I have 2 pairs set up in different cages. I put their nest boxes in 13 days ago. I would have thought that by now, they would be a little braver about going near the boxes, but they still won't even eat carrot sticks or millet that I clip on that side of the cage.

 

I know I need to be patient, but I am wondering how long other people had to wait, and if this is a more common scenario than I realize. These are first timers, and my first attempt at breeding, so any advice would be extremely welcome!

 

Thanks, Finnie

I don't have an answer for you, but I'm in the same boat, so will follow your thread. Good luck!

When you say you put the nest box in, where did you put it?

Well, I'm having to use regular cages, as I don't have actual breeding cages. So I have attached the boxes to one of the food dish openings, on the outside of the cage. I know they would prefer to nest up higher, but I was hoping they would adapt.

 

Before she had a box, one of the hens was spending all of her time on the floor tearing up all the newspaper into shreds, so I was afraid she was planning to lay there, and I figured if she was willing to do that, she ought not to care how high up her next box was.

 

Also, these 2 pairs were already bonded before I split them away from the other birds, and I had them separated for 2 weeks before I put in the boxes, because I was hoping to minimize the chances of cross-fertilization. (I want to know who fathers who.) They have been acting very flirty all this time, and I have witnessed a few attempted matings, but none that looked successful. I was hoping they were having better luck when I wasn't looking, but who knows?

Try fitting the box high up in the cage even if you have to cut a couple of bars of the cage. Make the entrance hidden from front view of the cage.

Just an update. As it turned out, all four of the birds have begun to moult, so I have closed off the doors to the nest boxes. Maybe since they were about to moult, they just didn't feel like being in breeding mode.

 

I'm going to leave the boxes still attached to the cages in hopes that the birds will get used to seeing them there. Then when the moult is over, and I think it's time to try again, maybe it won't be such a shock for them to see a box.

 

Also, I am in the midst of building them a new, proper breeding facility, where the boxes will be attached up high. And I get to make a budgie room in my basement, where I will be able to have a bigger flock!

 

Tomorrow I go to see a (good) breeder I have found, and I am planning to get an experienced cock from her, so once quarantine, moulting, and rearranging are over, I will have 3 pairs to put down, and 1 of the 6 won't be a first timer. I hope to have better luck next time!

Edited October 16, 200915 yr by Finnie

Moulting was the cause eh ? That certainly makes sense. They only breed when in their best condition and that doesnt count moulting. Have you changed their seed or diet recently ? As that alone can force a moult.

I did start adding some egg biscuit mix to their vegetables, which I hadn't done before. Also, the vegetables I give them are always random- whatever I've got fresh, or what's growing in the garden, or failing that, something from the freezer. I had been thinking that since they were used to random vegetables, that wasn't really a new "change" in their diet. But when I added the egg biscuit mix, I began chopping the veggies finer. Maybe they actually started to eat more of the vegetables, and between the two, maybe that caused the moult.

 

I might add, that the two hens in the other cage are also moulting. One has been losing feathers and getting pins for a long time, the other one just started. (They get the same veggies, so I guess it would affect them, too.)

 

I guess I will just try to keep their veggie/biscuit mix a little more consistent, and then next time, maybe this will be one less problem to factor in :rofl:

Well, I have got my new breeding cages set up, I have gotten them used to a consistent feeding regimen, and they are all past their moult (Except one hen, but she's getting extra time to get over it.)

 

So I guess I'll give this a second try. If I actually get any eggs this time, I will be so excited, that I will just have to start a real breeding journal!! :rofl:

 

Here's my set up, and my 3 pairs:

 

 

 

Pair 1: Patrick and Finnie- already in love (always have been)

 

 

Pair 2: Bailey and Phoebe- newly dating, not so sure about each other yet

 

 

 

Pair 3: Sean and Colleen- He thinks he has her under his thumb, but he's actually quite hen-pecked! :rofl:

 

 

 

They will be having a 10 day waiting period before I open the doors to the nest boxes, so I can make sure of all eggs being fertilized properly. Also, Phoebe needs a while longer to get rid of her pin feathers, and she only just met Bailey, so she needs some time, anyway :rofl: . Seriously.

Great space in your breeding cages :rofl:

Nice breeding cages set up. It will be interesting to see how these pairings develop in regards to offsrpings.

Great space in your breeding cages :question:

 

 

Nice breeding cages set up. It will be interesting to see how these pairings develop in regards to offsrpings.

 

 

Thank you, both. I really hope they do better in their new accomodations.

 

In my paper notebook, I have pages and pages of what I can expect from them. And I'm hoping that they will produce offspring which will show what they may be split for.

 

For instance, I have a pet theory that Patrick (dark green dom pie) and Sean (sky violet opaline) might be brothers. So I'm hoping that Patrick will throw blue chicks with Finnie, and that there might be an opaline hen among them. This wouldn't prove they are brothers, but they cannot be if Patrick isn't split for both blue and opaline.

 

 

Edit: Oh, wait, I take that back. Sean's parents could both be green/blue, and thus could produce a green/green son. But it would still seem more likely that Pat could be split blue.

Edited December 5, 200915 yr by Finnie

I'm not sure what your budgies are like, but our first nesting pair hated the nesting box we put in their cage and never went near it. Spots just chewed up the newspaper in one of the bottom corners of the cage and laid her eggs there. She raised them quite successfully, one of the clutches she raised on the cage floor even produced a set of twins. Here are some pictures of her first clutch. We still have Pippin from this clutch. Sorry about the quality.

 

 

Anyway. I wouldn't worry about them not liking the nesting boxes. Most likely they'll get over it, but if they do start laying on the bottom of the cage, don't change the age orientation as this disturbs them so much they will probably abandon the eggs. If they do and you have to change the bottom of the cage, just cut out a corner or leave a corner free and replace the eggs, but make sure the cage hasn't moved.

One of my hens is a paper chewer, too! And she already has a torn up spot below the nest box. It will be okay with me if she raises her clutch there, and I will try not to disturb them. But I think she is getting used to having the box hanging there, and I'm hopeful that when I open the door to it, she will use it.

 

By the way, did both of your twins survive? That would be sweet!

Yes, both of them survived. They hatched the day before my birthday and were absolutely tiny. They were about the size of my fingernail. There obviously wasn't much room for them in the egg and Wonka's spine is twisted but this hasn't affected his breeding ability. We gave his twin Columbus to a neighbour.

 

This is Columbus after being introduced to to aviary:

 

These are the three chicks from that clutch. Wonka is in the foreground and Columbus is hiding behind their sister, a cinnamon girl. You can see from this photo that we did have a nesting box in there but that the parents weren't interested and the chicks were reared on the cage floor.

 

There is a picture of Wonka on my Flock topic, it illustrates his "severe scolliosis" (as we call it!) quite well and shows how well he has adapted: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=27592

I remember reading that post, now

 

Your cinnamon hen had pretty color. Sorry to hear about the hawk incident. :flowers:

Yes, She was a bit of a savage budgie though. She murdered two other hens even out of the breeding season! She was absolutely stunning though. She was one of the first clutch to hatch on the floor! Didn't seem to do her any harm!

Yes, She was a bit of a savage budgie though. She murdered two other hens even out of the breeding season! She was absolutely stunning though. She was one of the first clutch to hatch on the floor! Didn't seem to do her any harm!

 

 

I guess if you live by the sword, you die by the sword :flowers:

Well, tonight I opened the doors to Finnie and Colleen's nest boxes. Colleen went straight into hers! Finnie took a while, but by the time it was lights out, she had gone in!

 

Fingers crossed we will be seeing some action soon.

Well, tonight I opened the doors to Finnie and Colleen's nest boxes. Colleen went straight into hers! Finnie took a while, but by the time it was lights out, she had gone in!

 

Fingers crossed we will be seeing some action soon.

Bets of Luck! Keep us updated.