# Breeding English Budgies



## sindsu

I have handfed a few budgies for other breeders before and have either kept them as pets or done it for people who wanted a hand tame bird.
I love what great companions they make if they are given lots of love and attention while they are being handfed and I enjoy babying them.
So I've done the research and am trying to breed just a couple pairs on my own.
I bought 1 - 2 year old birds. One pair had already paired up at the breeder's and I was told that they have had one clutch in the past. The other was just the 2 best looking birds that she had that I paired together at home.
Both pairs are kissy- faced and occasionally feed each other and do that special little chirp to each other. They have a nesting box, calcium block, seed, pellets, veggies, eggs, and nekton s and nekton e as supplements. They get sprayed with water everyday which they love. On nice days I open the window so that half of their cages get direct sunlight.
However, I've had them for 6 weeks now and they haven't attempted mating at all.
The male of the "established pair" has been going in the next box quite a bit and staying in there for several minutes each time. His cere is dark blue. The hen's cere is brown but she only pokes her head into the box now and then but generally has no interest in it. And neither one seems interested in mating. Occasionally he'll try to put a foot up on her but she scoots away.

The other pair I put together is very attached to each other. His cere is dark blue but hers is white though according to the breeder she is over a year old. She readily eats all the veggies, egg, and pellets and uses the calcium/mineral block so she is getting all the proper nutrition. Sometimes she tries to climb on his back but he hasn't attempted mating with her.

From what I've read, something should have happened by now. Perhaps they are all in the friend zone?
Should I try switching them up or does anybody have any other suggestions?


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## Isabella dJ

Hi! Hope you’re well. That what you mentioned is happening with your first pair is exactly what happened with ours. The cere colours were the same, too. They ‘kissed’, fed and preened each other. The male also tried to mount the female but she also shooed him away, multiple times. We thought it was harmless and that they wouldn’t breed which was fine, however, a couple of weeks ago they started mating and today the female laid her third egg. We’ve had the two for 6 months now. They are pets, and we didn’t intend for them to breed, but we’re totally okay with the fact they are, and we’ll keep the chicks. May I please just mention one thing and I mean it in the nicest way possible. I’ve seen this video that I’ll link about English budgies. I recommend you watch it before you consider them continuing to breed.k






Thank you so much! Have a wonderful day!


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## FaeryBee

*Hi, Welcome to Talk Budgies!

The purpose of this forum is to promote the BEST PRACTICES in the care of budgies for their optimal Health and Well-Being.

Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies

If you go through with breeding your budgie pairs, then I recommend you do "Co-parenting" rather than hand-feeding them.
This is best for the chicks as they get the benefit of learning to be budgies yet have regular handling and socialization by the human.

Planned Co-Parenting in Raising Tame Chicks

It is really best to have budgies for more than 6 weeks to get to know their temperaments and personalities before allowing them to breed even if they are a proven pair.

The female of your "non-established" pair is not in condition which is why he isn't interested in the nest box or breeding.
What are you doing to condition them?*

*A Budgie Breeding Diet*
*Breeding Condition*


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Truly, the very BEST advice anyone can offer you is to take the time to read ALL of the stickies throughout the various Talk Budgie forums as well as the Budgie Articles we have posted.

These are great resources for Talk Budgie members and have a wealth of reliable information which will assist you to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimal health and well-being.*

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*Resource Directory*


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## DavidW

I strongly urge you to ignore the "Why English Budgies are Inhumane" video recommended above. It is the most ill-informed content about English budgies that I've ever seen anywhere.

However, one of the facts the video does get right is that inbreeding can be problematic, so the most ethical thing for you to do is to ensure the birds you're trying to mate haven't been inbred, and not inbreed your own birds' offspring. 

Best regards,

David


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