I am hoping a few of you out there may be able to answer some questions for me... I'll fill you in on the situation first.

 

I have owned a patio aviary for about the past year, in it I had 6 budgies, 3 male, 3 female. They all seemed to be paired up and very healthy, so about a week ago I brought a new aviary which is about 2m x 2m and 1.80m high, I added 5 nest boxes, all the same height on a shelf, but took one out as they seemed to me to be sitting too close together, and there were HEAPS of fights. They are jumping in and out of the nest boxes.

 

My first question is...

 

Although I saw one pair mating today , they don't seem to be settled in one nest box, Is this normal??

How long after mating takes place should I expect eggs?

One male seems to be suddenly interested in a female who isn't his "wife", chasing the "hubby" away from her but still going back to his girl too, is this normal?

Will they ever settle in just one nestbox.. they all change homes 3 to 4 times per day??

The males never enter the box but sit on top when the female is inside is this right??

 

Thanks Heaps Guys!!

Ellie

Edited July 4, 200420 yr by misselle

Welcome to the forum.

 

How exciting for you! I have some experience with mating budgies, but as my birds have only had 2 clutches, I don't consider myself a breeder. I can't answer all your questions, but I can answer a few.

 

- After the birds mate, you should expect eggs in about 10 days.

- I think it is normal that one of your birds expresses interest in more than one hen, but I'm not sure about this one. One of the breeder's on the forum will answer that one for you.

- I think they should settle on one nest box before the eggs are laid, but again I'm not sure. I think right now they are probably determining which box is prime real estate and that's why they keep going in and out of all the boxes.

- The male may not necessarily be allowed in the nest box once eggs are laid. Some hens will allow him to enter, some won't. The female determines the nesting site, so right now your males may not be going into the box because their mates haven't quite decided which one they want. They are just waiting patiently...

 

Hopefully this helps a little. Good luck!

Rainbow,

 

Thanks for your advice!! I am going out of my mind though... the nest boxes are the least of my worries now! One of the males has decided he wants anothers wife and BOY ARE THEY FIGHTING! Should I remove one pair or will they just sort it out??

 

They seem sooo vicious! A breeder that I called today, said I will never have any sucess breeding in an Aviary situation, is this true?? Buying breeding cages would defeat the purpose of the Aviary entirely. Has anyone out there had any sucess Aviary breeding??

 

Ohh Please help!! Urgently!

budgies will breed very well in an aviary you only need cages for selective breeding programmes

as for the fighting well this depends on how brave you are they will sort it out but the worst result could be one kills the other although i dont think it will go that far mine fight quite a lot when in the flights as they are coming into breeding condition before i pair them up but have not lost any through this yet