Expert: Christopher Emory - 1/9/2011

Question
I have 2 budgies, a male and female. I'm not sure of their age because i got them from a friend, but they are between 1 and 3 years of age... I would love them to breed and i was wondering if this is breeding behaviour???

I gave them a nesting box and the female was the only one to show any interest, she went inside, kicked out wood shavings and so on...Then she began laying eggs on the floor and because our aviary is about 2 meters tall, they broke. She layed 4 eggs in total. Today though the male has gone inside and is acting really hostile to her and won't let her come near!! I'm very confused...

I know budgies prefer colony breeding so i am getting a few more pairs soon, another question though, how many budgies can fit comfortably in a aviary 3m by 2m by 3m??? And what sized nesting box should they have??? Thanks in advance...

Answer
Hello Becky,

Many succesful breeders do not breed in colonies, it can be done quite easily with just one pair. I am not familiar with the metric measurments, but a space of 18x20 inches is the minimum recommended for a single budgie. The behavior your budgies are displaying is typical of a breeding pair, not much I can add to that without writing a book.

As for the nesting boxes, they usually come in one standard size and you will have to provide a nest box for each budgie pair. When colony breeding you will have to take care to notice any fighting or squabbling over a nest box.

Best of luck, do all the reading you can about handfeeding birds, etc.