Reproduction of budgerigars at home

Among bird lovers, small budgerigars enjoy well-deserved popularity. These birds own the honorary title of pets. This is not surprising - these are kind, affectionate and very entertaining creatures who adore their masters. Often, breeders begin to breed their pets in order to increase their numbers. In this situation, it will be useful to learn all the intricacies of breeding birds.

Budgerigars are adapted for reproduction in captivity, in addition, birds are quite prolific, therefore they can breed up to 3 times per year. However, caring owners try to prevent such situations, otherwise the chicks may be born sick.

In order for the female to be able to give offspring, the beginning poultry breeder must first of all understand that it is a flock of birds, so it needs a place for successful mating, as well as a partner. If several birds live in a cage at once, then it is impossible to determine in advance how they will choose a pair. The choice is usually made by a female parrot. These families are very strong - the birds do not part for quite some time.

If you have only a male parrot living, then he can get a young female about 3-4 months old. It's no secret that usually females dominate, so your budgie will have a great opportunity to tame a young bird "for himself". While she is growing up, she will have time to become very attached to her companion and will not begin to show her sharp character.

If only a female of about one year old lives in your house, then it is best to purchase an adult male for her. Only he can bear the explosive temperament and quarrelsome antics of his girlfriend.

In any case, suitable for breeding exclusively adults, necessarily healthy and physically strong individuals, whose age has crossed a one-year milestone. It is best to take parrots from different nurseries, otherwise the risk of mixing related genes is high, which often leads to the birth of genetically mutated offspring.

Puberty in females begins after 12 months, and in males after 10. However, it is considered to be the most favorable age for productive breeding 2-4 years of life, however, under favorable conditions in captivity, birds can successfully lay eggs up to 8-10 years, in some cases even longer.

The optimum time for successful mating is considered to be the warm season - from the second decade of May to early September. During this period, the birds have enough light, green juicy food and a temperature background. In the spring, the feathered organism experiences severe vitamin deficiency, becomes weakened, and the female is not able to endure strong offspring. Conceived offspring at such a time in most cases is underdeveloped and dies in the egg.

Birds have every chance for full reproduction in captivity, subject to several basic rules:

• the presence of a spacious aviary with a nest for chicks;
• long daylight hours - up to 15-16 hours (artificially extended if necessary);
• air temperature - not less than 22 degrees;
• good nutrition with the inclusion of juicy greens at least 2 times a day;
• maintaining home hygiene.

If the female is still too young or, on the contrary, already mature, it is not worth artificially creating favorable conditions for mating. It should be noted that mating games of budgies - this is an extremely touching sight. During this period, the male begins to very gently care for the female, in every way pleases her, takes the most amusing poses only so that his beloved draws attention to him.

In these minutes, loud singing is heard, in addition, the male parrot begins to talk - hammering with its beak in a wide variety of subjects, including the beak of its female. The seriousness of the male’s intentions can be understood by his desire to feed the female. If breeders began to notice that the male begins to constantly present tidbits to his beloved, therefore, his behavior signals a willingness to take care of her and their future offspring, because it is the male who will be responsible for obtaining food during the period when the female begins to lay and hatch eggs.

It’s best to put the young couple in a separate enclosure and track their further relationships. - if they do not start pecking at each other and pulling feathers, then we can count on the early appearance of chicks.

The birds mate quite quickly, so that some owners do not even have time to notice this. Usually, the female unfolds almost to a horizontal position, the partner sits on top and very quickly fertilizes her, taking wings. Depending on the physiological characteristics of the birds, fertilization can be successful after the very first intercourse, and can last for several weeks.

In order for the process to be successful, you can resort to a little trick - for a couple of weeks before the act, birds should be given the opportunity to fly as much as possible: during such flights, their muscles are strengthened, their appetite increases and their metabolism normalizes.

If the birds reached their goal the first time, then all the same parrots continue their mating for several more days. Usually, it’s possible to determine whether the attempt was successful after a few days - the bird begins to nest. At this point, you should take care to install the nest inside the cage, as well as provide the birds with materials that they may need to equip the future incubator.

At first, parrots may not perceive the house, but usually this phenomenon is only temporary: in a couple of days, the female will begin to examine the nest from all sides and put in it “order” at its discretion. At this moment, the male parrot continues to care for the future mother, takes care of her feeding and joyfully tweetes at the same time.

The minimum size of the cage for one pair of birds is 60x40x40 cm. If the cage contains two pairs at once, then the size of the dwelling should be larger. It is optimal that the bottom of the enclosure can be extended, and the side planks provide an opportunity to attach a nest to them.

On sale you can find nests from a variety of materials, but most often they are made of plastic and wood. The former are cheaper, but at the same time impractical, short-lived and uncomfortable. Wooden far more meet the needs of young parents and chicks - they give good heat transfer and have a pleasant texture for birds.

Depending on the design features, you can set ready-made nests of three types.

• Horizontal - they are very convenient for the entry of females, and the masonry at the time of hatching remains intact and intact. However, an inlet located too low can provoke an early departure of young chicks from the nest, which often leads to their injuries.
• Vertical - in this case, the hole is located quite high and the chicks can remain in their cozy nest until the final formation, but at the same time there is a risk that at the entrance the female can break the eggs.
• Compression - Perhaps the best option for feathered lovers. The structure of such a nest is convenient for both young parents and their cubs, while the additional step allows you to keep the masonry safe and sound.

Experienced craftsmen, if desired, can make a nest with their own hands.

You need to prepare in advance for the breeding of birds. For example, you need to increase the duration of daylight hours gradually. If this is done abruptly, then molting can begin in birds, and such birds should not be allowed to mate.

The hygiene of the home of a pregnant female parrot is very important. All surrounding objects with which the expectant mother may come into contact must be disinfected. To do this, the cage itself, as well as all drinking bowls, feeders and favorite toys, are washed with water with the addition of a small amount of bleach using a brush, and then thoroughly rinsed.

The house for further nesting is washed with antibacterial soap, dried and calcined for about half an hour in an oven or microwave. If the nest is made of plastic, then it can be held in the open sun for at least 6 hours. In the sawdust scattered along the bottom, the grass of the pharmacy chamomile should be added - this will prevent the invasion of ticks and other dangerous parasitic insects. It is desirable to place the cage in a quiet place, preferably secluded. During the mating season, all extraneous noise should be minimized.

The nutrition of the expectant mother should be full and varied throughout the period while she is carrying eggs. In addition to the grain mixture, she should eat cereals, fruits, vegetables, juicy greens and young shoots of fruit trees. Mineral top dressing, as well as cottage cheese and eggs are extremely important during this period. - they serve as a source of easily assimilated calcium.

At the time of nesting, the female needs enhanced nutrition. Breeding of birds, whose diet consists only of grain and apples with carrots, is strictly not allowed. It is important that the bird receives all of these feed types. During this period, the presence of sources of vitamin E in the menu, which promotes reproduction, is very important. You can buy it at any veterinary pharmacy.

It is imperative that the parrot has access to drinking water. It is advisable to give the bird bottled or filtered. Do not forget to regularly wash the drinker, and immediately discard all unfinished fruits, berries and vegetables.

Good feed mixtures at the breeding stage are:

• carrots + juicy grass + buckwheat porridge + boiled egg;
• sprouted cereal + chopped beets + hard-boiled egg;
• sprouted cereal + bell pepper + gammarus;
• cereal steamed with hot water + juicy grass + sprouted legumes + cauliflower;
• crumbly cottage cheese + grated pumpkin + young greens + sprouted oats.

If the female does not show any interest in him, then it makes sense to add crushed calcium gluconate tablets to the food - this will allow the shell to be more durable, and the embryos themselves to develop successfully. As soon as the female lays eggs, try to increase the degree of humidity near the nest up to 60-65%, otherwise the film will entangle the chick and it simply suffocates. Usually use humidifiers or place room fountains near the cage.

After laying eggs soft food should immediately be excluded from the diet of the female, and grain volume, in contrast, doubled. Chicken eggs at this time give very rarely and in scanty volumes. Two to three days before hatching, the eggs can be returned to the mother’s diet, as well as strengthen the menu with carotene-rich foods - carrots, beets, and bell peppers.

Usually, the female can lay eggs with a frequency of 1-2 days. The total number of eggs is affected by the age of the feathered pets. Usually there are 4-7 eggs, although 5 is considered the best option - only such an amount the bird can heat evenly. If there are more eggs, then you should either put part of them to another pair, or use a special incubator.

Usually chicks hatch after 18-19 days. Birds from the inside crack the shell with their beaks, and if they themselves do not have the strength, their mother helps them. After the birth of the firstborn his mother should reduce the use of germinated seeds, replacing them with vegetables.

Usually, it is considered normal when their number is 1-2, such situations occur if the female is very young and has not been able to fully heat the masonry. If not one chick has hatched from the eggs, most likely one of the following reasons occurs:

• infectious and fungal diseases of parents;
• insufficient humidity near the nest;
• excessively cool indoor air;
• lack of hygiene of the dwelling in which the birds sit;
• poor quality food or drinking problems;
• genetic incompatibility of the pair.

The chicks in this period are very weak, after the birth of the world they can’t even keep their heads on their own, therefore they lie on their backs. At this stage, the mother takes all care of their food: she feeds them with goiter mucous secretions with the addition of pieces of undigested food.

On the intricacies of the reproduction of budgies at home, see below.