Dolores Noonan
I
have been receiving many emails from people who have never tried to breed budgies
before, so I thought it might be an idea to set out the very basic requirements
and some of the things which can cause problems when you first start.
Your first requirement is somewhere for your budgies to breed. It could be a shed, a garage, a basement, a spare room or even a specially-built birdroom. It is a good idea to give yourself as large an area as possible, or at least room to expand, as it is inevitable that as your budgies start to breed, you are going to run out of room, unless you are very strong-minded. Do remember that you will need stock cages and flights in which to keep your birds when they are not breeding, and to house youngsters while you decide which ones to keep.
It is a good idea to provide a nightlight for your birds. They do tend to panic when left in the dark and there is a noise or a flashing light that they do not recognize. When the main lights go off in my birdroom, a low-energy bulb is left on which gives the birds sufficient light without keeping them awake and chattering, it is worth buying these as the low-wattage bulbs seem to blow very quickly and I spent a fortune in replacing them until I decided to lash out and buy the more expensive ones. It also helps to avoid the possibility of a hen leaving the nest in the night and being unable to find her way back, leaving eggs to cool or chicks to die from the cold.
You then have to decide whether you are going to breed for pleasure, colour or exhibition. This will make a great deal of difference to the type of bird you buy and the price you pay.
Most people begin because they like the brilliant colours which they see in the budgerigar. I did myself, and went to a pet shop and bought the brightest colours I could find. When I realized that there were such things as exhibition budgies and got involved in the show scene, I tried to combine the two requirements by keeping rare varieties, which were usually brightly-coloured. I did quite well with them, but as time went on, found that if I wished to compete in a significant way, I would have to reduce my rares and go more for the standard varieties. Each year now the rares get less. So, if you are of a competitive nature, then buy the best budgerigars you can afford from reputable breeders. If you want to breed for colour, then you can get your birds from where you can find them, but do make sure that they are clean and healthy. Make sure that any birds you bring into your birdroom are kept separately from your current stock for at least 3 weeks to avoid importing any disease.
A tip when buying exhibition quality birds, is to take along your best bird in a showcage and ask the breeder if you can compare it with the one you intend to buy. They may not want you to take your bird into their birdroom, because of the risk of infection, but would probably not object to your comparing the two outside. It is very easy to get carried away in someone else's birdroom and then, when you get home, you find that you already have better birds than the one you have just bought. If you are looking for a mate for a particular bird, then take it along with you, so that you can see that your choice complements that particular bird.
In either case, three pairs would be good to start with. They will give you some experience of breeding without providing an enormous amount of work. You will have time to get to know your birds, their behaviour and their requirements.
Make sure that the birds are in breeding condition before you pair them. This means that they should be very active, the hens chewing everything in sight and the cocks calling and feeding each other. Normally, the cock's cere will become bright blue and the hens' will be light brown. This is not always the case, some hens' cere seems never to change from a very pale blue but will still breed well.
It would be a good idea to separate your hens and cocks for a couple of weeks before you want them to start breeding. In this time you should prepare the cages in which your birds are to breed. I use all-wire cages for easy cleaning and also as it helps to guard against parasites, giving them nowhere to lodge. Another advantage is that budgerigars are very gregarious creatures and it gives the birds the impression of colony breeding and I have found much better fertility since changing over to them. I would not recommend colony breeding as very few chicks actually survive. On the other hand, if you do decide to colony breed, then make sure to provide two nestboxes for every hen in the flight. This will cut down on the fighting when they all decide they want the same nestbox.
If you prefer, you can use wood or plastic-coated material, again for easy cleaning, with a wire front say 24" × 12" × 10" high. You will also need a nest box, either on the floor inside the cage or hanging on the outside. The nest box should be at least 8" × 5" × 6" and have a concave on the base. The front should also have a hole about 2" in diameter for the birds to go in and out. It will also need a removable or hinged lid on the top so that you can have a look and see when eggs have been laid, and when chicks have hatched. I always use a few wood shavings on the floor of the nestbox as it helps to absorb any moisture and stops the eggs from rolling about, replacing them when the hen throws them out.
To guard against mite infestation, once the chicks are hatched I change the nestboxes on a regular basis, puffing the clean one with an insecticide before transferring the chicks. Make sure it is safe to use with birds.
To ensure that the eggs are fertile it is a good idea to pluck the feathers from around the vent of both cock and hen before putting them into the breeding cage and also make sure to do it between rounds. You can clip them with scissors, but if you are relying on any of them for early showing, once you have done this, the feathers take a long time to grow back. After I put them together, I leave them for up to 21 days to see whether they produce eggs. If they don't then I split the pair and either try different partners, or put them back in the flights for a few weeks and try again later. In most cases the hens will start laying after about 10-12 days. They will lay every 2 days until she has a complete clutch, which can be anything from 3-9 eggs. The eggs will take 18 days to incubate and then, providing the eggs are fertile, the chicks will hatch every 2 days.
Your birds will need extra nourishment whilst they are feeding their young. A proprietary softfood, millet sprays and tonic seed can be given in small helpings in addition to their normal seed diet. I also use Murphy's Pro-System of vitamins and minerals all year round.
When I first started breeding I did not know that the hens' droppings would become large and loose. I thought that she had diarrhoea and took her out of cage and put her somewhere quiet and dosed her. Oh dear! How surprised I was when she produced an egg and seemed none the worse for it. Fortunately, I was able to put her back with the cock and they went on to rear 9 chicks - very small ones I may say.
I had one hen who threw all her eggs out of the nest. I thought she was a very bad mother and gave her away, only to find out later that it was because she knew the eggs were infertile and she wanted to start laying another clutch.
If possible, find an experienced breeder in your area who does not mind your panic phone calls. In the UK the Budgerigar Society has a list of people who are prepared to help beginners, and I found it a very real help to hear a calm voice on the other end of a telephone.
One of my first panic attacks came when I found a hen all fluffed up in the nesting box unable to pass an egg. I had no idea what to do, but after a quick phone call I found myself holding the rear end of the hen in a bowl of warm water, drawing up the skin from around the vent to the top of the egg I could feel inside her. I had to be very careful not to break the egg, as it would have killed her. After 15 minutes the egg slipped out and I was able to put her in a warm place to recover and the egg was put under another pair. I did not pair her up again that season, but the following year she went on to produce 12 chicks.
It is useful to have more than one pair breeding at a time. In the case above, I was able to transfer the egg to another nest. This can sometimes be necessary for chicks as well. I have been very distressed to find that a hen has attacked her chicks, or has feather plucked them, seemingly for no reason. If this happens in the nest, then it is advisable for the remaining chicks to be moved to another nestbox, or to remove the offending parent and leave the other one to feed the chicks. I now also place a small table on the floor of the cage marked BBBS (Battered Baby Budgie Shelter) for the chicks to take cover from a parent who suddenly attacks them just after they come out of the nestbox. I now keep a very sharp eye on youngsters leaving the nestbox, moving them out and hand-feeding them if necessary,with a crop tube. It is usually the hen, but sometimes it is the cock. Once this happens, then in the following round, the offending parent should be moved a few days in advance of them leaving the nestbox.
I currently have a pair where the hen laid and egg and the next day it had gone. 4 days later still no eggs so I removed the cock and sure enough next day then hen laid. I closed off the nestbox whilst I was feeding and cleaning and put the cock back. He, very obligingly, performed as required and I then removed him and opened up the nestbox. The hen now has 2 eggs and I will continue to do this until she has a full clutch. If they are fertile then I may transfer the eggs to another nest and give her a new cock, as he was obviouslly eating the eggs.
I always have millet sprays available to the young chicks when they come out of the nestbox as I find that they are able to eat them before they are able to crack seed. When the chicks leave their parents, I keep a very close eye on them and palpate the crops to check that they are feeding themselves. If not, then they get a top-up of parrot rearing food each evening, until I am sure that they are feeding themselves.
It is very important to keep accurate records of your pairings and the offspring. It may seem a lot of bother at first, but as your aviary grows, you will find that you are unable to remember where that really good chick came from. It is well worth the time spent, and very useful to be able to look back and find out how that particular pair came to produce that strangely-coloured chick. If you start line-breeding you will have a head start if you keep records from the very beginning.
I hope this helps some new breeders to overcome some of the problems which sometimes crop up. If I think of any more, then I will add them to this article.
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Copyright © 2000, Dolores Noonan. All rights reserved.