Clarifying questions for budgie breeding

[Chloe]

Hi my budgie is currently sitting on five eggs, she is doing a good job and only comes out for a stretch and nibble on her cuttle fish bone, the male is feeding her and sometimes joins her in the nest. I have a few questions, I have done my research but I either can't find an answer or found answers but multiple sites were conflicting. I am curious of what has worked for other people.
1) When my female does come out my male seems like he wants to mate with her, he keeps going through the mating ritual, like bobbing his head. What can i do to stop this (if i need to) because I don't want her to start laying again once the chicks are born because this would be her second clutch (first clutch was unsuccessful)
2) I have heard that when budgies fledge its best to have a flat base rather than a wire one, just wanted ideas on whether i should put a flat base and if so what type of material
3) At what age of the chicks should I remove the female to stop her from laying another clutch and give her time to rest? and when can i put the male and female back together?

Any replies are much appreciated

[maxollie]

Once a hen lays eggs, there is no way to stop more in the future. And, it is quite normal that the pair will continue to mate, sometimes, even when the hen has eggs or babies. Right now you are caught in a catch 22 senerio, because she has to incubate the eggs, in order for them to hatch, and I think if you were to separate them now, or even after the eggs hatch, the pair will not be happy, and the male must help the female feed the babies. He rgurgitates the seed, feeds it to her, and she then feeds the babies.

If she does lay more eggs, before these current eggs hatch, or, after, you have two options other than allowing the eggs to hatch. You can boil any new eggs she lays, and then give them back to her, or, get some dummy eggs at the pet shop or on line, and replace a real egg with the dummy egg, and then let her set on the dummy eggs. There is no guarantee that separating them will prevent her laying. She could lay eggs anyway. So, in my view, right now it is best to just sit back, observe, and see how it goes.

The babies usually can crawl out of the box at about 3-4 weeks of age. Then, they will learn to perch, and you can begin feeding them seeds. For awhile, they will still go back in the nestbox. I have not read of the ideal surface for them. Personally, I weould not want wire, because they are small and fragile, and could hurt themselves on wire.

If you choose to separate them after the babies are perching and fully fledged, that is fine. But, they may not like it. I understand your concern of the hen needing time between clutches. From reading the posts here over the years, it seems to me all species of parrots seem to be laying eggs and c!utches without much time between, over the last few years. I think it could be because of the vitamins and other ingredients in the seed and or pellet mixes.

We will welcome your updates. I am hopeful this info is of help to you.

[Chloe]

Thanks for the advice again
I have just noticed today another egg has been arrived. That makes 6! She is still sitting on them but I was surprised as the fifth and sixth egg have been laid three days apart from the egg before it instead of two. The first four were all laid two days apart, could it be possible the last to aren't even fertile? I did attempt to candle them but she really doesn't spend much time outside the nest anyway and I don't really think it is necessary to go to length of blocking the entrance unless the eggs are late.

[maxollie]

It is entirely possible that the pair have mated again, and as a result, it was three days between clutches. So, in my view, take each new egg, if you can tell which ones, and mark a #1 and #2 on the egg with a pen or pencil. That way, you will know which eggs are in the second clutch. The egg that you mark #1, and any after will have their own time table for hatching. It takes about a week or so to see the tiny veins inside the egg. So, I think these new ones could be fertile as well. Recandle them in about a week and you then may be able to see the veins and embryo.

[Chloe]

Hi so its been two days since the sixth egg was due, how long should I give before taking the nest out and how should I do so. Am asking because at the moment the female is sitting on the eggs just as much as she was before. I don't want to cause her any stress by suddenly removing the nest but I don't want her to start a new clutch as this is her second this year.
Both have been unsuccessful, first abandoned and infertile, second clutch eggs appear to be infertile. Do you think it is worth trying again next year? Or is it just not going to work with these too?

[maxollie]

Hi, and welcome back. I would give it another 5-7 days, and then remove the entire nest and eggs, and discard them. That way, we will be sure there will be no eggs hatching. You also could take one at a time and candle them to see if there is life inside. If all are lifeless, then you can remove the entire nest and all eggs.

It is recommended to wash the inside and outside of the cage with a mix of warm water and white vinegar. Then, if possible, remove all toys, and replace them with different ones, and keep those taken out for a second set. And rearrange the inside of the cage, so it is different than before. This sometimes helps to at least delay more eggs for awhile, but of course that is no guarantee.

It is not uncommon for a pair to not have success for the first few times, so do not lose heart. They do need rest from this venture, and spring will be a great time to try again.

Good luck!! We will watch for updates.

[Chloe]

okay thank you and so this won't cause her stress if she is still sitting on them?

[maxollie]

I do not think it will stress her. She needs to keep all eggs for awhile, even after hatching, because disturbing the nest in any way can cause her to abandon the new babies and the nest.