Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 6/22/2010

Question
Hi, I have two budgies a male and a female I'm 100% sure who are bonded. The male Buddy is always feeding and singing to the female Eve. At night they sit together on the high perch and cuddle together for warmth,so i'm positive that they are bonded. I've been wanting to breed my pair that i've had for a year and might even be older than a year since i bought them from a pet store. So I bought a wooden nest box with a concave in the center that I placed on the outside of their cage. I gave them enriched bird seed and some seed that has vegies in it that i bought from the pet store. Their cage has a cuttle bone by a mirror, and a millet spray right next to the entrence of the box and their food and water is replaced daily. I also have set out some aspen shavings in the cage for the female to put inside the box. I cover them at night with a blanket and their cage is placed in my dinning room where it can get plenty of sunlight. So far they don't seem intested in the box. Since i didn't want to buy a pair of birds to enspire them I have been playing budgie sounds to encourage them. Once i started the male because to sing is this encoureging them to mate? And with all this they still don't seem intrested in the next box. Also I was wondering since I have one cat and three dogs will this possibly make it so they won't breed. I don't know where to put them where they will get the same amount of light as the do now and not be interfiered by the other animals. Please, if you have any tips as to how to help me breed them I would greatly apprciate it!

Answer
Hi, Amanda.  

Very definitely yes, other animals around your budgies is one reason they may not be breeding.  A female usually will not lay her eggs in an area where she thinks her offspring may be in jeopardy.  Although you may not think your dogs/cats will bother them, the birds don't know this.  In addition, if your birds can see other animals/birds outside through a window, this could affect their breeding.  To your birds, there's nothing between them and the animals outside.  How do you have the nestbox situated outside the cage?  It should be high on the cage with the entrance hole to the nestbox easily accessible to the birds from inside the cage.  Is the male feeding the female beak-to-beak?  This is a definite sign that they are bonded.  Does either bird pay any attention to the bird in the mirror?  If so, this could be another reason.  Since birds don't understand the concept of mirrors, the bird in the mirror is alive as far as your birds are concerned and could be considered a threat.  You might also want to stop playing budgie sounds to see if this helps, as this could also pose a threat to your birds.  Although keets are social animals and some people believe there must be other keets around (even if it's only sounds) for a pair to breed, I've found this to be untrue in many cases.  

The light your birds receive through glass is not the best type of light for them.  Glass filters some of the types of rays your birds need, so you'd be better off using a full-spectrum light/light bulb of some type if your birds receive sunlight through a window.  As a result, this may allow you to move your birds to a location where your other animals won't be a (perceived) threat.  

Try some of the suggestions above to see if they help.  May not happen overnight.  Your birds will breed when THEY are ready and when THEY feel secure that their offspring won't be in any danger.  It's always better if the birds are older than a year because breeding and caring for offspring takes a lot out of a pair of birds, especially the female, so don't be in too much of a hurry!  

Keets do not like anything in their nestbox for substrate (the aspen shavings) before hatchlings arrive, i.e., they will not make a nest inside the box...the box is the nest.  Once babies are present, I always put some pine shavings in the nestbox under the babies in order to keep the hatchlings dry and away from their feces.  It must be changed regularly so the hatchlings and parents do not get sick.    
      
If the above doesn't work after some time, come back with what you've tried/changed and we'll try to help more.  All birds are different and sometimes what works for one won't work for another, so it's trial and error until you find what works for your birds.

My website has information that might be helpful for you:  http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Good luck!

Chrys Meatyard