I am thinking about getting a mate for Calhoun, my male english budgie. He is about 15 months old (found bird, so don't know exact) and although he spends all day with me at work, I can see that he really longs for some bird company. Only thing is that I don't want to breed more budgies and I don't want another male. So what can I do?

 

Lance

not 100% sure as i only have one budgie, but dont put a box in, this normaly stops them as the hen wont feel safe to breed. and if she does lay remove them. other people may be able to give more detail thou.

ATD

dont suply them with any nest boxes, Change up the cage new toys move the perches around oftin so tey dont get comfy, the time they get light the less likley they are to breed. ( in the wild Birds mate in spring summer time when the most light is available so if you cover them at night and take the cover off later and cover them earlier i gues that should help)

Change up the cage new toys move the perches around oftin so tey dont get comfy

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would this not emmm unsettle/unnerve them if they dont feel confy??

ATD

would this not emmm unsettle/unnerve them if they dont feel confy??

ATD

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not meaning Scare the **** out of them so their super distressed but if you change their cage up oftin they tend not to breed because the suroundings are changing so they wont feel as comfortable breeding in different suroundings

If you don't give them nesting boxes then they wont breed. Simple as that. Some eager hens might lay in food dishes or on the floor but that's not likely. A lot of people keep boy and girl budgies together and don't get babies.

Keeping them in seperate cages will be the only way to make sure they don't breed. They can have supervised time out together of course. I can attest to the fact that they will breed without a nestbox if they really really want to. Bea, mine were going to lay behind the cushions on my sofa... and they had lived together in the same cage for over a year without any interest in breeding at all...

Really? Wow! Well i kept all my budgies in the one cage with no boxes and they never bred. Even out in the aviary they don't LAY without boxes. They do mate though but surely that can't cause any harm.

Thanks for the replies. I am still not sure what to do. It sounds like the no nest box is the most reliable method. I am curious how they can mate but not lay eggs? Perhaps this is related to all the other unique reproductive qualities that budgies have as a result of their harsh environment and unpredictable rain cycles, e.g. males can mate anytime during the year.

 

Lance

Well my budgies mate regularly but never lay unless i give them nesting boxes.

dont suply them with any nest boxes, Change up the cage new toys move the perches around oftin so tey dont get comfy, the time they get light the less likley they are to breed. ( in the wild Birds mate in spring summer time when the most light is available so if you cover them at night and take the cover off later and cover them earlier i gues that should help)

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wow hang on there. Lets just put the cage on a carasol and turn it 90 deg when they are a sleep. That way they can never get their bearings.

 

As far as light is conserned. it doesn't make too much difference. If it did. England could breed budgiesx as well as here in Australia because the light is different (not true).

 

Bea got it right. Don't give them nesting boxes. Simple as that.