Hello,I'm new here and I want to ask a question about budgerigar birds (budgies) , I have kept birds since I was a child I have kept budgies for a long time.. the first 2 pairs I got mated very fast and laid eggs and chicks hatched and were very very well reaching adulthood... about 2 years ago I bought another pair of budgies remembering how fun they were and hung a nesting box for them but throughout a whole year they haven't laid any eggs and didn't even try to mate.. the male wasn't even trying to mate so I just released the 2 birds in my garden to give them their freedom as keeping them was no longer of any use to me... later, 4 days ago I bought 2 new budgies a male and a female from the bird store and put them in the breeding cage together hoping that they would mate , I'm quite sure they are male and female the male has got a very bright blue cere and the female has got a brown crusty one so I guess they are in condition , my cage is like double size of the normal common breeding cages and I put a nesting box in it.. they have everything there fresh water daily,fresh seeds changed daily lots of veggies like cucumber,carrots and other leaf-like stuff, they get light nearly 10 hours a day and a lot of air passes through the room.
They look like have adjusted well to their new environment & started to get more active and at night they sleep together on the swing up the cage .
Here's the backgroung of my birdies but my question is how much time do they need to adjust and start to mate (if they will as I'm a bit un-hopeful) I'm afraid they just won't mate like my last pair.. I have only seen the male going into courtship like 2 or 3 times.. not very true courtship as he didn't feed the female but he kept looking to her and tapping her beak with his and moving his head up and down but he didn't try to mate with her or feed her and that's all but its just their fourth day in their new cage..
Another thing is: any tips or advice on how can I trigger the mating process or encourage the male to mate and is there any hope they will mate and lay fertile eggs?

Sorry for all my blabber but I'm a bit deseperate for advice
Thank you
Aya
Xxxxxx:p

I know.. I should have gone to a birds site better LOL!

Hi ,

Have you heard of a product called eggfood?

By feeding this to your budgies in a separate pot slightly moistened with water this will help bring budgies into breeding condition,
Use a plain canary and panacum millet mix at a ratio of 50/50 instead of budgie seed and give them budgie tonic 2 times a week... also you may want to try the bird care co products which are very good and they have products in their range of vitimins which also help bring into condition ,
A smaller cage may be needed as they feel more secure in smaller cages , and so better breeding results,
Budgies also prefer to colony breed ,if you are not interested in what colors you produce then this may be the way to go as they will pr themselves up to a suitable compatible mate rather than been forced togather with somebody they thing is really ugly hehe...
Feed fresh fruit and veg every day and give them a spray bath everyday.. this will help them also come into condition :)..

If you need ay help or more advice on this matter then you can find me at UK Birdkeepers Message Board (Powered by Invision Power Board) (forum administrator) I go by this username on the site...

It could take a long time for me to explain all the factors of how to get birds to breed including, light, heat, cage, vitimins , seed, etc etc and so probibly you could get a lot of detailed answers on our site...

thank you so so much mrssittingduck for your post.. that was very informative and helpful and I will try to buy a common smaller cage and put them there and to mention.. the 2 pairs that I have successfully bred before were in smaller cages like the ones for breeding so I guess since I bought the big one my budgies won't breed.. also ill keep up with the fresh fruits and veggies daily which I already do ,I will also try egg food as u said and buy them cuttlebones for extra calcium.. by the way I have been giving them a spray bath just before I opened askmeyourhelpdesk to find your post.. about the light they get 10-12 hours of daylight daily ill try to make it 14 (that means I have to get up more early to remove their night cover!lol! No problemo!^^) and the room is breezy fresh with air I will also try to download a recorded voice of budgies and play it for them to encourage mating so it will all be a waiting game for me and wish me luck
thanks again for being so helpful if I get time ill check out the website you gave me but now ill be buying a smaller cage

xDDDD

Good luck with your budgies and I hope they breed for you,

The site I mentioned is exceptional where advice is concearned and well worth the look,

The combination of all the above factors put togather will help you to have very happy healthy birds that want to breed, it is a matter of getting the conditions just right, which is why combinations of more than 1 change will help, the food is the most important factor so once this is changed their should be no problems

Also you don't mention how old your birds are as they should not be bred before the hens are 1 year old, they can be bred from 9 month but the chances of eggbinding in a young hen are very great and the bird may well die from it, cocks can be bred from 9 month old but not hens..
Also if the birds are over 4 years old and have never been allowed to breed it will be harder for them to get into the swing of things and know what to do , some takre to it with ease while others don't.. at 4 years old the egg count will start going down however they can still lay and hatch eggs to a good age past 4 years old :)

Good luck and le tme know how they get on :)

Katie

well thank you ^^ I just came back from the store... I bought a new smaller cage put them there with fresh seeds and water and hung a nesting box there.. in the morning ill give them fresh veggies and give them a spray bath... also I have found at the store some kind of syrup u can add to the drinking water that makes the male birds more keen of mating.. is that kind of medication safe.. do u recommend it if my birds don't breed in about a month or 2? Thank you! And ill have a look at your site

XDDD

Hi if you could give me the name of the treatment for the water I could tell you much better on weather it would have good results as I can look the ingredients up,
Anything sold for birds is likely to be safe in the right dosage.. just make sure you don't go over the dosage required..
Let me know the name of the product and I can tell you more...

However the danger with making just the cockbird want to breed is that if the hen is not in breeding condition at the same time as the cock, their could be trouble in the cage as the cock will not stop pestering her , and they may start to fight, so keep an eye out for any severe fighting, it is not unusual for budgies to draw blood on each other even in mild fights but keep your eye out for severe fighting..

As I said let me know the name of the product and if I or my friends have used it I will let you know what is thought of it and what the ingredients do... :)

Katie

OK... unfortunately I haven't recognized its name but it's an Egyptian product (I live there) :) SO I'm quiet sure ull have no idea about it but I will try to tell you its ingredients and you may help me out.. but I guess it will be safe to use it also both my birds ARE in breeding condition & the female I got is of a very quiet and soft nature so it won't b a problem anyway ill have to use it if I see no signs of mating
Another Q: when should I expect eggs after the 2 birds have been together I saw people saying you should expect them in 10-12 days if everything goes well.. is it true or do they need sometime to bond together?
Sorry for annoying you that much again but your just great if ud like to add me or e-mail me my Yahoo mail is " ayakaramany" at" Yahoo (dot) com LOL!

Hi , in most cases budgies need time to bond,
Most people pair them up in October and they start to breed in march, I don't know about your weather conditions or if your birds are inside or out...
But that is the time we put them "down" in the uk..
However if both birds introduced to one and other are new and both are in full breeding condition sometimes (not very often with budgies but it does happen) they will go down and mate straight away,
Once they have done this the eggs do take around 10 days to start laying and after that they will lay an egg every other day.. they will start sitting the eggs after the 2nd or 3rd egg has been laid and incubation will take approximately 18 days depending on weather (hotter weather may take less time) colder weather take more time)
The eggs you will find that some of them hatch togather and the remaining eggs will hatch every other day...
But all because a bird has mated doesn't mean the eggs will be fertile or that any will hatch so if you do get eggs please don't get your hopes up until you find they are fertile :)...

Good luck and I really do hope my answers have helped you, if you need any more help please contact me :)
Either through here the website or by pm :) katie

And umm you are not annoying me!

The only stupid questions are the ones that never get asked :)
You are asking questions and hopefully taking note and learning, I don't mind helping anybody when it comes to birds :D birds are my life and have been hand rearing, incubating and breeding birds for 20 years I am only 23 years old :o so like I said they are my life :D..

Please ask if you have any questions and if I can help , I will help ;)
Katie

Thanks a lot but I guess that the weather here is well.. nice its not cold and its not too hot.Both birds are in breeding condition.The male is trying to courtship abit so I hope I've got some hope if my pair doesn't work till October ill buy another pair and put them in my big cage I told you about.Will it be a wise move or will it worsen things more?
PS:from the budgerigar book I have it says that the mating season for budgies is autumn (did I spell right. >lol)so its not so far I hope that they have a chance ! I just gave them some cucumber and a spray bath :)

Awww... thank you soooo much katie you are really sweet like a bird :o I haven't really saw somebody as helpful as you through the entire web! Lol! Yeah.. true. I will keep in touch and tell u how it goes ;) .
But for you,how many birds do u keep and what species(if u don't mind me asking about that)

Hi mate..
Budgie breeding season usually starts in around about march in the uk... I am not sure about where you are in greece I think you said? We pair the budgies up in October time here and they start to lay early march and will keep going until around about july/august for late ones..

However with having very different weathers to other countrys I couldn't possibly comment on which month would be best in your country :( I would be a liar if I said I knew or was even to hazard a guess.. you would do well with joining a club for budgie keepers and shows in your country and asking them for advice on breeding seasons as they are probibly way different from mine.. the budgerigar society may have a society in your country also it is worth looking into! They would be lots of help to you

Will you be keeping all the birds in the big cage or just 1 pr ?

If I was you I would separate all the cocks from the hens for a whiel.. if you have cages big enough for this and feed them all on the food I mentioned previously.. leave them for a couple of weeks separated and throw them all in a big cage togather and you will see a bit of squabbling as the budgies chose their mates.. they may squabble for a few days but you will soon notice the birds start to separate off into 2's make a note of which bird is with which one and then remove them and put them in a breeding cage togather with the pair they picked out
This way you may have better results than just throwing 2 togather.. however the results still won't be the same as if you were breeding them all togather in a flight..

I think my acquaintance marko lives in greece if he does I will get into touch with him and ask him about breeding season motnhs for budgies .however I am not entirely sure if that is where he lives so don't quote me on it .

Hehe yes you spelt autumn right however I don't know why you are worried about your spelling , didn't you notice how many mistakes I made :o lol


As for me at the minuite I am concentrating my efforts on but 3 species of birds

I have the senegal parrot,
The cockatiel and
Many colored parakeet which is also known as the mulga..
The cockatiels and mulgas are at a friends house at the minuite as I have had to rip down my flights and bird shed and rebuild (just hope the birds are settled in time for breeding season, but the senegals and the doves are in the shed as the shed is finished now just waiting for the outdoor bit for the

I do have a pr of red turtle doves also with 2 chicks from them this year.. but they are just for fun to pass the spare time !and some java sparrows .my main efforts of breeding will be on the 3 species mentioned. However my breeding season for the parrots and parakeets doesn't start until winter time so I have a few months to wait before I get any young or eggs from my birds... I get so bored waiting lol

I have kept a lot of different sorts of birds ranging from zebra finch, hecks grassfinch, bengalese etc to the orange winged Amazon parrot, I don't breed the orange wing he is a pet of mine that I hand reared myself and hatched from the egg so no plans for him :D
So not really a stranger to a lot of sorts of birds and if I don't know about a particular bird or habbit they have most of the time I have a friend in the back ground that can help me :)
I really do hope your birds will breed for you and please keep me updated on any news :D
And your welcome!

Just glad that even if only a small amount of the info was useful to you that it has helped you in the long run.. hopefully when you have learnt about your birds you will also pass the information on to somebody else in the future should they need the help and you feel capable.. is half the fun of birdkeeping is to help people I found, this is as rewarding as finding a nestful of chicks (or in my opinion it is anyway lol..

Look forward to hearing from you again and hopefully with some good news and lots of pictures of little blind ones tripping round the nest
Just let me know if you need any help with them :)
Katie

Aww... how sweet you are ! Your idea of separating is great and by the way I don't live in greecs I live in egypt and the best breeding season here is autumn so I'm in good timing as it starts in September... also what I've got now is just a pair (1 cock and 1 hen ) so there's still the rest of July and all August till autumn comes.. so do you advice that I separate my 2 birds till September to prevent them from getting familiar and losing interest in mating?! Knowing that each of them will be alone in a cage but the 2 cages put side to side .is it a good idea or just a foolish one ,if its good then I can do it :) please help and thank u.. u really look so knowledgeable about those birdies LOL!

Hi I would separate them now and leave them separated until around half way through august-to so about 3 weeks of separation, feed them the panacuum millet and plain canary mix with tonic and the eggfood all the time they are separated and bath them every day..

Keep the cages side by side but at a slight angle if possible so they can see each other...
You may then see the cock bird tying to display to the female lol or trying to get to her with his beak and bobbing up and down :D

After a few weeks of been separated I would then put them back in togather and hopefully it won't be long before you get results :) what size nest box do you have ?


And umm sorry for getting your country mixed up :o I have a terrible memory for things I don't use or do every day :(
Good luck with your breeding season and let me know how it goes :)

Katie

then OK.. I will think of trying this plan out (ill probably will) and for the nestbox I don't know its size but its fairly good to me it's the common nest box.. ive used it successfully 2 times before... and umm yeah lol I always mix stuff up 2 I've got the awfullust memory on earth.. haha ^^ the good news is .after I spray-bathed my birdies today they seemed more interested in each other.they were preening each other and the female WAS feeding the male!! She was the one feeding him iguess she was in conditon but he was not.. its bad luck that when 1 wants to mate the other doesn't and so on... lol!