Budgies

[Toot]

Hi, I'm a new member :) so please go easy on me ( ha ha ) I currently have two pet budgies, blue male, 3 years old and a beautiful female who is predominantly yellow and 4 years old. My question is have I left it too long to put them together in a suitably sized cage ? she harbourd some animosity towards him when he was young, but now fretts when he is out of her sight ! I am not intending to breed them but would embrace the challenge should it progress that way.:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Toot,

Welcome to the Forum.;-)

I'm no Budgie expert but my advice to you assuming they are housed indoors, is give it a go with attempting to breed from your pair of birds no matter what the time of the year as long as they are both in breeding condition.:D

Whether you make or buy a suitable breeding cage makes no difference at all, a basic breeding cage should measure about 36 inches long x 15 inches high x 15 inches deep, made of plywood for the back, sides, floor and ceiling with a wire front.

A standard Budgie nest box 12 inches long x 6 inches high x 6 inches deep, can be attached to the front of the cage, end of the cage or even inside the cage, Budgie nest boxes you can buy will have a wooden slide on one end for inspection followed by a perspex slide and a seperate piece of wood on the floor with a concave at the slide end of the box and an entry hole measuring 2 inches in diameter, under the entrance hole will be a hole to fit a 3 inch long x 1/2 inch diameter dowel perch.

Provide your birds with their standard seed mix, Cuttlefish bone, Oystershell Grit, Eggfood, Chickweed etc and grated Carrot two to three days a week.

If your birds do breed for you then I'm sure the bug will bight and you will want to continue and hopefully find other birds you wish to keep and breed from.:D

All the best to you, Paul.;)

[Waxbillman]

i'll second what Paul said about the advie,

welcome to the forum i hope you find it usefull.

i would definately go for putting them together and breeding them, the chicks are so 'cute' you'll definately get the bug, the thing i like about budgies is you can handle the chciks where as you cannot do that with finches.

the size cage paul recommends is ideal, some budgie breeders use 2ft cages but the are deeper and higher than the stuff bought in shops.
i breed my budgies in a 4ft tall 3ft long 20" cages, its a funny size i know but it has worked very well i bred 15 from my pair last year. the best eggfood mix you can use is EMP moistened with water so it is crumbley. they also enjoy sweet apple and green lettuce (not water stuff like iceberg) and also they like spinach and cress, not too many greens though
good luck and keep us posted

Matthew