Mating my birdies

[The Duck Ladie]

Hi! I have two parakeets. A boy and a girl. I got them a few years ago. I got them a nesting box, butt they wouldn't go in it. I attached a container to the side of the cage and put newspaper shreds in it, and they go in. But they just won't mate. How can I encourage them?

 

[Pyxis]

Budgies are colony breeders, and often they need the presence of another pair to stimulate them to mate. If you want them to breed, you will need to get another pair and then both pairs should breed for you.

 

[The Duck Ladie]

Budgies are colony breeders, and often they need the presence of another pair to stimulate them to mate. If you want them to breed, you will need to get another pair and then both pairs should breed for you.

Thank you.

 

[Pyxis]

Thank you.

You're welcome! I had a pair myself for years. They would mate regularly but the female never laid eggs because they really do need the presence of another pair. If you have a friend with budgies you could 'borrow' a pair for a little while and that would stimulate yours to breed

 

[jak2002003]

Or you could put a large mirror outside the cage near them.. so they can see their reflections.. and they will think they are other budgies.

 

[paneubert]

Or you could put a large mirror outside the cage near them.. so they can see their reflections.. and they will think they are other budgies.

As crazy as that might sound to some people, it is not that crazy. I did something similar when I was trying to get a clownfish to adopt an anemone. Tape a photo onto the outside of the tank showing a clownfish happily sitting in an anemone, and BAM, real fish gets the idea. I suppose the mirror concept is sort of similar in a way.

 

[The Duck Ladie]

I put a mirror near their cage today. Dewie stared at the "other bird" and Louie started talking to "them"

I also gave them a veggie-and-grain mixture.

 

[DuckGirl77]

As crazy as that might sound to some people, it is not that crazy. I did something similar when I was trying to get a clownfish to adopt an anemone. Tape a photo onto the outside of the tank showing a clownfish happily sitting in an anemone, and BAM, real fish gets the idea. I suppose the mirror concept is sort of similar in a way.

Maybe that's why mine hatched chicks. I only have one pair (although their budgie-friend Edward comes and visits for a little while every day) but they do have a mirror. Only the male budgie (Ferguson) likes it, though.
Warning, if your parakeet lays eggs: it's important to have a big enough nestbox because those babies do grow super fast, and feed your budgies some good food. My female parakeet (Amiga) is kinda skinny, despite the fact that I am feeding them good breeder food. I can't wait till the babies are ready to eat on their own!

 

[jak2002003]

I make my homemade food for them and it makes them super healthy and plump. Outside the breeding season its also good when they are moulting.

Here is my recipe

1 hard boiled egg with shell.
Chicken chick starter food.
Finely grated and chopped raw carrot, broccoli, and fresh sweetcorn.

Smash up the egg and shell with some of the chick starter and the vegetables. Keep adding more chick starter crumbs until the mixture becomes like breadcrumbs and does not clump together. You want it to be just moist, not wet or sloppy. It should be light and fluffy.

You can put all this in a small plastic container and keep it in the freezer. Each day just scoop out a spoonful of the mix and allow it to deforost before feeding to you budgies.

Once they get a taste for it they will go crazy for it! If they are fussy eaters, simply sprinkle a few millet seeds on the top of the mix.. or mix some dry seed into it. Once they taste it by accident they will like it.

You should also add bird vitamins to the drinking water several times a week.. and make sure they have calcium like cuttlefish bone or crushed oyster shell grit.

They will also get calcium and minerals from the crushed hard boiled egg shell.

Good luck with breeding your pets.

 

[jak2002003]

I made this mix because it was getting hard to find the commercial egg parakeet egg food, and it was so expensive... and when I read the ingredients it was full of SUGAR and artificial chemicals.