The advice I have heard here is if you don't know the birds age then you wait at least 6 months, with his cere being so pink that right there was an indicator that he was about the 3-4 month mark, you don't need a band to tell you the age of a young budgie like that, there are a few mutations that the cere stays pink on the male but even then you can tell the difference between an adult vs a youngster by the way they hold themselves & many times you can see the barring down to their cere even it if is faint. So there are some tips for next time.

The advice I have heard here is if you don't know the birds age then you wait at least 6 months, with his cere being so pink that right there was an indicator that he was about the 3-4 month mark, you don't need a band to tell you the age of a young budgie like that, there are a few mutations that the cere stays pink on the male but even then you can tell the difference between an adult vs a youngster by the way they hold themselves & many times you can see the barring down to their cere even it if is faint. So there are some tips for next time.

 

I will take this to heart and am much more educated now. But please know this... I did wait over 6 months before breeding him. I got him on 12-30-07 and I did not put him in a breeding cage with a mate until the week of July 28, 2008. Prior all my birds including him and his mate where in the aviary. He and his mate produced their first egg on August 15, 2008.