Common Setbacks In Breeding Budgerigars

Whether pairing up your birds this autumn or in the New Year, make sure you learn from CLIVE WAKEMAN’s experience of some of the things that most often go wrong.

BUDGERIGARS

ONE of the most frustrating setbacks when it comes to breeding budgerigars is when a pair that appear perfectly fit and healthy, show absolutely no interest in breeding.

This can come in varying degrees, from completely ignoring each other to the hen going in the nest-box, but not laying or showing any signs of doing so. If they show no interest in each other or the nest-box and two or three weeks have gone by, probably the wisest move is to split them up and either pair them with different partners or try them together again at a later date.

First things to check

If the hen is continually sitting in the nest-box, check her vent area to see if it is enlarged at all, as this could be a sign of getting ready to lay. It is also worth checking her droppings to see if they have become any looser, since this can also be a sign of getting ready to lay.

If neither thing is happening, but both birds are showing interest in each other, it could be worthwhile covering the entrance to the nest-box for a few days and then allow her access. You could even cover the entrance of the nest-box with cardboard and make her “work” to get back in. That may just do the trick. Sometimes a change of nest-box or even changing the nest-box position can suddenly kindle interest and this may be enough to get the pair to go to nest. Small things to change, but they can sometimes make all the difference.

Illness in the parents