Budgie Breeding: Don't Make This Mistake I Did! 

Thanks for the helpful info 😊 Then I guess a problem with egg production is more likely. Unfortunately the crumbs are already in the trash 🙃

Couldn't agree more 😁

One of my friend's cousin doesn't like birds :< 😭😭😭😭🤧🤧

@@87.l9 impossible! 😱

My sister thinks they are disgusting

Very gladly done! 💕🙏 That's why I share, so others don't need to make the mistakes I did 🤗

Me too 😁

I hope everything goes well with your budgies and eggs! 😊 I remember how scared I was the first time we had eggs and baby budgies. But it does get easier 😊 I've learned that the chicks are less fragile than I thought and the parents do a large part of the work. Something that's been very helpful for me lately is crushed sea shells as bedding for in the nest. Before we were using wood shavings but our females didn't like it. The sea shells are great because they keep the nest clean and dry and the mom doesn't mind 😊 Feel free to ask any questions! 😊

Thanks 😊 They did already have several cuttlefish bones and a mineral block during the phase they were chewing the walls. I think they were missing vitamin D and then they couldn't use the calcium they were eating. But they have stopped chewing the walls now 😊

That's so kind! 😊 Lately the channel did grow a lot, so who knows 😁

Sometimes the females lay eggs that are not fertilized. They can even lay eggs when there is no male budgie there. So one possibility is that it's not fertile and that's why they don't sit on it. Another reason could be that they are not really suited as parents and they don't know how or don't want to take care of the egg. One way to know if there is any life in the egg, is to place it on the flashlight of a smartphone.

The chewing on the nest is very normal! 😊 Females always chew on new nests because they want to make sure it's strong and safe for laying eggs. They spend some days inspecting it before they decide if it's good enough. The age can be a bit hard to determine. I noticed with our female birds that are 6 months and younger, they never had a brown cere, only pink, white and blue. The first time they start having a brown cere is only when they are older than 6 months. I think around 8 months they have a brown cere for the first time. The brown cere is because of hormonal changes. It means they're in a mating phase. After some months the brown cere becomes white/blue again. And then it changes to brown whenever they're in a mating phase again. But other than that it's quite hard to tell their age. I did notice that really mature birds generally have smaller eyes, skinnier faces and bodies in general. They're generally also less active than birds younger than 1 year old. But it's really hard to tell the difference once they reach 8 months because they look a lot like adults already. If you're unsure whether your birds are 1 year old, you could also wait 2-4 months to make sure.

I'm actually working on a video about exactly that topic 😊 I hope to publish it today! I can also write tips in a comment, but at the moment I don't have time 🤭

Aww thanks! 💕 That's very kind 😊

If you think she is strong and healthy enough to have chicks and if you are able to take care of extra birds. It does take a lot of time and effort to raise chicks so it's important to make sure you're prepared for it.

I’m glad to hear! 😊

It's not recommended because their bodies need to mature more. Otherwise they could have problems that the eggs get stuck or that it's too exhausting for them. If your budgie is pregnant she will typically lay the first egg in 1-2 days. It goes quite fast with them 😊 I hope your budgie will do well regardless of her age ☺️

@@misty_blue I saw them breeding only kissing, but if she is actually pregnant I heard budgies lay an egg on like the 10th day of them pregnant and today is the 9th, so if she gives birth I will make sure she doesn't get pregnant again, but she looked perfectly fine 5 minutes ago and now she has something black and her chest, is she molting?

@@myworld9867 they lay an egg every 2 days 😊 Both our females were laying their eggs every two days. So your budgie might not be pregnant after all, if it's the 9th day already. I've never heard of budgies having something black on their chest. I don't think it's part of molting. You might want to keep an eye on that.

@@misty_blue it was like a black line, but it disappeared, my budgie looks pregnant but she might not be which is good, but I'll take her to the vet with my other budgie when I can.

@@myworld9867 I hope your budgie is doing fine and will live a very happy, long life 🥰

Most female budgies will have nesting behavior like that. It's usually because of hormonal changes. Many of them are not even "pregnant" (they don't carry any eggs) but they are just preparing in case they will lay eggs at some point. It's definitely normal for female budgies to behave like that, it's just their nature. But she might not lay eggs. And if she lays eggs, the eggs will not have chicks unless there is a male that fertilized the eggs. You can keep an eye on what your budgie does. It takes around two days for them to form and lay eggs. So if she has an egg, you will find out soon. But we've had several budgies that were preparing a nest without ever laying eggs. Let me know how it goes! :)

Yeah it's quite common for them to lay eggs even when they don't really feel serious about raising chicks. Sometimes they also lay when they don't have a partner. And sometimes they break the eggs when they feel like they need nutrients or maybe they don't feel ready to have chicks.

@@misty_blue thank you.

@@nirmalnayker5760 no problem!

Yeah it can be a bit tricky with budgie breeding. Sometimes they start earlier than they should. But it's hard to decide what to do after they already laid eggs. One option is to remove the eggs and nest if you feel like the parents are at risk (if they are weak or if they look like they have health problems), but it's hard because you don't want to be cruel and remove the eggs. Another option is to leave the eggs and monitor the parents closely to see if they can handle it. To see if there is life in the eggs, you can place them on the flash light of a phone (or another light). I think you can see the first sign of life around 5 days. To help your budgies, you can try to offer them extra nutrients like proteins, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. Eggs are great for breeding pairs. Some eat them boiled or scrambled, but some only accept egg food (you can find it in pet stores). Greens like romaine lettuce, arugula, carrot greens, mint, basil etc. are also very good. Also provide enough calcium (for instance with cuttlefish bone or egg shells). I hope that helps 🤭 Feel free to ask more!

@@misty_blue omg thanks but the female always are on the eggs sometimes she come outside to drink or eat thanks for healping :D

@@mahmodgorani9521 my pleasure ☺️ So far she sounds like a good mom, caring for the eggs 😊 I think what's most important in the end is that they get the right kind of care, even more important than their age. What's also very important for budgies is vitamin D. The best way to get it is through the sun, without glass (windows) in between. Do your budgies get sun light regularly? If not, you can try making up for it with cod liver oil (I mix a drop in the birds' seeds every week because in our current situation they cannot get direct sunlight).

​@@misty_blue there is a problem this morning her egg got stuck we took her to a pet shop they helped her but now she wont take care of her eggs i dont know what to do and the eggs arent empty they are full i dont know what to do!!

@@mahmodgorani9521 aww I'm sorry to hear but I'm glad they were able to help her! For the eggs it's important that they stay warm and that they are turned twice per day. Some people use incubators for it. I guess the mom is too stressed or tired at the moment to care for the eggs. I hope the situation improves! I think it's important that the eggs get warmth again within 24 hours.

I heard that with the male the age is a bit less strict. So I think 4 years old is still ok 😊

@@misty_blue Thanks for your advice 👍

@@sanuawmgod4035 my pleasure 👍☺️

Yes they are adorable 🥰🥰🥰

It can be quite tricky with budgies, but there are some signs to estimate their age. Budgies that are younger than a month/month and a half, will have a different color above their beak (females blue and males pink). If the beak is blue (a male) or white or brown (female), it means the budgie is older than 1,5 months. The size of the eyes can be a sign, but not always. Most budgies will have smaller eyes as adults. The rings on their forehead are quite a good sign. Up to 2 months, they will have many lines on their forehead. Then, bit by bit, they have less lines. I think around one year old the lines up to their eyes more or less will be gone. Females will have a very brown, crusty cere for the first time around 8 months. After that the cere keeps changing from white-ish/light blue to brown. But yeah, in the end you can only estimate the age, but it’s hard to know precisely.

@@misty_blue Thanks a lot!!! Atleast now I can assume the age based on the info u have given me 🥰🙂

@@Kikzkika I’m glad to hear! 🥰 Basically I wrote all that I remember from my experience with breeding 3 nests of 17 budgies 😋

When you move the nest box they might get confused and don't know how to find it. They're very sensitive and don't like changes. But if you give them some time they might go into the nest again.

@@misty_blue thank you very much correct

Very good point! That's what I was also thinking later on.

I think she was around 9 months old. I’m not completely sure because we got her when she already had a brown cere so it was hard to guess how old she was back then Now Mini actually laid many eggs and has several healthy children 😁 I think the cod liver oil supplement may have helped her because of the vitamin d it contains 😊

@@misty_blue how did you get her to take cod liver oil?

@@cottoncandykawaii2673 I mixed one drop of cod liver oil with two spoons of seeds, put it in a pot in the fridge for a night and then I put it in their bowl 😊

@@misty_blue they don't have a problem with the taste?

@@cottoncandykawaii2673 somehow our birds like the taste 😋

They could count as nests, although, in the wild they sleep in tree trunks that are also dark and with a hole in it. I guess they can see it as a sleep spot as well, but for a couple it will very likely be seen as a nest. Yours could be brother and sister or they're simply not attracted to each other 😋 Our Misty and Blue are not a match either 🙃

@@misty_blue i mean my budgies are very young...... the female is doing its first molt. The male one has not molted yes cuz it has bars on its head. I’m not sure anyways lol.

@@YourFriendlyLion oh that explains a lot about how they are! They are only just getting to know the world 😁 You'll see their character develop bit by bit 😊 And it's good that they're not interested in the nest yet because they're too young 🤭

@@misty_blue I don’t count it as a nest lol. The shop keepers in Pakistan just give it with the birds lol

@@YourFriendlyLion I guess then it should be alright 😊

I'm so sorry to hear 😕 Budgies can be very sensitive. But some of the chicks survived?

@@misty_blue yes, Otto, Lillo and Blackie. Blackie is the secret Lillo & Otto’s sister! I had to give her away because my mum didn’t want more birds but she is in expert hands now :D I gave her to my favorite breeder, he has a h u g e aviary at home!

@@futurefreefliers5861 thankfully some did survive 😃 It's sad when you have to give one away, but the best place is definitely with a good breeder in an aviary 😊

@@misty_blue I was not sad Bc I knew she would be fine there ☺️☺️☺️

@@futurefreefliers5861 makes sense 😊 As long as you know they will be happy!

What really helped for me, was starting click training: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g5wKbLnzI7Q.html They became much more relaxed thanks to daily training. You could also try hand taming only with millet if you prefer something easier. But I noticed with click training and a target stick their behavior really changes because they need to learn tricks.

@@misty_blue Ok thank you for your answer.. I have and a male and it's domesticated... He eat millet or seeds from my hand and isn't wild but when I tried to leave him in my room he was falling in the Wall's.... What can I do for that?? ... Sorry for many questions... 😅

@@equestrian_8499 No problem 😊 I've noticed female budgies are usually more wild than males. But you can definitely tame them. Our budgies don't fly into the walls, but they did fly against the window a couple of times. After a while, they didn't fly against it anymore because they learned that they can't go through it. Your budgie might learn over time not to fly against the walls. Maybe it also helps when the walls are not very empty, so they land on a picture frame, for instance, instead of the wall. Or you could provide other places for them to land. I made a playground that's a bit like a tree, so they mainly just fly there. I also have landing spots on top of the closet in the room because they love high places. I hope your budgie will learn not to fly against walls! Sorry I don't have any other tips because I don't have experience with that.

@@misty_blue Thank you very much for your answer 😃😃😃the only thing I am afraid of is that it can fall on the wall again and hit very hard ....

@@equestrian_8499 Yes I understand your concern. I also felt afraid when they were first going outside and sometimes they hit the window 😕 But in the end they were alright 😊 I tried to keep the distance between the window and where they sit as small as possible. It helps that they're in a small room so they cannot fly very fast against anything.

I personally wouldn't do it, to allow them to grow up completely and also create a strong bond with their partner. When they're younger than a year, they're less mature and sometimes abandon or mistreat the chicks. The females can get eggs stuck. It's better to first feed the breeding couple a very nutritious diet with egg, vegetables, if possible even some cod liver oil (they sell mixes at pet shops). Then the birds are well prepared for breeding. I did see that sometimes it's ok to start when they're between 10 months and a year old, but I prefer starting after 1 year. The best age is between 1 and 3 years old :)

@@misty_blue but i already breed it

@@sonnysonny9973 then it's important to give the most varied, nutritious diet to the breeding pair and monitor how they and the chicks are doing :)

@@GoldenNoodle6 I don’t know about lovebirds but budgies do not live/sleep in nests. They sleep on the highest perches to be safe from predators. I definitely don’t give our birds a nest because they will breed even though they shouldn’t. Budgies are very cold resistant but if lovebirds are tropical birds they might feel cold - I don’t know about that.

@@misty_blue Ok Thanks anyways

Thanks for sharing!

Me too!! 😮😃

She is doing great! 😊 She didn't have the problems anymore and she even had 14 children 😯 (we weren't able to stop her from having a second nest 😅). But we're glad she's ok now ☺️

@@misty_blue that's great

Yeah, breeding is one of the trickiest things with budgies.

Oh yeah, they’re very creative in finding a spot to lay eggs 😋

Yes some budgies also lay eggs when they have no mate. Or they find other places instead of a nest. But at least we shouldn't encourage them when they are not in breeding condition 🙃

@@misty_blue indeed :)

Gladly done! 😊 Breeding budgies is a lot of work and comes with a lot of responsibility. Suddenly you also have many more birds to care for. So it’s good to think about whether you’re ready for it 😊

Yeah 🩷😊

As long as she receives plenty of nutrients (boiled egg, leafy greens, cuttlefish bone, etc.) then she should be able to do it 😊 It's important that she doesn't have a nest right after the first one, because they get very tired. We had a bird that had two nests in a row, but it's too much for budgies.

I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t really understand what you mean 😅 Could you elaborate?

Yeah it really depends on each budgie. Our first two budgies weren't interested in the nest either, so nothing happened.

Yeah and vitamin D, which is necessary to absorb the right nutrients!

☺️🥰🐦🤗❤️