Okays I cant get my pair to breed, I would love any advice. Here's the deal:

 

They are in this breeding cabinet together:

 

I brought them from my store together. The hen was laying egg after egg when she was in store. Since I have her at home she hasnt layed a single one.

What sort of things can effect breeding? They are kept indoors (in my room or lounge room) so they are never subjected to cold temps. I do move the cabinet around abit, out in the sun on a nice day, or between the bedroom and the lounge room. Will this effect them? There was a stage when they were in my room for ages without being moved- but she never layed then either.

 

They get fresh vegies seed and water (with calcium supp some days). They get moist budgie starter and sprouts too.

 

Does it have to be silent for birds to sleep?

Their cabinet gets covered at night but theres no where in the house that is very quiet (me my parents my partner and another couple is never quiet!).

 

They are paired up and in love. They feed and groom each other etc etc.

And she often scratches around the box and spends time in there. But doesnt lay.

 

What can I do!? Its not like she cant lay, because she was laying in store. And suposedly she hatched two of them, that didnt survive ( i didnt see them, other staff did)- so they have had "sex" before - its not like they dont know how to "do it".

 

Its the season and they are not getting very merry!

 

Troubleshooting would be great. Thanks all in advance!

Hi there,

one of the first things I can help you with is...moving them around is a bad thing. Once in the breeder cage they become a pair that will breed and make babies and less of a pair of budgies you want to move around for new environments and experiences.

EVERYTHING else you are doing seems fine to me. The moving around is most likely the issue for right now. If its too quiet where they are then that too can become an issue but you say its not quiet so maybe thats all good too. Just noticed the phone right next to the cage...ringing phone might not be a good thing.........

Hope this helps. :laughter:

Edited October 17, 200816 yr by KAZ

Hi

 

How long have they been in the breeding cage for?

I leave mine in their 4-5 weeks and if their is no action they are removed to the aviary.

I have read that moving the cage around will stress out the birds so I would not move it unless completely necessary.

My cages are out the back under the pergola so it is not a quiet area either, I also covered them at night because of winter but now its getting hotter I do not.

My first pair did nothing for 5 weeks so I removed them. They were in love and always preening each other. A few weeks later I decided to re add them to the breeder cage and now they have 4 babies.

Wait for some other opinions and hopefully they will breed for you.

Good luck

Edited October 18, 200816 yr by Neat
spelling

Try keeping the radio on .... in the absence of budgie chatter from other pairs music helps.

You may also want to remove or cover the nesting box entrance for a week. This will give them time to focus on each other and limit the amount of stuff going on. Then you can reintroduce the nest box to "re-spark" their interest in exploring the box, etc....

 

I agree with pearce about moving the cage around. I have two pair down right now and I made the mistake of moving their cages 4 weeks into it and they still haven't done anything. I have been waiting over 6 weeks and not as much as an egg let alone mating???

 

Giving them time too will make all the difference... if I recall this is your only pair of bush budgies? So if you don't have other mates for them or an aviary for them, just let them go and give them time. Good luck.

Edited October 18, 200816 yr by Neat
Changed enternce to entrance

I also agree with Kaz, that moving the cage is probably the cause.

If the hen has been laying lots of eggs already also make sure that they are getting plenty of calcium.

Also you said you bought them together at the same shop at the same time.... is there any chance they are brother and sister?

Edited October 18, 200816 yr by **Liv**

Additionally to the moving of the breeding cage, as you stated in your post...she was laying egg after egg in the store. Perhaps she is depleted after all that and needs a few months rest before breeding again. She may just be low on energy and need some time to regenerate. Can you post a picture of her close up ?

How may hours of light do they have? If their hours of light are less now than they were before you bought them they may think it's winter. Increasing their light by about an hour a day might start them breeding. Another possiblity is that she is getting old, hens will lay less eggs and lay them less often as they age

Good Luck with it all the others have given great advice...

you have been given excellent Advice .... Moving , Noise and Daylight ....

 

But What colour are both of their Cere's ...... As they BOTH need to be in BREEDING CONDITION

 

I think that you should wait a little while and try again .... She layed eggs where she was earlier so like Kaz said, she probably needs a good break ....

 

So the few weeks off - Start feeding them up on Good food lots of soft food, calcivet and protein ....

 

Also Make sure that the placement of the cage is where there is alot of light :what:

 

I am sure after a well deserve break they will "come good" for you ...

 

Good Luck

Thanks for all the great advice! Its confirmed a lot about what I was already thinking.

Im going to try a few things and then see how it goes!

Six of the bushies came into us at the same time. They were full grown and not captive bred - so i can only presume if they were wild caught that they're prob not brother and sister. But i couldnt tell.

Her cere is in breeing condition and his is a lovely bright blue.

Im going to try closing off the breeding box tomorrow.

Cross fingers!

Edited October 18, 200816 yr by KAZ