Expert: Riley - 3/20/2007

Question
HI!! I have two budgies, Skie and Angel, Skie is about 2 years, and Angel is about 1 and a half. I would appriciate if any body can give me some tips for breeding them like: when do i do it, and what can i do to help the chicks grow..and make it better for Angel,, please help!

Answer
Hey Sofie,

Well, first, you need to get a nesting box. No nesting material will be needed, Angel will just use the down from her feathers. Angel may start to show interest in the box and a very good sign that they may mate is when you see them pair bonding. This is when it pretty much looks like they're kissing. The best time to do this is right around now, the weather is slowly getting warming and it's about the time they would she would lay eggs, maybe sooner. You should always have a cuttle bone in the cage to give Angel calcium, without calcium, she may become egg bound, meaning she cannot lay her eggs because lack of calcium makes it so the egg shell cannot fully form inside her, and she will die in matter of hours. If you want to know more about this just ask.
I like to offer my birds celery of parsley for nutrition. Now Angel may be too young to breed but it's worth a shot. She will usually lay her eggs like this: lay an egg, wait a day, lay an egg, wait a day and so on. It just take a while for a new egg to form inside her. The eggs will hatch in the order they are laid, take from 18-20 days. If there is anything else I can help you with let me know!

Riley