Budgie Breeding Myths- The True Facts Can Save Countless Parents And Chicks
There are many supposed "facts" about breeding budgies that are actually nothing more than myths.
Not only are they false, but following them as if they are truth can actually cause the unnecessary death of your pair or chicks. In this chapter, I will discuss some of the most common breeding myths, why they are very untrue and how you can avoid the common problems they will cause in knowing the truth regarding them.
Myths Regarding Your Pair
Myth - Breeding More Than One Pair To A Cage Is Safe
It is true that in the wild, budgies do not have any bars separating them. Birds will breed in a colony to an extent, meaning that a flock of budgies will breed in the same general area. However, this fact is often twisted to make it seem as though we can safely breed budgies in cages and aviary's and expect good results. Unlike their wild relatives, budgies bred in our homes no matter how large their enclosure, are still in a confined space. They have very limited options compared to their wild relatives.
When a fight breaks out there is only so much space to flee when colony breeding. In addition, limited nesting sites often cause countless fights, resulting in the injury and/or death of hundreds if not thousands of chicks a year.
These needless injuries and deaths can easily be avoided by breeding one pair to a cage. This is what any ethical and caring breeder would do if they have the true interests of their birds at heart.
Myth - Budgies Know When They Are Old Enough To Breed
In the wild Budgies are nomadic in their breeding habits, meaning they raise chicks when their environment allows them to do so. This breeding cycle dictates when they are able to reproduce, as well as allows each chick time to mature before the next breeding season. In a dry season, each budgie will struggle to find enough food and water to feed themselves, so the idea of breeding could not be farther from their minds.
When it comes to our homes however we have the ability to allow our birds to reproduce year round. They have an environment that is predator free with an abundance of food in a variety year round, and in addition we provide them with an ideal breeding set up and perfect lighting constantly.
Given the facts mentioned above, how can we say that given the huge differences in environments, that our budgies will have any idea when they should naturally breed for the first time? The moment they come out of the nest box they will likely be thrown into what would be considered a constant breeding season for their wild counterparts, so their instincts alone cannot be trusted.
Because of the obvious differences in breeding in the wild and in our homes, we as owners need to step in and give them enough time to mature, as nature would have if they were in the wild where they thrive naturally. We need to prevent a breeding season as would happen in the wild after they fledge. This will allow their growing little bodies to mature and molt twice before allowing them to breed for the first time. This is what an ethical breeder will do if they have any consideration for their birds well-being.
Myth - A Pair Does Not Need To Be In Condition To Breed
As was mentioned above, budgies follow a natural breeding cycle. They are not like humans where they can breed at any time of the year. They need a specific schedule to follow and if we follow this simple but important schedule, we will find a much higher success rate.
Their bodies go through specific changes during any given breeding cycle, which is called “breeding condition". For males breeding condition causes a surge of testosterone, which causes the testicle to enlarge from a size that is slightly larger than a pin head to almost the size of a pea, and the same extreme changes can be found in hens.
When a pair has been conditioned properly and is actually in breeding condition you will find higher fertility rates, chick survival rates, and better health all around for your pair. On the other hand, when you attempt to breed a pair when they have not had an appropriate conditioning period and they are not in peak condition, infertility, abandonment and death will be the common result for both the parents and their chicks.
Myth - Seed Mix And A Vitamin Supplement Is An Adequate Breeding Diet
How would we as humans fare if we and our children only ate potato chips and a vitamin supplement when we were pregnant and raising our children? The answer is quite obvious; it would be a complete disaster. The same is true when it comes to raising any animal including budgies.
Budgies need a well-balanced and varied diet all year around, but especially so when they are breeding. Our birds and their chicks will only be as healthy as the diet they are eating. With a good and well-balanced diet including vegetables, hard boiled eggs and sprouted seed you will produce healthy and happy chicks. On the other hand with such a poor diet as dried seed mix and a vitamin supplement you can expect to have nothing but sickly parents and chicks at best, with countless deaths as a result.
Myth - Handling Eggs Or Chicks Will Cause The Pair To Abandon Them
While this might be true of animals that have a good sense of smell such as rodents, budgies like most other birds have a very poor sense of smell.
If you handle their eggs or chicks in an appropriate way after gaining even a small amount of trust with them they will have no idea that you have done so, and will be completely fine with it.
Myths Regarding Egg Laying And Incubation
Myth- A Hen Will Pluck Her Feathers For Nesting Material
Waterfowl and other like birds will pluck their feathers to make a nest, but budgies like most other parrots do not make nests. Budgies use tree hollows for nests and prefer mostly if not completely bare nests. For this reason plucking feathers for a nest is not normal in budgies for any reason.
When they start to lay their eggs female budgies will naturally lose the feathers on a small part of their lower chest/belly. This area is called a ‘brood patch’, which contains a much higher concentration of blood vessels than other areas of her body. It is designed to allow direct contact between her skin and the egg to actually warm them. This exchange of heat cannot be done through the feathers as they are meant to keep the heat in their body, not let it out.
When a brooding hen comes out and fluffs her feathers, you can usually see this little patch very easily if you look at her lower abdomen, but this brood patch should not be noticeable otherwise. Bare patches found on her other than this small area are a cause for concern and should be watched very closely.
Feather plucking is, in fact, a sign of stress, poor nutrition or a psychological issue in budgies.
Myth- Male Budgies Can Help To Incubate Eggs
As was mentioned above, during the egg laying/incubation process female budgies develop a special patch of featherless skin on their lower abdomen. The brood patch that allows a female budgie to incubate her eggs is also the reason why a male budgie cannot help incubate. And regardless of how much time he spends in the nest box with her, he will never develop one.
Without a brood patch and direct skin to egg contact, any eggs would literally freeze to death despite being technically under him. Males can sit in the nest if she will let him, but he is only there to keep her company during the incubation process.
Myth- Budgies Eat Their Eggs When They Are Not Fertile
Egg eating is an unfortunate habit that has nothing to do with fertility. Budgies will eat both fertile and infertile eggs equally, although most destroy and eat their eggs soon after they are laid so the development of even a fertile egg is not very far along.
This habit, which is often nearly impossible to stop once it has started, often begins when an inexperienced budgie cracks a newly laid egg. Once it is cracked and the contents start to come out they will naturally be curious and touch it with their beak, and once they get a taste for it and see their own eggs as a source of food it is all downhill from there.
The habit is especially hard to break if the budgie is lacking what it needs nutritionally. It takes a great deal out each budgies body during the breeding process, the hens especially. With the contents of each egg being so nutrient rich if they are at all deprived of what they need, egg eating will turn into a habit very quickly.
Myth- Letting A Budgie Hen Sit On Infertile Eggs Will Stop Her From Laying More
So often I read that letting a hen sit on infertile eggs will prevent her from wanting to start another clutch, but I have never found this to be the case with any budgie I have owned. Not only will it not stop her from raising another clutch but it actually takes a lot of energy for her to sit incubate them.
Considering all of the extra body heat that each hen puts into incubation and the fact that they are such determined little things, most good hens will quite literally waste away a great deal of their body weight while sitting on a clutch of infertile eggs if you do not step in remove them. Then after they are removed most will immediately start another clutch even if something drastic is done to discourage her. Why should we allow our birds to needlessly waste precious time and body reserves if we can easily prevent it? Myth - Nesting Material Is Essential During Egg Laying And Incubation
Most hens do not like to have any nesting material in their box until after the chicks start to hatch, and many that leave some nesting material in the box will only do so around the edges of their box where it is out of the way.
If your hen kicks out all of the material you put in before she starts to lay, just let her be. The last thing you want to do is cause her to addle, break or chill her eggs because she is trying to eliminate the shavings you keep adding to her box. As the chicks start to hatch and she is occupied with their care you can add a bit of nesting material little by little and she will
Myths Regarding Chicks And Their Care
Myth - Cleaning The Nest Box Will Cause A Hen To Abandon Her Clutch
The act of cleaning out a nest box in itself is not what causes a hen to stop caring for her chicks, but rather it is the fault of the breeder who failed to develop a good routine with their bird’s right from the beginning.
Budgies are extremely forgiving and reasonable bird species, and they will go along with whatever you ask them to do. A simple routine of checking your boxes 1-2 times daily from the time you introduce it will make nest cleaning and maintenance a normal everyday activity for your pair. I check on each of my pairs in the morning and again in the evening unless I have reason to worry and I have yet to ever have a pair abandon their clutch.
The time when chicks are in the nest is no time to slack on a care and cleaning routine. It will do much more harm than good and without a clean box you can easily end up with sick and deformed babies when they become covered in their own waste
Myth - Some Hens Pluck Their Chicks A Little Bit. It Is Completely Normal
Plucking is never normal in any amount and there is no excuse for it with budgies, period.
Feather plucking is usually a sign of emotional or physical distress that has nothing to do with breeding, although the added stress of breeding can increase the behavior. An example of this would be a hen who plucks when she feels overwhelmed by the number of chicks in her clutch, although this is usually only seen in very large clutches.
Most often plucking is a behavioral problem that they learned from their parents when they were plucked themselves as chicks. Because of the emotional effect plucking has on them it is very wise to eliminate any plucking birds from a breeding program immediately, and to avoid breeding chicks that were ever plucked by their parents by selling them to pet only homes.
Myth - Chicks Only Need A Few Days With Their Parents And Siblings After Leaving The Nest And Weaning
Budgies learn a lot more from their parents and siblings than just how to eat. They learn important social and life skills that will dictate how they live and will be accepted by other budgies for the rest of their life. Through their parents and siblings, they learn patience, flock hierarchy and where they belong in it. They also learn how to preen and show affection to other budgies and how far is too far when it comes to personal space. In addition, they also learn from experience what to be afraid of and what, or who, they should trust.
There are so many reasons young chicks need time with their parents and siblings, and chicks that are allowed to stay with other budgies for at least 2 and ideally 3 weeks after weaning will grow into well-rounded, secure and mentally healthy adults who will pass these traits on to their chicks.
A few extra weeks might not seem like a lot to us, but it will make all the difference in the world to them.
