Budgies won’t even go into their nesting box!

AshleyJo8

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So I have three budgies and I want to breed the two. There are two males and a female. One of the males is already bonded and preening and feeding each other. The nesting box has been in there for about two and a half months and there is no sign of the female ever going inside of it. There is some pine shaving in there that I would expect to be kicked or thrown out if she’s been in there. As I said there is another male in the cage but he keeps to him self and doesn’t even care about the other birds in the cage, do you think that would cause them to not go in the cage? And also the birds are not tamed and I have had them for about a year and they still are afraid of me. This is my first time breeding with first time parents and any help would be amazing
 
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AshleyJo8

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Budgies won’t even go in to their nesting box! Help needed.

So I have three budgies and I want to breed the two. There are two males and a female. One of the males is already bonded and preening and feeding each other. The nesting box has been in there for about two and a half months and there is no sign of the female ever going inside of it. There is some pine shaving in there that I would expect to be kicked or thrown out if she’s been in there. As I said there is another male in the cage but he keeps to him self and doesn’t even care about the other birds in the cage, do you think that would cause them to not go in the cage? And also the birds are not tamed and I have had them for about a year and they still are afraid of me. This is my first time breeding with first time parents and any help would be amazing
 

texsize

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Re: Budgies won’t even go in to their nesting box! Help needed.

My cockatiels did not accept a nest box I bought them.
They did accept and use a cardboard box.
Had 2 clutches of babies using cardboard boxes.

birds are weird...
 

reeb

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Re: Budgies won’t even go in to their nesting box! Help needed.

Firstly, I would separate the pair into their own cage. Budgies can get aggressive when breeding so it is dangerous to keep other birds with the pair. Just give them a chance. They are first time parents and may need a bit of time to realise what the box is for!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

LordTriggs

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have you researched breeding? Have you got equipment for if the parents were to abandon the chicks? Do you know how to hand feed? Do you have a Certified Avian Vet on hand if anything goes wrong? Are you prepared to have birds both baby and parent die?

If you answer 'no' to any of those questions remove the nest box. If you're not convinced read the 2 threads below, the second one is proof that even if you do everything right it can end in literal tears.

http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/54987-before-i-start-breed.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/74170-watch-me-hatch-grow-cockatiels.html

Others you need to think of, how old are your budgies? Were they hand fed or parent fed? You put they haven't bred before so the first time is the riskiest. I would hold off on breeding right now and research a bunch more. Breeding is tough despite what some would lead you to believe
 

Jobiness

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I would personally do a little more research, as LordTriggs stated above, it doesn't always end with a happy story, you could loose the bird or the chicks if you are not prepared enough, even still even if you were prepared enough, the same thing could happen!

You might find though they aren't going in their nesting box because they are either too young, they don't feel comfortable enough or they are not as bonded as you think
 

Scott

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Welcome to the forums!

I sincerely hope you take the preceding two posts to heart! Breeding is an awesome responsibility as there are so many possible scenarios. Please carefully consider, and at a minimum spend time researching the provided links, and more.
 

itzjbean

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I recently let my cockatiels breed and even as prepared as I was with experience and all my equipment, my female ended up passing away while nesting. (it is the watch me hatch and grow thread posted above). I had to incubate the eggs and they still did not make it. Breeding birds can and will end in heartbreak and it is something I am still recovering from.

It is so important that
1) the birds you have are actually male and female.
2.) the birds are of age (over 18 months).
3.) They are not related or siblings.
4) You need knowledge of how to keep newborns alive. A brooder and handfeeding experience is a must even if they are being parent raised! (in case a parent dies, the parents abandon the babies, neglect the babies or injure them. In the last clutch I had with my birds there was a runt bird I had to pull to handfeed as it was getting plucked. It absolutely would have died had I not intervened.)
5.) their diet needs to be healthy and rich in nutrients. An abundance of fresh fruits and veggies (chop) and sprouts are super healthy for them.

I hope you reconsider breeding your birds. Do some more research, reach out to local breeders, take all the advice given above.
 
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AshleyJo8

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Thank you for all of your help! This is my first time breeding budgies but I have bred other animals before so have some other experience.(I’ve bred turkeys, different fish, quail, and chickens) I have done a TON of research. I was researching for about three months before I put the box in there and I still continue to research. The birds are definitely old enough and I know my female is in the mood. They seem bonded but they might need a bit more time. I am also prepared if the parents die, and have an incubator. I don’t have the food to hand feed the babies yet if it’s needed, I would like to wait till I have eggs. I know my female is at least two years old but not older than three. The male I got him from the store around November but has the signs of an adult bird. Would they be to different in age to breed? I’ve had the female longer than the males and she hasn’t laid any eggs, is there something wrong with her? I’m really excited to breed them but it’s not working and I’m worried there’s something wrong! Please help me! And also should I try to give them “mood food”? They get lots of sun light and they have a dim light on at night, so I don’t thinks it’s the lighting.
 
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AshleyJo8

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Re: Budgies won’t even go in to their nesting box! Help needed.

Thankyou I’ll be back if I have anymore questions!
 

LordTriggs

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2 years is too young to breed really. Yes physically they can breed but it's like saying a 13 year old should have a baby because everything is working. As for the male it's true they may not be bonded and he may not have had his hormones yet. Being a pet shop budgie he is likely not even a year yet.

Have you ever taken them to a Certified Avian Vet? If not I would recommend check-ups before doing any breeding. Also get hands on experience with hand-feeding and the like beforehand. So many people end up with dead birds because they watch a youtube video on hand-feeding and surprisingly get the feeding wrong because nobody is there to tell when mistakes are happening
 

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