time you will get blue babies from green parents is if the parents parents were blue budgies, making the parents what is called split to blue.

Colony breeding is a waste of time,with the mix of birds in the avery,leave the nest boxes out & just

enjoy the birds,

I started out breeding my budgies and learning about breeding by colony breeding and I had great success and really enjoyed my first experiences and had minimal trouble. Due to wanting to breed a larger quality of bird, and out of curiousity about pairings, I am now cabinet breeding. I guess the bug gets to you lol. I have to say though, that I enjoyed my time when I was colony breeding, checking the birds everyday and finding new babies and watching the bonded pairs being so cute and lovey dovey together :hap:

 

Good luck with your aviary and breeding plans

A budgie that appears green or yellow will unless split for blue continue to produce green budgies. UNLESS you have any Yellowface blues in your aviary which after their first moult appear to the untrained eye to look like a green and yellow budgie. If you can post some pictures soon we can identify your budgies for you and help there. Green is a dominant colour in budgie breeding. The only time you will get blue babies from green parents is if the parents parents were blue budgies, making the parents what is called split to blue.

 

I've managed to take some pictures of my budgies, they are abit blurry though.

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/7703/greenmalebc5.png

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/3826/bluemalevb5.png

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/346/cok...eangreenwz2.png

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2270/whitedg8.png

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/3421/gr...ndyellowvi6.png

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5084/greenyellowia6.png

 

I wont ever breed with seperate cages. By looking at those images, can anyone tell if I will get anything other than green and yellow budgies? I have a white, a yellow and a blue budgie but the rest are all green/yellow. Are they in breeding condition? Thanks

A budgie that appears green or yellow will unless split for blue continue to produce green budgies. UNLESS you have any Yellowface blues in your aviary which after their first moult appear to the untrained eye to look like a green and yellow budgie. If you can post some pictures soon we can identify your budgies for you and help there. Green is a dominant colour in budgie breeding. The only time you will get blue babies from green parents is if the parents parents were blue budgies, making the parents what is called split to blue.

 

I've managed to take some pictures of my budgies, they are abit blurry though.

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/7703/greenmalebc5.pngGreen opaline spangle

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/3826/bluemalevb5.pngmauve or cobalt normal may also be cinnamon as wings look brownish to me ?

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/346/cok...eangreenwz2.pngGreen opaline

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2270/whitedg8.pngalbino....is essntially a blue based bird.

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/3421/gr...ndyellowvi6.pnglutino if red eyed, DF spangle if black eyed

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5084/greenyellowia6.pngGreen opaline spangle

 

I wont ever breed with seperate cages. By looking at those images, can anyone tell if I will get anything other than green and yellow budgies? I have a white, a yellow and a blue budgie but the rest are all green/yellow. Are they in breeding condition? Thanks

The only way you can be sure of getting more blue birds is to select your blue bird and your albino and have them breed out of the aviary in breeder cages....assuming you have male and female as its hard to tell on your albino from that photo. There is no way to find out if the others are split to blue ( their parents were blue ) unless you pull them out of the aviary and pair each to a blue bird. As green dominates, any breeding where one parent at least is green IN the aviary, colony style will produce green series birds. UNLESS both are split to blue or one is blue and the other split to blue. Hope this helps. Need closer clearer pictures to help you positively ID the sex of most of the birds and tell you about their breeding condition. Good big stocky birds though. Do you know how old they are ?

Edited June 26, 200816 yr by KAZ

Most are 2 years or older. So basicaly, if their is a green budgie and a white budgie breeding, the babies will be green because its dominant? If I went and bought 10 new budgies (no green ones) and eventually they all breed together, odds are I'd get colours other than green. I've got this breeder cage inside my avairy that I could put my blue and albino in. Ill go catch the blue and albino budgies and take a picture, If you think they are in breeding condition I will put them in the cage .

A breeding cage inside the aviary wont work. Too many distraction from other birds landing on the cage top and front for a pair to think about breeding in it in the aviary. They will just try and jailbreak and get stressed. Best to remove them to another place. Your working out of what I told you is correct.

A breeding cage inside the aviary wont work. Too many distraction from other birds landing on the cage top and front for a pair to think about breeding in it in the aviary. They will just try and jailbreak and get stressed. Best to remove them to another place. Your working out of what I told you is correct.In this photo.....http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/346/cokatielblueangreenwz2.png it would be a very good idea to remove those staples sticking out as birds are good at breaking legs in things like that. You have to be rpepared to sit inside your aviary for awhile and think like the silliest budgie you can try and be...and make it safer for them.

Edited June 26, 200816 yr by KAZ

okay.

Im sorry about the pictures they arent to good...

 

1: What colours would I get if I breed my blue with my pure yellow one?

Yellow: http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/1776/25436686rr3.png This one is female right? Her cere is brown as brown can be..

Blue: This picture is terrible: http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/145/blueoneap3.png His cere is very blue so he is a male...

 

2. Are both those budgies in breeding condition?

 

3. If I made a small shelf in this cage: http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9522/p1010054it8.jpg and put a nesting box inside, would my birds breed in it? Is the cage to big? to small?

 

4. Would my budgies breed if I put this cage outside my house, about 100 meters away from the avairy? Or could I just sit them outside the avairy?

 

Thats about all at this stage..

Im hoping that someone can answer my questions.

Thanks very much

okay.

Im sorry about the pictures they arent to good...

 

1: What colours would I get if I breed my blue with my pure yellow one?

Yellow: http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/1776/25436686rr3.png This one is female right? Her cere is brown as brown can be..

Blue: This picture is terrible: http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/145/blueoneap3.png His cere is very blue so he is a male...

your yellow budgie unless split for blue or anything else will only produce green budgies with the blue boy. Any ino ( lutino or albino ) can HIDE their genetics. So there are surprises. But from that pair you may only get green type budgies or more like her if he is split ino too.

 

2. Are both those budgies in breeding condition? she is and he isnt.

 

3. If I made a small shelf in this cage: http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9522/p1010054it8.jpg and put a nesting box inside, would my birds breed in it? Is the cage to big? to small?

hard to say what size your cage is as I have nothing to compare it to from that photo. BUT it looks big enough to me. To breed in it, you need access from outside to check the nesting box....so attaching one externally with the hole being able to be entered from inside for the parents would be best...and higher rather than lower.

 

4. Would my budgies breed if I put this cage outside my house, about 100 meters away from the avairy? Or could I just sit them outside the avairy? within earshot of the avairy birds will help them breed.....but not too clse for the aviary birds to distract them. Make sure it is safe from predators and up on a table or something. Make sure the nestbox sliding door cannot be opened by the hen to escape through it to the outside.

 

Thats about all at this stage..

Im hoping that someone can answer my questions.

Thanks very much

Edited June 26, 200816 yr by KAZ

Hmmm The only other males I have are all green...

Maybe ill just buy a few more pairs so I get different colours...

Say if I got 20 budgies and I wanted to quarentine them. I have a 1 meter by 1 meter small avary, if I sit that inside my big avairy and put the 20 birds in their for 30 days, would they be sucessfully quarentined? Or would I have to have the cage outside? After releasing the 20 birds I heard it takes them 1 year to breed because they need to get used to their surroundings... is that true?

Thanks for all your help.

Hmmm The only other males I have are all green...

Maybe ill just buy a few more pairs so I get different colours...

Say if I got 20 budgies and I wanted to quarentine them. I have a 1 meter by 1 meter small avary, if I sit that inside my big avairy and put the 20 birds in their for 30 days, would they be sucessfully quarentined? Or would I have to have the cage outside? After releasing the 20 birds I heard it takes them 1 year to breed because they need to get used to their surroundings... is that true?

Thanks for all your help.

Quarantine MUST BE away from all other birds for 30 days. I metre by 1 Metre wont be enough room for 20 birds. Birds breed when they are happy and healthy....the 1 year to breed thing is rubbish.

Hmmmm okay

So Ill get 3 pairs of english budgies (not green and they will be in breeding condition) put them in the cage and wait 30 days...

Then ill put one pair in the breeding cage and hopefully they will breed... I dont mind green budgies but I would like some other colours as a full avairy of just green budgies looks a little dull.

If I got one pair of budgies tomorow from my friend, and I put them in the quarentine cage. Could I put a nest box in their and they breed while in quarentine?

 

Thanks very much to everyone who has helped me. You have all been such great help.

Edited June 26, 200816 yr by pearce

Depends how old the birds are. They should be between 12mnths and generally 4 years old. Any younger and they are not mature enough to handle parenthood as well as they could.

Quarantine works by having the new bird separate from the old birds. The purpose of quarantine is to make sure that any of your new birds are not carrying any diseases. It is done for a month so that any illnesses that the bird may be carrying will have a chance to show before you introduce them to your main flock thus allowing you to either treat or cull the bird before infecting your current flock. By putting the quarantine birds in the same aviary as your current flock, you are exposing your current flock to the diseases that these birds could potentially carry. You don't want any contact between these birds until the month has passed and you are sure that the new birds are disease free.

I would suggest breeding your albino to your blue boy. Even if they are not in condition you can put em in the breeder cage. The presence of a nestbox can help induce the hen into breeding condition. The male doesn't matter so much whether he is in condition or not. If they aren't in condition you just wait until they are.

I have heard of people breeding their birds inside cages in the aviary. I don't really see how the others would disturb them. Your cage has a roof on it so they can't annoy them by sitting on it.

 

You can buy a pair and breed them in the quarantine cage, when you get them. They just need to be older than 1 year and quarantined away from the other birds.

Cabinet breeding is also done as it prevents fights from occurring and prevents inbreeding. It also prevents under-aged birds from breeding and prevents birds from over breeding as well.

Budgies naturally find the green birds more attractive, so when you colony breed they are more likely to choose green mates.

Edited June 26, 200816 yr by Sailorwolf

Depends how old the birds are. They should be between 12mnths and generally 4 years old. Any younger and they are not mature enough to handle parenthood as well as they could.

Quarantine works by having the new bird separate from the old birds. The purpose of quarantine is to make sure that any of your new birds are not carrying any diseases. It is done for a month so that any illnesses that the bird may be carrying will have a chance to show before you introduce them to your main flock thus allowing you to either treat or cull the bird before infecting your current flock. By putting the quarantine birds in the same aviary as your current flock, you are exposing your current flock to the diseases that these birds could potentially carry. You don't want any contact between these birds until the month has passed and you are sure that the new birds are disease free.

I would suggest breeding your albino to your blue boy. Even if they are not in condition you can put em in the breeder cage. The presence of a nestbox can help induce the hen into breeding condition. The male doesn't matter so much whether he is in condition or not. If they aren't in condition you just wait until they are.

I have heard of people breeding their birds inside cages in the aviary. I don't really see how the others would disturb them. Your cage has a roof on it so they can't annoy them by sitting on it.

 

You can buy a pair and breed them in the quarantine cage, when you get them. They just need to be older than 1 year and quarantined away from the other birds.

Cabinet breeding is also done as it prevents fights from occurring and prevents inbreeding. It also prevents under-aged birds from breeding and prevents birds from over breeding as well.

Budgies naturally find the green birds more attractive, so when you colony breed they are more likely to choose green mates.

 

Thanks very much for the big reply.

I've been told that having a breeder cage inside the avairy isnt affective. I was told that budgies on the outside of the cage will distract the pair inside and they wont breed as they will be trying to get out to see their other mates. If I cant have my breeder cage on the inside of my avairy im going to have to put it on the outside. Im worried that my neighbours cats will spook my pair of budgies as they arent protected by a big avairy. I was also told that budgies need to be near other budgies if they are going to breed... Could they breed if I had the breeder box 100 meters away from the avairy? I hear my birds sitting out under my patio and that is 200 meters away from my avairy..

My questions in simple form:

1. Can 2 budgies breed in a breeding box that is bolted to the inside of the avairy, they will be in clear sight of other budgies.

 

2. If you answer no for the 1st question please answer this one:

Can budgies breed in a nesting box that is 100 meters away from my avairy? Do they need to be close to other budgies?

Thanks

I can definitely answer yes to the second one. The sound of other birds just puts them in the mood more. They can breed without the others around. If there is a cat issue then I think it would be better to have the cage inside the aviary. What about inside the house? I'm guessing that is out of the question.

I don't see why having the cage inside the aviary would distract them as breeders tend to have their breeder cabinets facing the aviaries, so the budgies can see each other. Someone who is a little more experienced in this area should be able to answer the 1st question for you.

You can breed birds in quarantine as long as they are old enough. I wouldn’t think as you have already read that having cages in an aviary full of other Budgies is ideal, as birds from the aviary will interfere. Also breeding cabinets are better enclosed in some building or aviary without other birds to ensure birds don’t escape from them & also to protect them from cats or wild threats.