Unknown anomaly in conure nest box

[Bird lady]

I have 2 breeding age conures (m & f) who have taken to spending a lot of time in there nest box of late.. as I was curious to see if they did infact have any eggs I found this strange thing in their box.. they seem ok for me to look at it but at the same time they seem to spend a lot of time “sitting on it/with it) any ideas on what it may be (photo attached) it’s thin like dead skin like when someone is peeling after being sunburned but It also seems to be “glued” to the bottom of the nestbox…. Is it normal or should I remove it?

 

[wrench13]

Yuk! Looks like dried regurgitation. I would clean it out!

 

[Bird lady]

Yuk! Looks like dried regurgitation. I would clean it out!

So I’ve dried to clean it out but it’s actually hard stuck to the bottom of the box… like it’s been superglued… and it’s like a paper thin dome over the wood shavings.. that’s just glued on the bottom around the edges

 

[DonnaBudgie]

So I’ve dried to clean it out but it’s actually hard stuck to the bottom of the box… like it’s been superglued… and it’s like a paper thin dome over the wood shavings.. that’s just glued on the bottom around the edges

I'd use a wood scraper to remove it. It looks nasty and may be loaded with bacteria- not something you would want in a nest-box with eggs and chicks.

 

[Bird lady]

I'd use a wood scraper to remove it. It looks nasty and may be loaded with bacteria- not something you would want in a nest-box with eggs and chicks.

Oh definitely… as this is the first time I’ve actually had a breeding pair of conures I’ve never seen this before… still learning about all things parrots as I’m transitioning from chickens…

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Oh definitely… as this is the first time I’ve actually had a breeding pair of conures I’ve never seen this before… still learning about all things parrots as I’m transitioning from chickens…

Fortunately your birds aren't sitting on eggs yet and you can get rid of this funky stuff before they are.
I think your description of the "stuff" was pretty spot on. It does look kinda like peeled sunburned skin (but thicker and tougher).
Get rid of it and hope they don't make more!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Fortunately your birds aren't sitting on eggs yet and you can get rid of this funky stuff before they are.
I think your description of the "stuff" was pretty spot on. It does look kinda like peeled sunburned skin (but thicker and tougher).
Get rid of it and hope they don't make more!

I hope you have somebody mentoring you about breeding conures. Like an avian vet or experienced breeder. So many things can go wrong when trying to breed parrots. They can reject the eggs or chicks. I hope you have a small thermostatically controlled egg incubator/brooder in case you need to keep eggs or very young chicks warm. You can get one on Amazon for about $40.
Then there's hand feeding, which is sometimes necessary. It's not "difficult" if done correctly but many things can go wrong with hand feeding, too.

 

[Bird lady]

Fortunately your birds aren't sitting on eggs yet and you can get rid of this funky stuff before they are.
I think your description of the "stuff" was pretty spot on. It does look kinda like peeled sunburned skin (but thicker and tougher).
Get rid of it and hope they don't make more!

Why would they be making it in the first place? Is it part of their breeding process?

 

[Bird lady]

So I removed it… it appears they chewed and scratched the protective plastic that was in the bottom of the box…. Hence why it appeared to be “glued”…

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Why would they be making it in the first place? Is it part of their breeding process?

I don't think it's anything important. I've only bred my budgies once but have done endless reading about breeding parrots and I've never read anything that mentioned something like this in the nestbox. I've read that you should try to leave your birds alone while sitting on eggs and in the early stages of feeding their chicks (unless necessary). When possible you are supposed to help keep the nest-box clean by changing the bedding once the chicks get to be a couple weeks old. I have no idea what this "substance" really is and why. If it's birdie puke, they either tried to feed each other and missed or threw up for some reason. They can't clean up the mess so it apparently dried and got stuck. Fortunately they have a housekeeper- YOU!

 

[Bird lady]

I don't think it's anything important. I've only bred my budgies once but have done endless reading about breeding parrots and I've never read anything that mentioned something like this in the nestbox. I've read that you should try to leave your birds alone while sitting on eggs and in the early stages of feeding their chicks (unless necessary). When possible you are supposed to help keep the nest-box clean by changing the bedding once the chicks get to be a couple weeks old. I have no idea what this "substance" really is and why. If it's birdie puke, they either tried to feed each other and missed or threw up for some reason. They can't clean up the mess so it apparently dried and got stuck. Fortunately they have a housekeeper- YOU!

I’ve bred my lorikeets… they were very accepting of me checking the box regularly and checking on the baby.. even let me help with feeding times when baby was 3weeks old!! I’m yet to breed my budgies… and conures and love birds…

In saying that.. I did post up what the “unusual anomaly” was once i removed it from the box… cheeky buggers… no wonder they weren’t fussed about it… it appears they may have been trying to use it as nesting material… with all the holes in it.. was definitely not something I wanted left in there incase any babies I did/do get got tangled in it… thanks for all the help

 

[Bird lady]

I hope you have somebody mentoring you about breeding conures. Like an avian vet or experienced breeder. So many things can go wrong when trying to breed parrots. They can reject the eggs or chicks. I hope you have a small thermostatically controlled egg incubator/brooder in case you need to keep eggs or very young chicks warm. You can get one on Amazon for about $40.
Then there's hand feeding, which is sometimes necessary. It's not "difficult" if done correctly but many things can go wrong with hand feeding, too.

I’ve bred chickens… while very different the principle is the same… I have an incubator that I can use if I need to… and I’ve got a bird specialist who is always willing to help if I absolutely need it… I’ve hand fed before… my lorikeets were very kind in giving me baby just as winter hit so I’ve had to learn a lot very quickly… probably helps too that I’ve got a good bond with all my birds as they are ALL in my room with me 99% of the time… so I’m always interacting with them one way or another…

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I’ve bred chickens… while very different the principle is the same… I have an incubator that I can use if I need to… and I’ve got a bird specialist who is always willing to help if I absolutely need it… I’ve hand fed before… my lorikeets were very kind in giving me baby just as winter hit so I’ve had to learn a lot very quickly… probably helps too that I’ve got a good bond with all my birds as they are ALL in my room with me 99% of the time… so I’m always interacting with them one way or another…

I'm very happy to see you are well prepared and supported! I wish you lots of success breeding your conures. Baby birds are so cute! I'm tempted to try to breed my budgies again but I don't need any more birds and I know I couldn't let any of the babies go! Keep us updated on your progress- we all love to see babies!

 

[Bird lady]

I'm very happy to see you are well prepared and supported! I wish you lots of success breeding your conures. Baby birds are so cute! I'm tempted to try to breed my budgies again but I don't need any more birds and I know I couldn't let any of the babies go! Keep us updated on your progress- we all love to see babies!

Thanks… maybe if there’s away you could msg me privately… would love to pick your brain so to speak on how to breed budgies… I have a feeling I’m going to need a separate breeding box…

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Thanks… maybe if there’s away you could msg me privately… would love to pick your brain so to speak on how to breed budgies… I have a feeling I’m going to need a separate breeding box…

I would be happy to private message with you. Can the moderators explain how to do this?

 

[onamom]

I would be happy to private message with you. Can the moderators explain how to do this?

You just click on someone’s username and click the “start conversation” button that comes up.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

I'm very happy to see you are well prepared and supported! I wish you lots of success breeding your conures. Baby birds are so cute! I'm tempted to try to breed my budgies again but I don't need any more birds and I know I couldn't let any of the babies go! Keep us updated on your progress- we all love to see babies!

This is exactly why I don't want to breed my budgies again! It was so hard letting two of the babies go to a friend, there's no way I'd be able to sell them to strangers!

 

[Bird lady]

This is exactly why I don't want to breed my budgies again! It was so hard letting two of the babies go to a friend, there's no way I'd be able to sell them to strangers!

I have a rule… you always keep the 1st… but as for selling any after the first baby… that will be easier for me as I’ve sold many chicks (chickens) previously…. So long as I don’t get too attached during the taming process and the baby bird doesn’t get too attached during taming… otherwise they will be kept…

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I have a rule… you always keep the 1st… but as for selling any after the first baby… that will be easier for me as I’ve sold many chicks (chickens) previously…. So long as I don’t get too attached during the taming process and the baby bird doesn’t get too attached during taming… otherwise they will be kept…

The problem with baby parrots is that during the taming or hand feeding process you ALWAYS get very attached to each other- it's the purpose of the process itself to create a bond of trust. And those cute baby birds are just so irresistible!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

So I removed it… it appears they chewed and scratched the protective plastic that was in the bottom of the box…. Hence why it appeared to be “glued”…

It's pretty funny that the mysterious substance at the bottom of the nest box is plastic film lining the box! They had obviously tried to remove it themselves, smart birds! Glad you got it out before they or their chicks swallowed some of it.