im hoping to breed my birds when my flock has grown a bit in the near future and have been wanting to ask a few questions

1. i would like to hand rear 1 what age sould i take it away from its mom
   
2. should i colanal breed?or when they start pairing a bit and ready for breeding seperate them?
   
3. how big should the cages be if not colonal breeding?
   
4. can you look at the eggs with out upsetting mom?
   
5. how many nest boxses for 1 pair?
   

thank you

im hoping to breed my birds when my flock has grown a bit in the near future and have been wanting to ask a few questions

1. i would like to hand rear 1 what age sould i take it away from its mom
    
    
   
2. should i colanal breed?or when they start pairing a bit and ready for breeding seperate them?
    
    
   
3. how big should the cages be if not colonal breeding?
    
    
   
4. can you look at the eggs with out upsetting mom?
    
    
   
5. how many nest boxses for 1 pair?
   

thank you

 

 

Hi Smilyl!

 

Well I can't answer all of your questions, but I will let you know my experience. Question#4....I have looked each day at the eggs that my hen has laid. I do that to make sure that there are no cracks and that all in all my hen and the eggs are fine. I candle them around day 7 to see if they are fertile and mark each one so I can check it's progress. As far as the answer to question#1...my twin sister and I handfed her parakeets from about 2 weeks old. They were pretty much feathered, so they were able to keep warm. We did set them up in their own breeders and fed them about every 3 hours. I have to say they were the tamest 4 budgies I have ever seen. All of them talked. 1 is still alive today (15 years old) and living with my mom. So, that is my advice...I am not an expert but hopefully you can take something from this.

 

Wendy :oliveb:

Edited January 24, 200619 yr by WendyzAttic

1. i would like to hand rear 1 what age should I take it away from its mom

I can't answer this I haven’t tried and don't wish to if I don't need to. But I think folks to this around the two week mark.

 

2. should i colanal breed?or when they start pairing a bit and ready for breeding seperate them?

This is up to you and what you think is best for your budgies, as long as you know the pros and cons for both. Colony breed is easy to do but it's hard to keep track of and bring to a halt. Also there is the risk of fighter hens which can be a the cause of many broken egg or deaths. With paired breeding you can pick the parents and know who’s is whose family so no inbreeding can happen.

 

3. how big should the cages be if not colonal breeding?

A normal sized bird cage works.

 

4. can you look at the eggs with out upsetting mom?

Yes and no, it depends on the mother and you can only try with each to see how much she is willing to let you interfere. It is best to check them at least one a day but this is also to check that mum is doing okay as well since you will not see much of her while she is brooding. Give a knock on the box to warn her before lifting the lid to check.

 

5. how many nest boxses for 1 pair?

In a breeding cage you only need one box per pair. With colony breeding I think you need offer two per hen so there is a choice.