bird house nesting box

[pauliepattie]

bird house for nest box?

[Amy]

Do you mean like a wild bird nestbox? If so, It's best to have a proper nestbox.

[Budgiekin]

Hmmmmm, interesting question....Traditional nest boxes dip in the bottom to keep the eggs from rolling around, and it is easy for your hen to go in and out, so whatever you use, you would want to make sure your bird house or whatever you are using is similar in design. The advantage to a nest box is that you can easily check on the babies inside through the back hinge door which opens nicely for a good view....;)

[pauliepattie]

bc i went to walmart yesterday and they had a bird house with a hinged door but no circle to keep the eggs form stop rolling can some send me a pic of a nesting box


thanx

from paulie , pattie and pauliepattie

[Amy]

You can buy these concave things that you put in the bottom, or just make a dip in some woodshavings.

[pauliepattie]

a dip of wood shavings

[Amy]

That's what I did when I bred Billy and Lily.

[pauliepattie]

how does wood shavings help

[Budgiekin]

The wood shavings basically provide the eggs and eventually the babies a relatively soft surface....it also keeps the eggs from rolling around too much which would make it difficult for the hen to sit on them and keep them warm.

[ETAHoffman]

Another suggestion is to simply put a tablespoon full, or so, of bird seed in the bottom of the box. That will prevent the eggs from rolling around, plus, it will provide food in case the hen decides she would like something to eat. I have always feared that if you use wood shavings and the eggs do become separated, they can't get back together and, then, might become chilled and/or the hen can't sit on all of them properly. You'll find the concave bottom is absolutely the best solution. You can buy nest boxes with extra concave "blocks." I recently bought 10 boxes and 5 extra blocks on eBay. (How could I ever live without eBay?) :-)

[nealandnikki]

What else do you need to put in the nest box? I like the idea of wood shavings or seeds as a base. So do yuo just fill the base of the nest box with seeds....yuo can get nesting material at some places it seems to be quite soft as well can you make a bedding of that on the nest box floor???

[BUUZBEE]

As for the bird house, I would say no. Nesting boxes are made specifically for each bird type, the proper hole circumfrence, and size of the inside of the box.

I personally dont use shavings, my hens ALWAYS throw it out! when the babies come, I use carefresh bedding (it think its for hamters etc.) When its just eggs, i let mum take care of them, the next box has the dip to keep them together.

With the carefresh bedding, it absorbes the poos from the babies, and I change it when I start holding them everyday (usually at about day 5) heres a link to it at petco
http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product_R_4453_PC_productlist_Nav_234_N_26+1 00+30+296_sku_431796_familyID_10791.aspx

[BUUZBEE]

also, with a bird house, if there is no way to get inside, and a baby doesnt make it, you cant get it out. plus you will need to check on the babies feet etc. when they are old enough

[pauliepattie]

i have another question my bird pattie's ceres is get a white crusty thing on her cere is that good

[BUUZBEE]

female right? usually when the gals go out of season, they will get a big crusty whitish cere... let me find a pic you can compair to....

[BUUZBEE]

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/BUUZBEE/budgies%20budgies%20and%20more%20budgies/TWEETY%20yft2%20F/?action=view&current=babies06fannyallbirdsairshow030.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch2

tweety is on the right, when she scrapes off the big crusty part, it goes all whitish
im still trying to find an after pic for you

[nealandnikki]

My male budgie's cere was bright blue a week ago and now it has got a tinge of brown in the lower part of cere ... is it a problem or normal?

Thanks

[Budgiekin]

Sounds completely normal. How old is your little guy?

[pauliepattie]

how do u attach a nesting box can i just attach it to the out side of the cage

[BUUZBEE]

it will depend on the type of box, if the roof hangs over the edge, then it goes inside, if its flush, it ususally for the outside. i just use a zip tie.

[pauliepattie]

thought the tiny hole on top of it

[BUUZBEE]

yup, make sure the dowl stick doesnt go on the inside of the box, just on the outside

[pauliepattie]

but the dowel is on the inside

[BUUZBEE]

pull it out and put it on the outside of the box, they put it on the inside for shipping, so it doesnt break