Breeding Budgies.

[tobergill]

Hello......Is there any budgie breeders about. I lost my partner in July and my doctor advised a hobby.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I used to keep pigeons and Zebra Finches 30 years ago..........................However I have decided to breed Budgies and have been researching the subjectvery thoroughly for the last 4 weeks................I know all about the pit falls etc.
I have all the gear 3 breeding cages,nest boxes,disinfectants etc.

QUESTION..............I would prefer to have only 3 chicks in nest so that they get better attention,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Can I remove any eggs after 3 have been laid and replace with dummy eggs.
Thank you in advance for any advice given......

[Maydup]

I've no idea about breeding budgies sorry, but I just wanted to wish you well for your new hobby. I wonder if you've had a look on this site for a local breeders club? It might be somewhere to go to meet like minded people and share ideas.

http://www.budgerigarsociety.com/

[wildwood]

An healthy pair of budgies can easily look after and rear 5 chicks. If you only want 3 only per nest wait until the eggs show fertility before removing the excess, or you might find yourself with 3 clear eggs. If you have more than 3 fertile eggs you might have another pair that has all clear eggs, and as long as the laying period is not much more than 3 day out, they should be ok.
There are dummy eggs available in better petshops try to ensure that they are the same weight as a real egg. Those cheap plastic eggs are too light and are often thrown out of the box.

[chris1957au]

Well they seem to do ok in the outback of Australia bloody millions of them, but I do hope you enjoy your new found hobby and get much pleasure from it.

[tobergill]

Thank You Wildwood.....a brilliant answer.......You obviously know a lot about the fancy...............Ref the dummy eggs ......I can only find the plastic ones on the internet.....will have to search more for better ones.
Thanks again Wildwood.

[beejay1124]

where r u from tobergill ?

[wildwood]

drill a little hole in the plastic eggs and fill with glue/sealant/sloppy plaster etc. it will make them about the right weight.

[tobergill]

Thank you again wildwood but I dont think I would be able to do that...

beejay 1124 I am in Aberdeen.

[hammerman]

Any chance of you building an aviery in the garden ? I bred loads of budgies back in the 90's in my aviery, just added twice as many nest boxes and there were females and let them get on with it.

[tobergill]

Hello Hammerman..thanks for your suggestion.Not able to do that.Those days are over for me.I am 80 years old now and suffer from arthritis. I will just have to make do with a bird room in the spare room..
What is your opinion about the dummy sggs.

[hammerman]

Hi tobergill, Ive always let my budgies (plus canaries, cockatiels, parakeets etc) just get on with it. Budgies are more than capable of raising 5 chicks and i had many a full brood reared to adulthood. If there are any weeklings, nature will sort them out.

Will you be breeding them in an indoor aviery or in cages ? The hens can get pretty nasty to each other during breeding season and it wasn't uncommon for a dominant hen to go into her neighbours nest box and kill all the chicks or throw the eggs out !!! twice as many boxes as hens will often cure that.

I wish you luck fella, i had some wonderful times breeding my budgies. Keep us posted.