Their behaviour???

[Kalps]

Hi guys,

Well I'm thinking of breeding my birds and I've attached a breeding box to the cage. Since then my budgies have been cleaning each others feathers and cuddling up together, which they never did at first, I've also seen them hitting each others beaks with their own!! They did once or twice explore the box but havn't made any progress since. When it comes to bed time they both have individual swings but they do fight for their own and will not share!!
I'm really confused as I want them to breed and can't tell if they want too!!
I'm thinking of removing the box for a while then re-introducing it again. The box has been attached to the cage for a bout 2 and a half months now! They sometimes use the box to hide in!!
What shall I do? And what do their behaviours tell you?
Many thanks:budgie::S

[Amy]

Here are some questions to ask your self:

How old are they?

Do they have a mineral block/cuttlebone?

What colour are their ceres?

Are they regurgitating?

Have they tried to mate at all?

[Kalps]

the male is definetly mature as he has a bright blue cere and no lines on his forehead, the female has a darkish brown cere that seems a little crusty, and also does not have lines on her forehead.

They have a cuttlebone but no mineral block.
I've never seen them regurgitate yet and I wouldn't know when they have!!
I've havn't yet seen any attempts of mating!
Forgot to mention the male tends to chirp away a lot-makes funny sounds as though he is having a conversation but she does not respond to any of it.:S

[Amy]

How old are they?

They seem to have everything they need Hmm prehaps they're just those budgies that will not breed! I hope they do though.

[Budgiekin]

How much daylight do your budgies get? Apparently, one of the triggers to breed is the number of daylight hours your budgies get. In fact, when people are trying to discourage their budgies from breeding, they limit their daylight to fewer than 10 hours per day. It could even go as low as 8 hours per day. Having said that, when you WANT your budgies to breed, one technique is to increase the number of daylight hours they are exposed to as that is a cue to tell them it is breeding season. Perhaps 12 to 14 hours is the ideal in that case.

[Kalps]

Ohh I do hope I get them to breed!!
Well the day light light situation might be difficult because in England there hardly is any daylight as it's always raining making the sky turn grey. I think I might take the box away and re-introduce it like a fortnight later.:(

[Kalps]

Just to let you know that she is really small in size compared with other budgies I've seen! does this mean she is still young?
I'll try and upload pictures of them to make it a lot easier!:D

[Amy]

How old are they????:p

[Kalps]

I dont know exactly all the breeder told me was they are still babies at the time but that was like9 months ago.

I've also uploaded them in the gallery.

http://www.talkbudgies.com/photoplog/images/67/medium/1_62NL2030.jpg
http://www.talkbudgies.com/photoplog/images/67/medium/1_62NL2030.jpg
http://www.talkbudgies.com/photoplog/images/67/medium/1_62NL2025.jpg
and the picture of Laxmi the female:
http://www.talkbudgies.com/photoplog/images/67/medium/1_62NL2024.jpg

[Amy]

I've seen! So are they both over 1 yr old?

[Kalps]

I really dont know the age of my budgies but im assuming they are still young well atleast the female is because ive noticed her eyes are still round and black-so she is lacking the white ring that he already has???:S

[Amy]

Then they are to young to breed at the moment. Take the box out and put it back in when they are older. (In about 3-5 months time.)

[Budgiekin]

That is some good advice Amy; it sounds like they are too young to breed so it would be best to wait a few more months until they are more mature. I believe the best breeding ages are between 14 and 18 months.

As far as lighting goes, I know what you mean about not having much natural bright light. It's winter for like 6 months of the year here so it stays dark from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. the next morning during the worst of it. What you can do is buy artificial full spectrum lighting designed specifically for birds. You have to be careful using them of course (like not putting it too close to your budgies). However, since it sounds like your budgies are too young to be encouraging them to mate, you won't need to worry about this for quite some time.

In the meantime, enjoy your little budgies while they are still young. They grow up so fast (like children I have heard; I don't have any children, but again, that is what I have heard!) :)

[avril]

Spot on Budgiekin, they are far too young to breed, it sound like they are just going through their juvenile period. Take the nesting box away, put it back in about 5mths time when their conditioning will be at its peek.
In the meantime give them plenty of qualitity grains, greens and fluids to get them ready

[Kalps]

excellent guys thanx for the advice i will definetly take the box away.

[Amy]

Budgiekin, I've got an artificial bird light! And They love it! It gives out heat as well as light so it's perfect!

[Budgiekin]

Do you know what brand your artificial light is Amy? I have not been able to find one locally.

[Debby]

I have read that the tapping of beaks a form of courtship Tiki taps my fingernail and the mirrors in his cage. Very sweet!

[Amy]

Um the make is... um I don't know but it's just a sort of bird lamp that can be used to make them think it's a hot and sunny day!

It looks like those Halogen lights you can get but its sort of made safer for birds.

[Budgiekin]

No problem Amy. I was just curious about the lamp and if you knew what brand it was, great, but if not, no worries!

Debby, I agree, it is very cute behaviour (the beak tapping). Sometimes I wonder if they do it a little too aggressively sometimes!!

[Amy]

Billy does that to his mirror and Lily's beak!

Lights:

You could look on the internet for a light if you can't find one locally.

[Kalps]

ok heres an update on my little rascals!!!!
Well ive removed the nest box at the time i was told to and now my budgies have definetly shown signs of mating. these are plenty of chirping to each other, preening each other, loadsa kissing and ive also witnessed them regurgitating - basically one bobs there head repeatedly and then kisses their partner but im sure they are feeding them!!! the hen is eating loads of the iodine block and the cuttle fish bone. her pupils are starting to show the white iris surrounding, her cere has gone to a crusty brown colour but her vents are not swollen yet!!!
Do you think its time for me to present them with the nest box????:S

[Amy]

How old are they now?

[Kalps]

basically i dont know because i never thought i'd breed them and the keeper i bought it from never told me!!!!!

But this is going back as far as october/november 2005

[Amy]

Well they are old enough! Put the nestbox back in and Good Luck!

[Kalps]

awesome amy - ill keep you posted:D

[Amy]

Oh no my mistake! Sorry, you'll have to wait about 6 months until they are ready, sorry for the false alarm! It was because I mis-read your post and I thought you said 2004.

Sorry! Maybe you could have a ticker, counting down, to make the wait more fun? Here is the site link: www.tickerfactory.com (http://www.tickerfactory.com)

Enjoy!

[Kalps]

lol ok then

[Amy]

I'm so sorry, I hope your not upset!

[Mistyoriline]

you guys are soo smart!

[Amy]

Who? :S ???