Breeding condition is a change in a birds body to prepare for reproducing.  When your budgies they are in breeding condition they are primed and ready to raise their chicks, they are at peak fertility, and have the optimal hormone levels to carry out raising a family from start to finish. 

These hormone levels are ideal for egg development and fertilization, as well as parenting drives for raising the resulting chicks to be healthy confidant adults.

This article will help you to know why  breeding condition is important, how you can tell when your pair is out, coming in, and in condition, and how you can encourage them to come into condition 

Why Condition Before Breeding?

In the wild budgies naturally come into breeding condition at optimal times during the year when there are the best condition. At these times there are increased light hours for finding food and water, a greater supply of fresh food, and they have just finished with their seasonal molts.

You can attempt to breed your pair outside of this ideal time, but the results will always be better if you work with their natural body cycles and you will have less of the common breeding problems that often come up.

Common Problems That Result From A Pair Not Being In Condition:

• Lack of breeding motivation in your pair
  
• Irregular laying cycles 
  
• Infertile eggs
  
• Abandoned eggs 
  
• Poorly fed chicks 
  
• Abandoned chicks

It is simply because hormones play a role in successful breeding drive for all of the things mentioned above that there are higher chances of them with a out of condition pair. The change of your pairs cere and behavior is an outward sign of the inward change in them. If you want them to breed as successfully as possible, you need to work with their natural cycles during the time they are in condition.

As was mentioned, the cere and behavior are the best indicators. Here are some things to look for in both your male and female to judge when they are in, out, and coming into breeding condition..

Breeding Condition In Males

The vast majority of males have a blue cere at maturity. When male of this color cere are not in breeding condition he will look like the pictures below, with a lighter blue and uneven even color to the cere. 

When out of condition, males have a much lower fertility rate.

Examples of males (with a blue cere at maturity) who are not in breeding condition

The males below have the deep blue, shiny and even tone to their cere that you would expect to see when they are in peak condition. 

This is what you are looking for when your male is ready to breed.

Examples of males (with a blue cere at maturity) in breeding condition

Male dark eyed clears, recessive pieds, lacewings, fallows and inos when out of condition will usually have a more dull pink cere, with a lighter color of blue or white around the nostrils like the males below.

When out of condition these males have a much lower fertility rate and lower breeding drive.

Examples of males (with a pink cere at maturity) not in breeding condition

Male dark eyed clears, recessive pieds, lacewings, fallows and inos when in breeding condition will have a much more even and deep pink/purple to the cere in general especially around the nostrils, much like the color they had as young chicks before their first molt. 

This is the ideal condition to breed them with the best success and fertility.

Examples of males (with a pink cere at maturity) who are in breeding condition

Behavior To Look For In Males:

• He will become more vocal. 
  
• He will flirt and sing to anyone or anything that will listen, trying their best to impress their potential mates and stand out over other males. 
  
• His cere will change from a light uneven color of blue or pink, to a deep, even bright blue or pink in color depending on the mutation.
  

Breeding Condition In Females

A female who is not in condition will have a white/blue color to her cere like in the pictures below. 

This is the least fertile time to try and breed your female as far as hormone levels in a healthy hen.

Examples of females not in breeding condition

As you can see in the pictures below, when a female starts to come into condition the white/brown color begins to turn into a light tan cream color.  

This is when it is best to set your pair up in their breeding cage. By the time they are fully in condition and receive a nest box they will be settled and ready to lay.

Examples of females coming into breeding condition

Below are females in breeding condition. This is when you want to introduce the nest box and encourage egg laying. 

By this time the pair should be well bonded and mating after spending a couple of weeks together in the breeding cage.

Examples of females in peak breeding condition

Behavior To Look For In Females:

• She will often become more dominant and aggressive in general, and especially toward other females. 
  
• She will start chewing just about everything in sight like perches, toys cuttlebones and mineral blocks etc.
  
• She will flirt with males, become more vocal, and start searching out potential nesting spots. 
  
• Her cere will change from blue/white to a deep tan.
  

A Higher Fat And Protein Diet

In the wild the weather and food supplies it brings has a huge effect on breeding! Australia is normally very dry and finding enough food for themselves is very difficult during the dry seasons, so when there is the greatest amount of food during the wet seasons is when budgies naturally begin to breed.

High protein and fat foods will encourage breeding condition. You will also want to increase their calcium intake with cuttlebones, mineral blocks and liquid calcium.

Some Examples Of High Protein Foods We Like To Feed: 

• Hard boiled eggs 
  
• Legumes
  
• Couscous
  
• Brown rice 
  
• Quinoa 
  
• Wheat germ
  

Supplements We Use Personally And Suggest To Bring Your Birds Into Condition

ProBoost SuperMax- Conditioning And Breeding Supplement

$9.99

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Breeding supplement.  Contains protein, herbs, organic and fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.  Stimulates a breeding response, boosts fertility and promotes chick health and growth.  

We recommend that you use ProBoost SuperMax in conjunction with the Daily Essentials range, CalciBoost and Potent Brew.

Key Features: Ideally given 6-8 weeks prior to breeding, this supplement will bring adult birds into condition and increases fertility rates.

How We Use This Product At Our Aviary: We use this supplement daily for our breeding flock  through out their conditioning and breeding period.

EasyBird - Super Breeder

$11.99

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A combination of a number of Birdcare products in one easy to use breeding supplement.Ideal for breeding birds.  Supports parent and chick birds.  

Combines the ingredients from Daily Essentials 3 (vitamins and minerals), Calcivet Powder (calcium), BioPlus (probiotic) and high protein levels from ProBoost Supermax.

Key Features: Comprehensive all in one supplementation for breeding birds. This product contains calcium, vitamins and minerals, amino acids, protein and a powdered probiotic.  Suitable for parent and chick birds.

Potent Brew- Liquid Pro-Biotic For Birds

$7.99

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A powerful liquid probiotic.  Keeps the natural functions of the gut at their best. Can also improve the vigor of breeding animals and supports baby health.

How We Use This Product At Our Aviary:
We use Potent Brew in our hand feeding formula, as well as in our breeding pairs soft food.

Increase Daylight Hours

Increase daylight hours from 8-10 to 12-14. The more sunlight they can get the better for them, since a hen produces vitamin D from natural sunlight which is needed to absorb calcium and prevent egg binding. 

If your pair does not get at least 30 minutes of direct sunlight a day you may want to consider a supplement that will help compensate for this deficiency.

Have More Than One Pair Of Budgies

Budgies are flock animals. In the wild they breed within hearing distance of other budgies. Not only is it a protection with more budgies to keep a look out for predators, but it also provides competition which spurs on the pair.

If you do not have other pairs to provide this stimulation, the best alternative would be a T.V or radio playing to mimic the sound of a flock. Silence for a budgie means danger, so making them feel secure with lots of back round noise will increase their motivation to breeding.

Lastly Provide A Nest Box

Once you are seeing signs that your pair is actively in breeding condition they are ready for you to introduce a nest box. 

Adding some shavings for the female to kick out and arrange in the box will trigger her nesting instincts. We like to add some spray millet in the box so the hen has something to eat during the long hours she spends in the box incubating and feeding the chicks as well. 

If your pair is fully conditioned and bonded, you can expect eggs (hopefully fertile!) to be laid 7-14 days later.