Help with Budgie Breeding

[christarz]

I have just started breeding a pair of my budgies and would like some help to what I'm doing wrong. The hen layed 3 eggs rolled them out of the nest. I put then back in and she rolled them out again. After about a week with no change I decided to take them out. Now she is has left her nest box and sits on the perch all the time.
What should I do?
What was wrong with her eggs?
Will she lay again?
If so, how long will it be?

[charmedagain]

Hi, Firstly how old are your birds they need to be atleast 18months old preferably 2year old before allowing them to breed.

Young females that have never laid a clutch before or raised a family will usually kick there eggs from the nest, If the conditions are wrong then she will do the same.
The eggs may also have been infertile and she will throw them out.
How many eggs in total did she lay.
Since she has started just sitting on her perch again and not bothering with the nest chances are that she is not fully ready to start laying properly

What kind of nest do you have?
What bedding are you using?
Did the male enter the nest before the female?
How many hours of light are they getting?
Is the room temperature kept the same at all times?
What are they being fed on?
Is there cuttlefish and mineral block in the cage at all times?

Mike

[christarz]

To answer your questions....

The hen is about 18 months old, and she only laid 3 eggs in total.

I bought a breeding box from the pet store. It is a set of 3 cages, each on top of the other. It is made of wood which has no acrylic or paint. In each cage there is 2 perches and a nest box positioned in the top corner. The nest box has a rounded concave indent for the eggs. I have scattered plain wood shavings on the floor which she decided to scatter around.

I have a breeding pair in one cage and another 2 budgies in another cage so they can keep the breeding pair company (I read somewhere that I should do this so they don't get lonely.)

The breeding box is kept in a spare room of my house (at a comfortable temperature: no air-conditioning or heating are used). Every morning I turn the light on in the room and every night I turn it off. (So the room is lit approximately between 7am-7pm).

The hen entered the box first. When she was nesting and I entered the room the cock would jump across to the perch in front of the entrance to the nest box. Occasionally I would hear her scolding him if he tried to enter the box, but I'm reasonably sure that she was letting him feed her when she was sitting.

They have cuttlefish in their cage and loose seed in their cage at all times and are given fresh water and grass everyday. Occasionally they are given millet seed, seed treats, fruit and vegetables (e.g. slices of apple, lettuce, spinach, grated carrot).
They love the fresh grass and millet seed but tend to be fussy with the fruit and vegetables, but they do nibble at them.

[charmedagain]

hi well your doing everything correct the one thing i would change if possible is put the breeding pair in a room of there own this usually helps them settle down and tend to there nest.

I have always had my breeding pairs seperate from the others due to the fact that they can be put off by others in the room.
When a female budgie is not happy she will eat, smash or abandon her eggs, They are very agressive during breeding so do not worry to much about her scolding the male as this is normal.

They lay between 4-6 eggs in a clutch sometimes more like mine did which laid 10, They lay 1 egg every second day and do not usually start to incubate until the 2nd -3rd egg has been laid.

I would give them the nest box back and try again.
They need a total of 14hours light, A shallow dish of water or bird bath so that she may keep the humidity in her nest correct.

I give my birds a seperate dish of egg food which is designed for handfeeding and weaning of baby birds, This can be fed either moist or dry here in the uk it is called EMP or CeDe it contains alot of vitamins and minerals.

Here is a link which may help a little.
http://www.birdshelpline.bravehost.com/Breeding.html

Mike

[christarz]

Thanks for your help.