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!

You need to decide who you want her to be in with as she needs a 'solid man' in her life in order to raise chicks

 

Breeding is stressful so they need to be ateast 12 months old. Chances are if she has been mating with both of them then she may lay eggs from both the males.

Edited September 7, 200816 yr by melbournebudgies

I'm very concerned she is not ready for motherhood, and she can be quite gnarly sometimes and likes to do her own thing.

 

I'm quite concerned on all accounts, however i really want this to be a success, as the idea of chicks is very exciting.

 

 

Firstly I'd like to welcome you here and hope you find the answers you're after.

 

Above, I have listed the comments in your posts that worry me. The first... if you are concerned she is not ready to breed. Then don't do it. Female budgies USUALLY don't lay eggs when their is not a nest box, but as you mentioned, she has been ripping up the newspaper on the bottom of the cage. She obviously sees this as a good place to nest, and that is why she is laying. If you do not want her to breed, then DO NOT add the nest box, or if you have already done so, remove it! I'd also remove the newspaper from the bottom of the cage, or put a grate over it so she can't rip it up. She may drop a few more eggs from the perch, but she should stop.

 

Secondly, although breeding is very exciting, especially when things go to plan and the eggs hatch and babies survive, it's not as simple as many seem to think. If you are seriously interested in breeding, I suggest you go thorough or FAQ's (top of the forum) and do your research before putting in a nest box and letting nature take its course.

 

Good luck with them and please keep us updated. maesie

Edited September 7, 200816 yr by maesie
Added more

YOu have been given fantastic advice - Let us know if they are over 12 months of age and you are wanting

to breed them , We can help you

 

WELCOME !!!!

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?

There is no reason why he can't take on the role of father, does one of the males consistently feed her? I would be putting her with that male. The majority of the time they do seem to 'know' what to do but things can still go wrong.

 

Make sure mum and dad have a great diet including fresh vegetables, good quality seed and a calcium supplement in their water.

 

I would make a decision about which male will play the role of dad and then move the other male away as he may just distract them while they are raising eggs/chicks.

 

The cage needs to be large enough for potentially 8 birds to live in for a short time after the chicks fledge so put them in the largest cage you have.

 

Make sure the nest box is attached securely and is stable and level.

 

Also I don't know if you realise this but budgies will just do the nasty for fun, so a couple of eggs layed off the perch is not an issue if you decide not to go through with it.

 

GOOD LUCK

You should not worry too much when the time comes they will know what to do. Make sure you have plenty of calcium for your hen as this is vital for the productions of eggs. This can be given vis calcium blocks or Cuttle fish bone. Chose 1 partner for her I would not allow the other male near them (out of site) in your case. The eggs (if fertile) will take 18 days to hatch and will be laid every second day.

 

As far as nesting material wood chips is the only thing they need. (make sure its safe for birds) This can be purchased from most pet shops.

Edited September 8, 200816 yr by Ikon

just wanted to drop in and say Welcome to the forums

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 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?

 

Best thing you can do now is put the nestbox in wherever you can. It gives her two days before she is going to lay her next egg. If you remove all the paper and just leave an uncomfortable grids she will use the nestbox. Failing that put anestbox where she was laying and have the door section open so she sits in there. Take out the egg she has and wait. When she has laid her next egg in the right place you can put the egg you have just got back in the nestbox. Eggs can be kept this way and they are nothing until constant incubation takes place. So take it and put it in a dish with some seed to rest on until you get h the next egg and then add it to the next egg.

Candling can be done when the eggs are 5 days or so ...you can get a little LCD torch from shops ...some kinds like ona keyring are strong enough to work well....can find them in car parts stores and all over the place...strong light.

I would suggest keeping her with Pedro as they are the bonded pair. If she has mated with Banjo, the first egg will most likely be his. But if you seperate her and keep her with Pedro the subsequent eggs will most likely be Pedro's as they will mate in between laying eggs (it only takes around 24hrs for an egg to form). If she mates with Pedro then it will be very unlikely that she will store Banjo's sperm. Therefore the eggs will most likely be Pedro's if you have separated them from Banjo permanently.

 

If she has already eaten 1 egg she will be more inclined to eat her next eggs. If she develops an egg eating habit, try putting a fake in there for a few days, so she realises she can't eat it. If that doesn't work, then you really don't have many options as I am assuming they are your only pair.

Edited September 8, 200816 yr by Sailorwolf

I would suggest keeping her with Pedro as they are the bonded pair. If she has mated with Banjo, the first egg will most likely be his. But if you seperate her and keep her with Pedro the subsequent eggs will most likely be Pedro's as they will mate in between laying eggs (it only takes around 24hrs for an egg to form). If she mates with Pedro then it will be very unlikely that she will store Banjo's sperm. Therefore the eggs will most likely be Pedro's if you have separated them from Banjo permanently.

 

If she has already eaten 1 egg she will be more inclined to eat her next eggs. If she develops an egg eating habit, try putting a fake in there for a few days, so she realises she can't eat it. If that doesn't work, then you really don't have many options as I am assuming they are your only pair.

Unless I am very much mistaken, budgerigars hang onto sperm longer that the production of one egg SW

Yes they do Kaz, but by mating with another male it can flush out the sperm of the first male. This is a common trick employed by wren hens who may sneak of for a bit of fun with the local boys but who always come home to their man and all the chicks are his

See, I covered my bases by saying "most likely".

But I didn't really say that anyway. Fresh sperm is always more ideal than stored sperm. So if she can mate in between then she probably will. Although 1 mating will probably be enough to fertilise all the eggs, subsequent matings will fertilise the more recent eggs. Like in dogs, where a b*tch can have several puppies in the same litter that has different fathers.

But I would not think that she would need to hang on to Banjo's sperm, if she is bonded to Pedro, and mating with him. Don't know too much about the mating and hanging onto sperm habits of budgies yet.

 

I didn't think I would be able to write b*tch

Edited September 8, 200816 yr by Sailorwolf

BIRD FARM

 

Good luck with the breeding - You have already been given excellent advice

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.

G'day and welcome,

 

I would like to say good luck with Blinky laying her next egg in the nest box, I keep my fingers crossed for you. Budgie breeding is a wonderful experience although can be hard work, but the beautiful chicks are more than worth the effort.