One of the most important things to keep in mind is that budgies are by nature colony birds, this basically means they don't like to be alone. This is especially true with regards to breeding, whilst a lone pair of budgies will breed, they will be much happier surrounded by or in the vicinity of other budgies. The minimum number of pairs you should have is probably about three. It is not so much necessary for them to be able to see each other (although some say this helps) as much as hear one another.
Here's another tip... the more cock birds that a hen can hear (whilst in the breeding cage) the more responsive she will be to the cock birds advances.
Breeding Condition
There are two things to take into account when looking for a budgie in breeding condition...
Firstly the colour of the cere...
What is a cere ?
The cere is the coloured bit above a budgies beak. On the cock bird it is blue. On the hen it is a pinkish brown colour. On albinos, lutinos and recessive birds the cock birds cere is pink. (See 'Different Types').
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Cocks - the cocks cere if he's in breeding condition will be a pronounced blue. Cocks go in and out of condition throughout the year so you will not have to wait long to see the cock's cere in both phases.
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Hens - the hens cere is normally a pinkish brown colour, although at the peak of being out of condition it can turn a blue-ish white. When she is in condition it will turn a very deep and solid pinkish brown colour. However, the best time to pair the hen with the cock is as the cere is darkening. That's not as hard to define as you may think, watch your hens carefully, the best time to transfer them to the breeding cage is just as they are coming out of the moult.
If your time due to other commitments is limited you will probably rely more heavily on the above. However, if you can get the time to study your birds, this is what you should look for...
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Cocks - the cock bird should be vibrant and full of energy. In some cases cocks will literally bounce from perch to perch, whilst others maybe not quite so energetic will still be quite lively. They quite often actively pursue the hens, and/or get friendly with one another, sometimes it is an object in the flight. It could be anything I had a cock once that fell head over heels for the corner post of the flight, yup, a bit of 2" x 2" just above the perch.
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Hens - this where the chewing bit I warned you about (I wrote it somewhere) is at its pinnacle. A hen in condition will turn perches and posts into sawdust, its a natural reaction that in the wild would see the hen burrowing into the side of a half rotten tree or perfecting the hole that someone else started. Iodine blocks and cuttlefish will be reduced to white and pink piles of rubble on the floor.
Just to make this even easier for the poor beginner who is probably now holding his head wondering how they're ever going to get it right, you're not alone Mother Nature lends a helping hand, all of this will transpire at the beginning of Spring! This is about March - April in the northern hemisphere. It will also happen at other times of year but definitely then. Its the one time you can guarantee. Added to this is the fact that nature intends birds to breed at this time of year!
The other time of the year I would recommend is the latter part of summer to the beginning of Autumn. September - October time.
This is not to say that breeding cannot take place at other times of the year, I personally have bred my birds successfully at all times of the year.
Types of next box
To be added soon.
Preparation
Make
sure the cage is thoroughly clean (including perches), I use a weak disinfectant
or bleach solution to wash my cages a couple of days before I intend to
introduce the birds. Make sure the cage is thoroughly dry before you do
anything else! Check the cuttlefish and iodine blocks, and replace as
necessary. Put grit (my preference), sand or newspaper (if you prefer) on
the cage floor. At this stage I put my nest boxes on the cage, some
breeders prefer to add nest boxes later after the chosen pair has been added.
I have tried this and found it disturbs the birds more, if the box is in place
they accept it as a part of their surroundings. If you use deep boxes
(like mine) these should be stuffed to the gunnels (full) with wood shavings.
If all this is done then you are ready to...
Which birds to pair together
Think carefully about the type of bird you would like to breed ??? If you look at the following points I will elaborate on why consideration could be important...
Is the cock bird carrying any sex linked or recessive genes ? If you bred the bird yourself a quick check of your records will provide a few answers. If you bought the bird did you ask the seller? This is not always conclusive as traits of this kind can show up generations later and come as a complete surprise. The
Colour - If you want to breed a certain colour then obviously either one or both of the parent birds should be that colour. E.g.. A green and a blue bird paired together could produce both blue and green off spring. Or they could be all blue or all green! If the green bird in question had a blue parent this would increase the number of blue chicks when this bird is paired to a blue. I will cover this more extensively later.
A certain type ? Maybe a pied or a spangle?
I will cover Breeding Expectations later somewhere, I mentioned the above points because they should be given due consideration. As a beginner when you try to sell excess stock you will soon learn that certain colours, and certain types sell a lot easier than others. Probably the hardest bird to sell to someone desiring a pet is a grey green. From this view point they are not colourfully cheerful!
Introducing the birds
There are quite a few different ways to introduce birds to a breeding cage.
The simple method is to take one cock and one hen and put them in a breeding cage together. Most birds will happily settle down together after a few days.
The method I use is to select the pairs I am going to use but only put the cock bird into the breeding cage at this stage. Let him live in solitary confinement for about 3 days. During this time he will familiarise himself with the cage and sometimes explore the nest box, don't worry if he ignores the box. Some cocks only ever go in the box to feed the hen, others almost seem to move in with the hen and only come out to exercise and feed. After the 3 days have passed replenish the food dishes and water, then introduce the hen. The lonely cock will probably now become extremely animated and actively pursue the hen.
Another way of doing this is introduce the hen first, although I strongly discourage doing this as the hen might take up residence in the box and not come out long enough for the cock bird to tread (mate with) her.
Whatever method you employ the following is relevant...
I recommend you spend at least the next half hour after putting the pair together watching your newly paired birds to make sure they settle okay. There are 4 possible outcomes...
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The pair will ignore each other.
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The cock will actively pursue the hen trying to mate with her, and then settle down
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The cock will be too boisterous in his pursuit and could physically hurt the hen. You will have to use your own judgement on this matter. But a hen can take a good bit of ruff and tumble. However, there is a chance the hen will fight back and the cock bird is more likely to come off the worse.
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The hen will decide she doesn't like the cock and attack him, if these birds are not separated she will probably kill him or inflict wounds that will eventually result in death.
I only put these in as a warning, not to put you off or panic you. These
type of problems aren't very common but they do happen.
Don't worry too much if for the first couple of days the pair are at opposite ends of the cage, its quite normal. If it goes on longer, consider them incompatible. Quite soon they should be seen together with the cock feeding the hen. This becomes more evident when you replenish seed dishes as the cock usually feeds whilst the hen looks on. Don't be concerned if you don't actually see the pair mating, some birds (unlike the the pair in the picture) seem to prefer a bit of privacy.
If you use deep nest boxes like mine, over the next few days the hen will excavate either all or some of the wood shavings. Just keep replacing it! She will keep this up until she lays her first egg. Keep replenishing the shavings in order to make sure there is a resonable amount in the box when she does start, it'll make for easier cleaning later.
Eggs
Once successfully bonded in the breeding cage you should expect the hen to start laying about 10 - 14 days later. Chances are the hen won't start to sit properly until she has laid her second or even third egg, so you can expect these eggs, if they're fertile to hatch later than the expected date. The hen is the sole custodian of incubation rights, its the cocks job to keep her fed when she's in the nest box. Although some cocks do spend a considerable amount of time in the box with the hen, whereas some never go an further than poking their heads through the entrance to feed the hen. Eggs are usually laid every other day, although this year one of my hens laid every fourth day - and seven out of seven eggs were fertile although only four hatched.
Breeding Chart (click the link)
Candling
After about a week you should be able to discern which eggs are fertile. Eggs should be disturbed as little as possible! By just looking at them fertile eggs will take on a more solid , a sort of marble stone aspect. A more reliable method is what is known as CANDLING, there are a few ways in which you can do this...
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Hold the egg between your index finger and thumb in front of a bright light. Alternatively you can use a torch, stand it on end, and lay the egg on top of it. If the egg appears solid and you can't see through it at all then it is fertile.
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By means of a fibre optic light (I think that's what it called) this amazing little torch is made for the job and allows you to check eggs without disturbing them. You simply place the end against the egg and hey presto the contents, or lack of, are revealed. I'll try and find a picture to add in here.
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This I'm afraid I don't know much about and have never tried. It involves placing eggs into a cup of warm water, I think good eggs bob about and bad eggs either sink or just sit there. I don't recommend this method for two reasons.... 1. if the temperature of the water is too extreme (hot or cold) it could kill the developing chick. 2. For a certain amount of time during development eggs exhorb moisture and later they dispel it. So unless you can be 100% sure on these points I wouldn't risk it.