If you want to start breeding your own pair of wavy, you should know that this is a very complex and responsible process. It has a lot of nuances. To get started, take a closer look at your parrots and answer one very important question: do they love each other? In nature, parrots from many individuals of the opposite sex find their soul mate and stay with her until the end of their lives.
In apartment conditions, birds do not have such a choice, they sometimes have to endure for the rest of their lives next to someone who may not like it at all. From such pairs of offspring, you can not wait at all. Mutual love is immediately visible: the couple is constantly with each other, sorting out feathers, feeding a partner, and if they swear, it is very rare. Usually, if a nesting house is placed in such a pair, then the female will immediately climb into it and begin to equip it. It often happens that in a loving couple, the female tries to find a place to lay eggs and does not wait for the house to be hung. She can even lay eggs at the bottom of the cage. This should not be allowed, so watch your birds and be prepared for anything.
The next question you need to answer before you start breeding parrots is about the age of the birds. In nature, parrots are ready for breeding as early as 5-7 months, but at home it is absolutely impossible to breed them before 1-1.5 years. Otherwise, the female may die trying to lay the first egg. Wavy are able to breed up to 5-7 years, and with good care and up to 8-9 years.
Inbreeding is dangerous
A prerequisite is the absence of family ties in a pair of parrots. Inbreeding can result in the death of embryos in the egg or in chicks with stunting or birth defects. Often, lovers do not understand why closely related crossing is dangerous, because unfertilized eggs are always possible in the clutch, and sometimes the chicks die. They raise chicks, sell them, and then the chick dies at the new owner for unknown reasons.Preparing for nesting and incubating eggs
Budgerigars can breed all year round. However, it should be remembered that for successful breeding, parrots need a long daylight hours (up to 16 hours), in winter you will have to maintain it with artificial lighting. Also, in winter and spring, there is not that excess of vegetables, fruits and greens that is in summer and autumn, so you will definitely need to give liquid multivitamins that are added to the drinker or feed. The best time for breeding is summer and early autumn.
The air temperature in the room with breeding parrots should be at least 20 ° C and not more than 30 ° C, otherwise the eggs may die.
In nature, wavy lay their eggs in the hollows of trees. At home, this is provided for, which are not much different from ordinary birdhouses. The house must necessarily be made of wooden boards. There are three types of nests: vertical, horizontal and compromise (see fig.).
Each type has its pros and cons. Vertical: a high-lying notch eliminates the early exit of chicks, takes up little space, however, due to the small size of the bottom, the female, jumping onto the clutch, can damage the eggs and chicks, and if the clutch is large, the chicks will be cramped. Horizontal houses exclude damage to the masonry by the female, because. it is more spacious. However, the low location of the notch can lead to the fall of the chicks, which are not yet ready for independent life. In an attempt to combine the advantages of vertical and horizontal houses into one, a compromise type of nesting was created: they are spacious, like a horizontal one, and the notch is high, like a vertical one. Their only drawback is their large size.
In the bottom of the house you need to make a recess for the eggs so that they do not roll. It should be 2 cm deep and 10 cm in diameter. You also need to provide fasteners with which you can hang the house. The nest cover must be removable in order to inspect the masonry and clean inside. Two weeks before hanging the nesting house, parrots should be transferred to enhanced nutrition and gradually lengthen daylight hours. Parrots need to start giving an egg mixture consisting of boiled eggs, carrots and semolina. Increase the amount of vegetables, fruits, greens. In addition to the mineral mixture and sepia (mineral stone), the cage must contain crushed eggshells and crushed chalk, which can be replaced with crushed calcium gluconate tablets.
Usually nesting places are placed outside the cage as high as possible. To do this, either the cage must have a second entrance, or you will have to remove several rods. Many females do not pay attention to the houses, standing at the bottom of the cage or suspended from the lower entrance to the cage, as unsafe. The size and shape of the cage is very important in breeding. It should be rectangular in shape and elongated in length, not height. The minimum length is 60 cm. In small cages, there is almost a 100% chance that the female will start beating the chicks that have left the house.
Inside the nest, it is imperative to pour dry hardwood sawdust with a layer of 2-3 cm; for disinfection, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of dry pharmaceutical chamomile.
Ideally, if all the conditions for parrots are created, then the female almost immediately begins to be interested in the house. At first, it just gnaws at the entrance, checks its strength, later it starts to climb inside and prepare a place for masonry, taking out sawdust in its beak. Usually the first egg appears 2-3 weeks after hanging the house. However, it often happens differently: the male and female are in no hurry to lay eggs. If even after a month the female's interest in nesting has not appeared, then it should be removed and wait another month so that the female does not perceive it simply as part of the interior.
Since in nature budgerigars sit on masonry with the whole flock at once, it is much easier to make several pairs at once breed. But this requires a large enclosure and there should be one more houses than breeding pairs. But even in this case, it is possible that two females will like one house and they will start fighting or destroying each other's clutches in this house because of it. So it's best to keep each breeding pair in a separate cage. If there is only one pair, then it is necessary to create a constant little noise in the room with parrots. It can be just the radio turned on, music, but it is best to record the voices of budgerigars. To do this, it is enough to record the singing of your own parrots.
Once you have set up a house, you need to keep communication with parrots to a minimum. Ideally, the cage should be in a quiet corner of the room where there are no people, since nothing should distract the couple from the masonry. For the same reason, they cannot be let out of the cage to fly. After the female prepares the nesting house, she becomes more favorable to the male. The act of mating can occur several times a day, but usually this happens in the early morning. Sometimes it only takes a few matings before the first egg is produced to successfully fertilize the entire clutch. But more often, mating continues for longer, until the female lays all the eggs.
A couple of days before the appearance of the egg, the female plucks the place around the cloaca, the amount and size of feces increases, and the tail begins to twitch in rhythm with breathing. The expectant mother becomes more cautious, she does not make sudden movements and spends more and more time in the house.
After the appearance of the first egg, all additional feeding should be removed from the cage and only the main food and the mineral mixture with eggshell should be left. Otherwise, the number of eggs will be large, but their quality will be greatly reduced.
The female immediately proceeds to incubate the egg. Although often, if the female has the first clutch, she begins to incubate eggs tightly only after laying the second, or even the third. Do not worry about this, since the development of the embryo in the egg will begin from the moment of incubation. The male during this period feeds the female, sits near the entrance to the nesting area, sings songs to her. The second and subsequent eggs appear every other day. There may be 4-8 eggs in a clutch, but sometimes it reaches 10-12. Young females usually have fewer eggs than older ones.
Chick care
The eggs hatch approximately 17-19 days after incubation begins. The chicks that have appeared are more like small worms than future birds. 
They have an absurdly large head, long neck and legs. They are born blind and begin to see only after a week. By the 9-10th day of life, the first stumps of feathers appear on the back. At 2 weeks old, the chicks are already completely covered with fluff and feathers are already forming on the wings and tail. By the color of the fluff, one can judge the future plumage of the chick. If it is gray, then the parrot will be with a normal color, and with white fluff - with a light one. Every day the chick will have more and more feathers, and by the age of 3 weeks it will already look like an adult.
If, 21 days after the last egg was laid, there were still eggs in the house, then they were not fertilized or the embryo died. In this case empty eggs need to be thrown away. I would not advise beginners to check the fertility of eggs for beginners, because. the eggs are very fragile and any shaking can cause the egg to die. In addition, to be sure of fertility, you still have to wait until time will pass breeding chicks.
You need to check the masonry at least once every two or three days in order to provide timely assistance, if any. A week after the appearance of the first chick, it is necessary to clean the house. To do this, you need to catch the moment when the female leaves the nest and remove it. At the time of cleaning, the chicks must be carefully transferred to the box, remove the old sawdust and pour in new ones, and then return the chicks. It is better to clean the house with gloves, because if the female is wild, then she may not tolerate someone else's smell and will begin to pluck the chicks.
During cleaning, you need to carefully examine each chick, paying attention to the paws, as droppings often stick to them, which can interfere with the proper development of the fingers. To clean the paws, they need to be soaked in water and remove dirt.
Cleaning must be done quickly so as not to force the female for too long 
to be nervous and not to overcool the eggs. They should be handled with particular care, as the embryos are very fragile and any shaking can lead to their death.
The house should be cleaned about once a week. It is ideal to have a spare nesting place for this, in order to simply transplant the chicks into a new house. If the female is wild and, with any intervention (cleaning, touching the eggs and chicks), begins to pluck the chicks or even abandons the clutch, then it is better not to clean the house, but simply sprinkle clean sawdust with chamomile on top.
For the first two weeks of life, the mother feeds the chicks with goiter milk, which is formed in the muscular ventricle of the female, gradually transferring them to adult food softened in the goiter. If there are many chicks, the female feeds the older ones first, and then the younger ones, since in the goiter of the female there is grain on top, and goiter milk below. To help the female, it is necessary to give sprouted grain, which contributes to the formation of goiter milk.
Later, the male also joins in feeding the chicks. After the chicks leave the nesting house, only the father takes care of them, since the female is usually already engaged in the next clutch. 
The chicks leave the nesting area 30-35 days after hatching. They differ from adult birds only in size. If the female is not aggressive towards the chicks that have left the house, they can be left in a cage with their parents. However, it is better to transfer the chicks to a separate cage as soon as they learn to eat on their own. Especially if the owner does not have a capacious cage in which the entire brood can fit.
If a couple is allowed to make as many clutches as they want, then the female can make 4-5 broods. But this should not be allowed, since more than 1-2 clutches in a row will greatly deplete the female, and the chicks appear weak and often die. Therefore, immediately after laying, you need to remove the house, even if the female has already laid eggs in it. Place the female in a separate cage, gradually reduce her daylight hours to 9 hours (10 minutes a day) and transfer her to grain feed, without additional feeding. This is necessary to stop laying. It is ideal to allow the female to make either one clutch every six months, or two clutches in a row, but once a year.
did the material help? leave a review... help improve the quality...
- Possible Problems When Breeding Budgerigars
- Homepage
If you notice an error, select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter
Budgerigars are very popular among bird lovers. The title of a beloved pet belongs to them by right, because they are affectionate, have an accommodating disposition and sincerely love their owners, and besides, they do not announce the surroundings with a heart-rending cry. Very often, the owners of these wonderful birds want to increase their numbers through breeding.
Getting offspring is an occupation that should be approached with all responsibility, since an important role here is played by compliance with the characteristics of keeping birds and attention to the behavior of birds.
In order for a bird to have offspring, it must be realized that the budgerigar is a flocking bird, and therefore the budgerigar must have enough space for mating and some choice among birds of its kind.
When there are a lot of birds in a cage, the formation of pairs is difficult to predict. The female always chooses and, as a rule, such pairs do not break up.
If you already have a male budgerigar in stock, get him a female, at the age of 2-4 months. 
It's no secret that females dominate the male, and so your pet will have the opportunity to tame the female "for themselves."
While the bird grows up, it will have time to become attached to a partner and will not be able to show its character in full force.
If you already have a one-year-old female in your house, and you are thinking about acquiring a male for her, opt for a male who has already taken place as a “dad”. Such a male is able to influence the character of the female and her absurd antics.
For breeding, only healthy (physically and psychologically) birds that have reached the age of one are selected. Birds must be selected from different nurseries in order to prevent mixing of family ties, which may result in genetically malformed chicks.
Video: selection of a pair for breeding budgerigars For birds living in captivity, fourteen months is considered the optimal age for breeding. With proper care and proper maintenance, birds can reproduce offspring until they reach ten years of age.
To prevent the appearance of weak or dead chicks, you should not mate an established pair more than twice a year.
Important! Overweight birds that are in the process of molting and birds with physical exhaustion are not allowed to lay eggs!
The best time for mating is from June to September.. At this time, the birds have enough vitamins, a sunny day, and air temperature.
At the beginning of spring, the body of parrots is weakened, they lack vitamins, they are not able to reproduce healthy offspring.
It happens that the appearance of chicks is expected in the winter. 
It is necessary to prepare for such masonry and improve conditions as much as possible.:
- increase the daylight hours up to 16 hours with the help of special fluorescent lamps;
- maintain the temperature in the room at a level of at least +20 ° С;
- organize enhanced feeding of the female with the addition of fresh herbs at least twice a day.
What should be the cell
For one pair of birds, a cage measuring 60 * 40 * 40 cm is suitable, for two pairs - twice as much. The design of the cage should be simple, made of durable material. It is desirable that the bottom of the cage extends, and it is possible to attach a nesting house to the side panels.
There are three types of bird housing: vertical house, horizontal and compromise. Whatever type of house you choose, it must have a folding or removable roof. This is necessary for the timely inspection of masonry, cleaning and disinfection of the nest.
Did you know? Budgerigars settled in Australia 5,000,000 years ago, during which time 200 varieties of these birds have survived.
It is necessary to prepare the birds for breeding two to three weeks before the nesting house appears in the cage.
Did you know? The budgerigar is a rather talkative bird. According to the records of the Guinness Book of Records - the Pak parrot was registered, which operated with a vocabulary of 1700 words! In order to appreciate the capabilities of a bird, an average five-year-old child owns such a vocabulary.
Should not only consist of seeds, grains, fruits and vegetables. It should include: greens, sprouted grains, cereals, calcium, mineral supplements, an egg and two percent cottage cheese.
The high content of vitamin E in pet food promotes their reproduction. It is vital that budgerigars eat all foods. 
During nesting, the female needs enhanced nutrition, which is specially enriched with food and mineral supplements.
To get healthy offspring, many breeders feed their pets with an enriched mixture every other day: carrots, eggs, cottage cheese and sprouted grains.
The mating games that budgerigars demonstrate are a rather touching sight.
The male anxiously cares for the female, trying to please her, tries to feed her, takes funny poses so that the chosen one pays attention to him, makes amazing sounds, talks (knocks his beak on various objects, including the beak of the chosen one). 
The desire to feed the female is the main indicator for the chosen one that the male is ready for a serious relationship, since it is he who will be the food earner, the breadwinner for her while she hatches the eggs.
Did you know? It's hard to believe, but these birds can turn their heads 180° !
How many eggs does a female lay
As a rule, the female lays eggs every other day. The number of eggs laid is affected by the age of the bird, most often there are about seven, sometimes more, although five eggs are considered the optimal number.
It is this amount that the female parrot is able to evenly heat. If there are more eggs in the clutch, then they can be placed in an incubator or put on another pair of budgerigars.
Video: how to understand that a female budgerigar is pregnant
How long does it take for the chicks to appear?
The incubation period for parrot eggs is 18 days. Chicks appear on the 19th day. Well, when at the time of the appearance of the chicks, the air humidity is high - more than 60%, then the risk of the death of the chick due to the film, which can dry out to it due to dry air, will be equal to zero.
Only the chicks that were born are not at all like their relatives: naked, blind, helpless. They are so weak that they are not able to hold their head, so they lie on their back all the time.
It is in this position that the female budgerigar feeds them, she is always next to them, warms the babies, does not let them freeze. The female parrot takes good care of her chicks, feeds them with goiter milk and grain. 
Babies develop quite quickly. Judge for yourself: the weight of only a hatched chick is 1 g, and after two days - 4 g. If the female hatched a clutch of more than 5 eggs, then there is a danger that the first chicks that have grown up will crush the younger ones.
Did you know? In the natural environment, non-domesticated birds, like people, give their chicks names. In order to call them, they use a certain sound combination, to which the chicks respond.
The care that is required at this time from a person is to monitor the cleanliness of the nest, the change of sawdust.
The first cleaning takes place two weeks after all the chicks have hatched, and after - every week. It is necessary to clean the bird's dwelling very quickly so that the chicks do not freeze and the female is not very nervous.
When can chicks be separated from their parents?
Chicks are placed away from their parents in another cage on the 3rd or 4th day after leaving the parental nest. As a rule, they should be 35 days old by this time.
In the case of aggressive behavior of the female - the chicks are taken earlier, and if they are just babies, then they put another pair of birds, and if they are already fledged, they feed them on their own.
It is considered normal when one or two eggs are frozen in the clutch. This happens with young females who do not yet have experience and simply could not warm up the entire masonry. Another thing is if the whole masonry died.
The cause of death can be:
- genetically incompatible parents;
- the inability of the female to normally incubate eggs;
- poorly formulated parrot nutrition;
- low quality water;
- infectious disease in birds;
- high temperature in an apartment with low humidity levels.
Unfertilized eggs occur in case of improper preparation of birds for mating, or they signal that there are health problems in the bird. Successful breeding of budgerigars depends on careful preliminary preparation, attention to your pets and their health.
Budgerigars are very convenient for keeping at home. They are unpretentious, easily tamed, live long enough. In addition, these birds can be taught to speak. All these advantages make parrots desirable pets. For entrepreneurs thinking about a new business, it makes sense to bet on the breeding of parrots. This activity will not bring huge incomes, but it guarantees a stable income.
So how do you start your budgerigar business?
Breeding budgerigars at home as a business: the main pros and cons
Before you start breeding parrots in industrial scale think about the advantages and disadvantages of this type of business.
Among the advantages:
- minimum investment;
- a female parrot can lay eggs 2-3 times a year, bringing 5-7 chicks;
- chicks grow rapidly, after 1.5 months young parrots are ready for sale;
- parrots do not need advertising, they are loved by both adults and children;
- birds are in good health.
After evaluating the benefits, it is worth remembering the complexities of this business:
- Breeding parrots is an occupation for people who really love and know how to take care of animals.
- In cramped cages, parrots will not give offspring. The organization of a spacious aviary with nesting places is required.
- Uncontrolled reproduction leads to the degeneration of offspring. It is important to select pairs from birds that are not related.
- Males are difficult to distinguish from females.
- Females give offspring for 5-7 years, after this period the chicks can be born weakened, various deformities and signs of degeneration are possible.
- Limited number of distribution channels. Demand for ornamental birds is unstable.
Features and conditions for the sale of parrots
The easiest way to sell budgerigars is to take the grown chicks to pet stores. Young birds can be sold on their own, in the market or through ads on thematic Internet forums. The demand for parrots is unstable, it depends on the season, the number of competitors and other factors.
Start a blog or website dedicated to the parrot. Interesting page with first hand information and beautiful photos pets will attract attention potential buyers. You can increase profits and sales when expanding the nursery due to parrots of large breeds.
Birds trained to speak are even more expensive, but the buyer will have to be looked for individually. This can be done on specialized forums.
You can read how to open a pet store from scratch and draw up a competent business plan with calculations..
Budgerigar Breeding Business Plan: Calculating Costs and Income
Investments in the creation of a parrot nursery are relatively low, this is one of the most attractive aspects of the business.
- The organization of the enclosure, lighting and heating will have to spend 6,000 - 8,000 rubles.
- Buying birds (20 pairs) - from 10,000 rubles.
- Monthly expenses for food, enclosure lighting and other trifles - 3,000 rubles.
Calculate the potential profit for the year. 20 pairs of adult birds will produce about 300 chicks.
With a wholesale price per bird of 300 rubles, the profit will be 90,000 rubles.
The business will be self-sustaining in 6 months. With an increase in the number of parrots in the nursery, profitability increases, but there are problems with implementation.
You can find out how to make money by breeding ostriches at home and see the business plan for an ostrich farm with calculations.
Breeding budgerigars at home as a business is an activity for true enthusiasts, which is ideal for people who love communication with animals. In this case, the work will be combined with a hobby and will bring not only money, but also positive emotions.
Video instruction for breeding budgerigars
Do not know where to start, breeding budgerigars at home? Watch the video with the recommendations of a professional:
A novice amateur breeder needs to acquire a certain amount of theoretical knowledge: first of all, carefully read the “Breeding” section in the purchased brochure. If you decide to start breeding parrots, you need to buy a cage in advance, which should have two or three doors. The first is a door on the front side of the cage, one or two on the sides. Hollows or nests are hung on these side doors. They are made in the form of a birdhouse. The height of the house inside is 25 cm, the size of the bottom is 16x16 cm. In its middle, a recess is made with a diameter of 6-7 cm and a depth in the center of 1 cm, with a bottom thickness of 2 cm. The recess is necessary so that the eggs do not roll out. Sawdust and small chips (hardwood) up to 2 cm thick are poured onto the bottom. An inlet with a diameter of 5 cm is cut out from the front side of the box at a distance of 5 cm from the lid. A hole with a diameter of 1 cm is drilled 2 cm below the cage. a perch protruding inward by 2 cm and outward by 10 cm. With a thickness of the walls of the “birdhouse” of 1 cm, the total length of the perch is 13 cm. . In addition, it is useful for the male to protect his girlfriend and future offspring, to feed from the perch of his family, to protect the chicks that have flown out of the nest.
Material for making a house- a board planed on only one outer side. It is impossible to paint or varnish the "birdhouse". For the convenience of cleaning and observing the chicks, its cover is removable or hinged. Hooks are attached to the upper part of the front wall (outside) for hanging the nest box on the cage. Under favorable conditions, parrots can be bred at any time of the year, but it is still better at the beginning of summer.
To a large extent, the success of the business depends on the condition of the birds. The male of good condition has a dazzling blue cere and chin, a sharp look, and a proud landing of the head. The female has a brown chin and cere and behaves in the same way. Birds must be from different nests and between one and eight years of age.
Mating is repeated until the female lays the first egg. Then every other day she lays from 3 to 12 oval white eggs, approximately 15-19 mm in size, weighing up to 2 g. As a rule, young ones lay fewer eggs than old ones. On average, their number is 5 - 6.
After the first egg is laid, incubation begins. Only the female leads him, and the male feeds her. The first chick hatches in 18-20 days, the rest - in turn in a day. So they all differ in the degree of development. In the next two weeks, they increase daily by 2 - 3 g each. Then this process slows down. On the 11th - 12th day, the chicks are already covered with fluff, their eyes open.
Soon, the mother begins to fly to the feeder, but the father of the family continues to take every care of her. Finally, the kids get out of the house to the outside of the perch. At this time, the nesting place should be washed, cleaned, and sawdust replaced. Previously, the chicks are placed in a convenient box. At the same time, they need to be carefully examined. If necessary, soak the dirt that has dried in the paws in warm water.
Young parrots fly out of the parental home for 30 - 31 days. The nest should again be thoroughly cleaned and washed, scalded with boiling water and dried, poured with new sawdust. It should be ready for the next replenishment of the genus of birds, as the hostess is going to make a second laying of eggs. Gradually, she ceases to take care of the grown-up children, but the owner continues to feed them. Paternal feelings are manifested for another 7 to 10 days. As soon as the chicks begin to eat on their own, they should be placed in another cage. It happens that the second clutch begins before all the chicks of the first brood leave the nesting place. In this case, the new clutch may be damaged by the chicks or stained with their droppings, which stops the development of the embryo in the egg. To avoid this, it is necessary to insert an additional house from the other side of the cage before the chicks leave the nest (this is what a cage with three doors is for). The female often begins to lay eggs in it, and the male successfully feeds the first brood.
Experienced poultry farmers prefer to hang the second house on the cage at the same time as the first. In any case, after two broods, it is necessary to remove the nesting place in order to give rest to parents who have lost a lot of strength nursing their offspring. Experienced poultry farmers recommend giving producers a rest for 3-4 months. This will allow the parrots to retain their ability to reproduce for a longer time and ensure the appearance of full-fledged young in the future.
Budgerigars are overseas guests. These are kind, sociable creatures who sincerely love their owners, striving to fulfill their commands, repeat the words they heard, sentences, and sometimes, it seems, to conduct a dialogue. The ability of birds to imitate is amazing, as the successes achieved in it, you will not only take possession of fascinating, colorful, lively "toys", you will take on a great responsibility for quite reasonable and devoted, but completely defenseless in a strange world for them, creatures. The life of domestic birds depends entirely on the knowledge, skills, and most importantly, the altruism of the owner, i.e. from endless concern for the welfare of others, readiness to sacrifice one's personal interests for others. No matter how unpretentious, easily tamed budgerigars are, they, like all caged birds, require certain knowledge of care from their owners, they are in dire need of their constant attention and sincere love. That is why it is very important to study the features of their behavior and conditions of detention before acquiring feathered pets. Small brochures about these animals sold in the bird market and in pet stores will help you with this. The authors of the book “Parrots at Our Home” P. Chernushin and A. Dorofeev report that during the time of the Roman ruler Nero, Indian parrots were known, and later African ones. They were kept in cages made of silver, tortoiseshell and ivory, hired special teachers, taught to pronounce the word "Caesar". The price of a talking parrot often exceeded that of a slave.
Budgerigars were first described by the famous biologist D. Shau almost two centuries ago. Parrots were brought to Russia mainly from Western Europe. In the 1930s, parrots began to be bred at the Moscow Zoo. Now they have become the most common among caged birds. And ornithologists have calculated that there are already more domesticated parrots in the world than wild ones. So it will not be difficult to get pets. In order to choose them correctly, it is advisable to do this with a specialist, and if not, then determine the condition of the birds according to the following signs: a sick person differs from a healthy one by lack of appetite, frequent drinking of water (with fever), lethargy and drowsiness. She sits more than she moves. Feathers are ruffled, wings are lowered, often sitting ruffled. The patient squints, closes her eyes, hides her head under her wing. normal temperature bodies 41 - 42 ° C. If the bird was purchased without a connoisseur, then it should be shown to a specialist. He will determine if she has any illnesses and help cure them. We must remember that it is necessary to acquire not only birds, but also friends. And although people say that they don’t choose friends, it’s still necessary to choose thoroughly, especially since friendship can be long, because parrots reach a century for several decades. However, it is best to buy young birds.
If home conditions allow you to keep a lot of birds, then it makes sense to purchase several young pairs of parrots. They will be happier together, because even in captivity parrots like to live in companies, cheerful and friendly. It is very interesting to watch a group of birds, especially if they are placed in a spacious cage or aviary. However, the birds will not be as tame as the budgerigar becomes if kept alone. And it is not possible to teach “to speak” when he is not alone. Budgerigars favorably differ from other caged birds in their endurance, quick adaptability to climatic conditions, habitat and food. But for them to be healthy, have good mood, gave normal offspring and became centenarians, you should constantly take care of the birds, as if they were true friends. You need to start with your home. Get a cage first, and then a bird. Cells are metal, wooden and combined. Any suitable for content budgerigars, but galvanized wire cages are preferred.
Cell size should be as follows: length - 100 cm, and height and width - 40 cm - this is for two pairs, and for one pair - half as long. The cage is equipped with a feeder and an automatic drinker.
The cage should be cleaned regularly and scalded with boiling water at least once a month, because cleanliness is really a guarantee of health. Food and drink utensils should be washed daily. Perches for parrots are best made from willow twigs, about 5 mm thick. You don't need to take the bark off. Two perches are installed so that the birds can fly from one to the other and do not spoil the plumage.
At the bottom of the cage or in a large cuvette (cup), sand is poured, washed, dried and sifted from large pebbles, sand is necessary for birds for normal digestion. An equipped bird cage is placed in a well-lit part of the room, but it should not be exposed to it for a long time. Sun rays. Drafts, stuffiness, the smell of tobacco, burning are extremely harmful to parrots. Parrots do not tolerate the smell of smoke, they are seriously ill. There are known cases of their death in the room of the owner - a smoker.
Feeding parrots- this is a very responsible process, on which both the general condition, and their mood and longevity depend. Feeding should be varied. Parrots should not be overfed, it is very dangerous for their health, it should be remembered: the daily portion for one parrot is 20 g (2-3 teaspoons of grain mixture) plus other feeds. However, birds should be able to eat throughout the day, such is their physiology. In a spacious cage and with a decrease in temperature, parrots eat more. It is necessary that the feed includes: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, macro- and microelements. Then it will be complete. Water from the water supply must be defended until the taste of chlorine disappears. Of cereals, mealy, millet (millet), oats (oatmeal), canary seed, corn grits, barley, dandelion and plantain seeds are required. From oily, sunflower seeds, hemp, flax and all kinds of nuts are used (fried seeds are harmful). Hemp is given to birds only before breeding, 2 - 3 grains per day. Walnut kernels are fed in crushed form. Juicy vegetable food is an additional, but important addition to the main food - it is carrots (grated), cabbage, beets, cucumbers, red peppers, apples, pears, grapes (glucose). Wild-growing food for parrots is: mountain ash, rose hips, cranberries, blueberries, nettles, bitter wormwood, dandelion, plantain. Shoots, buds, a bunch of branches of fruit and deciduous trees, young shoots of coniferous trees are readily eaten. Animal feed includes chicken eggs (mashed with a fork or a teaspoon), cottage cheese, honey. Mineral feed includes chicken egg shells, shells, bone meal, edible salt, charcoal (birch), pure lime plaster. Such a complex mineral supplement is sold in pet stores and in the bird market.
It is important to consider the tastes of your pets and the fact that they are grain-eating birds. That is why the main feed is a grain mixture.
Birds are created for flight and freedom, but if we put them in a cage, then it is necessary to create all the best conditions for care and feeding so that the cage does not become a prison for them. Bird lovers who could create everything for them the necessary conditions, provide good care, maintenance and feeding, will receive great pleasure from their pets.
Parrots are cheerful flocking birds that people love to keep at home. Budgerigars with bright colors are popular. If you decide to buy birds for yourself, then it is advisable to take several individuals at once, because parrots in nature live in large flocks, they will be quite bored alone, and this can affect not only the mood of a feathered friend, but also his health.
If you have been keeping such birds for a long time, then sooner or later you will have to think about how to breed budgerigars. In the article, we will answer all the questions that a bird owner may have, starting with creating comfortable conditions for the reproduction of offspring and ending with proper nutrition during the breeding season. This question is not easy, so you need to prepare in advance.
How to determine the sex of a parrot
Before you start breeding budgerigars, you need to pick up individuals of different sexes. The difference between male and female is clearly visible in the wax. This is the skin located at the base of the beak. In males, the wax has a bright blue color, while in females it can be either white or brown. From the young, it is impossible to understand the gender, since the skin on their beak is not yet pigmented, you can make a mistake when buying. This is important to know, as unscrupulous sellers are trying to sell the goods, so they can slip two males to an inexperienced breeder. However, the sex of birds cannot be determined before 3-4 months.
When breeding budgerigars at home, it is very important to select a pair that is not related. The offspring of such birds is unlikely to be viable, they usually have congenital defects and soon die. It is better to buy birds for breeding from experienced sellers or in different places. Pet stores often employ amateurs who do not know where live goods come from, so they have no idea about family ties.
How to match a parrot
If you have one parrot, and you decide to buy a pair for him, then it is not recommended to plant them in one cage right away. About a month you need to hold them in different cages, but placed close to one another. The birds will get to know each other better, but will not have the opportunity to fight. After uniting the couple, you need to observe whether they liked each other or not. It is very important. Relations in a couple are visible to the naked eye. If a good relationship has developed, then the birds will sit side by side, clean each other's feathers, the male will treat the female with food. It is interesting to watch how the birds caress with their beaks, as if they are kissing, the female closes her eyes in pleasure. Aggressive behavior or complete indifference will also be immediately clear to the observer. AT this case you are unlikely to get offspring.
Another important point that you need to know before breeding budgerigars is that the male must either be the same age as the girlfriend, or be older than her. To the young, the female may show aggression and not accept his courtship. Unlike other birds, it is very important for budgerigars to have mutual sympathy between male and female. Then the established couple spends many years together, jointly caring for offspring.
Budgerigar Breeding Age
Birds of this species become sexually mature already from 5-7 months, but this does not mean that at home at this age one can hope for offspring. Birds are ready for breeding by 12-15 months. In more early age the female may die when laying eggs. The best period for fertilization is 2-4 years of life. Only healthy birds can be bred. This is evident in their behavior. The male should be active, mobile, well-fed, but in moderation. If the parrot is sick and weak, then the female lays either completely empty, unfertilized eggs, or the chick dies while still inside the shell.
If the parrot is exhausted, then the eggs hatch poorly, and they do not feed the hatched chicks, which often leads to the death of the young. If the birds are healthy, mating takes place on time, then the ability to breed remains up to 8-9 years. It is advisable not to overload the female, giving her a break. It is enough if birds breed 1 or 2 times a year.
Creation of favorable conditions
Before breeding budgerigars, you need to strengthen their diet. Approximately 2 weeks before the mating process, they give a mixture of eggs, semolina, carrots, add more vegetables and fruits to the diet. Be sure to first saturate the parrot's body with calcium, which is necessary for the formation of eggshells. To do this, a container with chalk is placed in the cage or a chalk is bought for hanging on the cage. It is good to give crushed eggshells in a bowl. Some experienced breeders, creating conditions for breeding budgerigars, add a couple of drops of fish oil, for example, pouring millet over them.
The best time for the first mating is summer or early autumn. Firstly, during this period there are a lot of seasonal vegetables and fruits, parrots receive a complete fortified food. Secondly, the average favorable air temperature in the room with the cage should be from 20 to 30 degrees. Thirdly, reproduction requires a long daylight hours, at least 16 hours.
nesting house
The cage for breeding budgerigars is not suitable. In order for the female to accept the courtship of the male, it is necessary to put up a house like a birdhouse. There are plastic products on sale, but it is best if the nest fits in a wooden house. It may be plywood. Its location does not matter, it can be vertical or horizontal. The only thing the breeder needs to remember is that the birdhouse should be hung on the opposite side from the door, otherwise the female may not want to equip the masonry site due to anxiety, deciding that the place is unsafe. Sometimes the owners adapt rounded clay pots as a house. They are made of natural material, so birds also nest there with pleasure. If the bird laid eggs directly on the floor of the cage, then this must be stopped by moving the masonry and the parrot to the house. Other females may break other people's eggs.
DIY nest box
Before you start breeding budgerigars at home, you can design a house for parrots yourself. The horizontal box is considered the most convenient, it has more space for growing chicks, the female calmly enters and exits, not being afraid to crush the unhatched offspring. Product dimensions are shown below.
- The bottom is rectangular with sides - 15 cm and 25 cm. They make it from a thick board so that it is possible to make a small rounded depression in the center with a depth of 1 or 2 cm.
- Height - 15 cm. For a round inlet, the so-called notch, the diameter is 4.5 cm.
- The perch is necessary for the male to sit down while feeding the female. A round stick should peek out 10 cm from the box, and a wide step 10 cm wide and 3 cm high is attached inside. The female stands on it before entering the masonry territory.
Be sure to remove the top cover to inspect the nest, clean it or, if necessary, disinfect it. Masters recommend making nests from dried boards, they last much longer than plywood, do not dry out, forming cracks.
How to understand that courtship has begun
In the male, the wax is painted in a dazzling blue color, outwardly it becomes mobile, quickly flies from place to place, however, like the female. A loud lekking of the male is heard, which calls the female to mate. Flying up to the chosen friend, the male touches her beak, brings her food. If she accepts his courtship, then this is the first sign of consent. Another clear sign that nesting begins when the female flies into the house and takes out sawdust in her beak.
Mating occurs as follows: the female crouches low, and the male sits on her back, pressing his wings against her body. At this point, fertilization occurs.
Nest development
How to breed budgerigars at home? This question worries many bird owners. The main work has already been done. The time was chosen correctly, the birds got to know each other and liked each other, the food was chosen rationally, with calcium supplements and fortified food. The house is installed, and the female begins to settle down in a new place. First, she will climb into the building, look around. And in the event that she likes the nesting place, she begins to accept the courtship of the male.
When the time comes, the female lays eggs inside the house. You can understand the moment of laying the clutch by the movements of the tail in the rhythm of the female's breathing, the litter before the clutch itself becomes more frequent and is located, as if in a transparent bag. The process of laying occurs gradually, one egg every two days. The laying can last two weeks, more than eight eggs do not happen in budgerigars.
When the last one is demolished, hatching begins. Only the female sits on the eggs, and the male carefully brings her food in his beak, burping what he has eaten. During this period, future parents should not be disturbed; do not look into the cage unnecessarily.
The appearance of offspring
After the start of incubation, the chicks are born after 16 or 19 days, in the same order in which the eggs appeared, that is, one chick hatches every two days. They hatch completely helpless, there are no feathers, the body is covered with pink skin, the eyes are blind. The female feeds them on her own, the food is processed with enzymes from a special gland so that it is easy for the chicks to swallow it.
The chicks grow quickly, the size shows who was born before the others. If you are familiar with the rules of how to breed budgerigars at home, then do not forget, after all the chicks have hatched, and this is immediately clear from the quiet squeak from the house, pour more food on the bottom of the cage. Also, the chicks need cleanliness, so inspect the house, remove garbage and waste from it. If a chick has died, then it must be immediately removed from the nest.
Chick development
You already know how to properly breed budgerigars. Let's see how the chicks look and develop after birth. On the first day they are naked and blind, dark spots are visible instead of eyes. The body is covered with a yellowish fluff in some places. The head and legs are large, after a week the eyes begin to open. And already on the 8-10th day, short rudiments of feathers appear, first on the head and back. From day 11, the body is completely covered with down, at the same time, sprouts of flight and tail feathers begin to appear. By downy feathers, you can already determine the future color of the baby. If they are gray, then the budgerigar has the usual color, if white, then the young have turned out to be light or with an opal pattern.
The next stage of development is the growth of upper cover feathers on the wings and tail feathers. When the chicks are 3 weeks old, the feathers are released from the covers, and the birds already look almost like adults.
Conclusion
Keeping and breeding budgerigars is an exciting, but also responsible business. If you want to have healthy chicks and not overwork the female, then nesting can be arranged no more than 2 times a year. Even if the female has already laid new eggs before the departure of the chicks, they must be removed along with the house. You cannot prevent fertilization, but in the future the female will be able to rest. Happy breeding!