Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 2/24/2007

Question
They are approximately 7 to 9 months old.  I got them from the store last september.  I have noticed the male feeding the female (I have seen this behavior off and on but I have noticed it a bit more frequently as of late), though I have not seen any mating (perhaps they wait for me to leave to go work!)  Is it time to get a nesting box just to be on the safe side?
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I have one male and one female budgie.  They are both very active and quite alot of fun to watch.  I've had many males as pets but I have never had a female budgie before and recently she has started to get into the feed cup when she eats.  She scratches around in the cup alot and stays in there for quite a while, but she does eat when she's there.  This started about two weeks ago.  I've had them both since last september and this is new.  Is this just part of her personality?  Anything medical to worry about?
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Hi, Craig.  Thanks for posting!

Sounds like she might be getting ready to nest and lay egg(s).  Are these birds pair-bonded, i.e., have you seen the male feeding the female beak-to-beak?  How old are your birds?  Have you seen them mating?

Chrys

Answer
Hi again, Craig.

No!  Putting up a nesting box would be a que to your birds to go to nest.  Your birds are too young to be bred for 1 reason.  The female needs to be at least 1 year old.  Breeding too young and too often can result in shortened life span for the female.  Also, they may not be mature enough yet to properly care for any offspring.  In fact, you need to do everything you can to discourage mating/breeding, including possibly separating them into individual cages.

Another good reason for not allowing them to mate/breed is because you need to become more knowledgeable about the entire process first, including handfeeding babies.  If you don't handfeed any babies, the babies won't be tame enough to handle.  Thus, you most likely won't be able to sell/give away any of the babies (except perhaps to a pet shop).  

In order to discourage breeding, limit the available light for your birds to 8-10 hours per day.  Do not put up a nesting box.  Keep the temperature of the room you have your birds in down...the warmer the room is, the more the birds think it's springtime and time to breed.  

Visit my website for more information on all this:

www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Another good site is:  www.birdchannel.com

Come back with any additional questions.

Chrys