Budgerigar nest: selection features and manufacturing rules

Budgerigars are brightly colored birds with a friendly disposition, which is why they are often chosen as pets. In order for the parrots to feel comfortable and productively mating, they must be provided with a nesting house. This design can be either purchased ready-made or made independently from scrap materials.

In the wild, budgerigars live in flocks and choose hollows in trees as nests. They love a spacious and protected space, therefore, when equipping their house, they thoroughly clean the bottom of the nests from dust.

As for keeping birds at home, store-bought or self-made hollows are quite suitable for them.

A budgerigar breeding house is set up in a cage with two doors. In the first zone of the cage, the house itself is usually placed, and in the second, feeders and drinkers are installed. The main requirement for a nesting house is the presence of free space, which will further ensure the successful breeding of offspring and facilitate the process of caring not only for a couple of parrots, but also for their chicks. In some cases, the nest is attached to the outside of the cage, saving space in a small structure.

Budgerigar nest looks different and comes in different materials. Most often it is made of wood, giving preference to such species as birch, spruce and pine. The lid in it should be easy to open, since it will periodically have to add sawdust and disinfect it.

Parts of the nesting house are of standard thickness. In the event that it is made independently from scrap materials, then the thickness of the floor should be at least 4 cm, walls and roof - 2 cm.

With such a thickness of the walls and floor, a constant temperature regime will be created in the house, it will always be warm, and the humidity will be maintained at the same level.

It is undesirable to purchase or make houses from chipboard, cardboard and plywood. They are very cold and will negatively affect the successful hatching of chicks. In addition, materials impregnated with glue and chemical composition will have a detrimental effect on the health of chicks and parent parrots.

She is placed at the bottom near the entrance to the house, so that it is easy for the female to get in and out. Otherwise, the bird will have to make considerable efforts when moving, and it will need them for reproduction and incubation. Therefore, the owners of budgies should, during their mating season, simplify the life of birds as much as possible, which will increase the likelihood of obtaining healthy offspring.

Thanks to this, the nest will be accessible from any point, which, in turn, will greatly facilitate the process of disinfection and cleaning of the house.

In addition, when arranging a home hollow, it is important to take into account some of the nuances.

• Availability of fresh air access. To do this, it is necessary that the structure has several holes with a diameter of 0.8 to 1 cm. You can drill them yourself in the lower part of the house.

• Convenience in cleaning. Before starting to use and during the subsequent keeping of birds, the house should be thoroughly washed, therefore, its structure must have free access to cleaning.

• Quality flooring. It is best to lay sawdust on the floor, as they absorb moisture well.

• The size of the cage. These indicators depend on the age, size and number of parrots that are planned to be kept. As a rule, budgerigars are placed one by one or in pairs. In order for a feathered pet to feel comfortable, one individual must account for at least 7% of the total cage space.

There is no need for additional lighting. For its normal level, there will be enough light that penetrates through the entrance holes.

Today there are several types of budgerigar nests, each of which has its own characteristics.

It has the following dimensions: width 25X20 and height 15 cm. The entrance in a similar design is located at a short distance from the top and side wall. The main advantage of the horizontal structure is its convenient location. Due to the sufficient width of the entrance, the female can freely enter and leave the house without damaging the masonry.

Structures measuring 35X35X20 cm are also on sale, their entrance is located at a distance of 4 cm from the side wall and the upper edge. Additionally, there is a window with a diameter of 5 cm, but in order to facilitate the entry of birds into the nest, it is necessary to attach a small step under the entrance window.

This type of nesting house is considered the most popular because it is characterized by its compact size, takes up little space and is convenient for parrots. Unlike the horizontal model, chicks in this design are fenced off access to the exit. This is due to the fact that the notch is located high (at a distance of 3 cm from the upper edge). The dimensions of the vertical houses are 20X20 cm in width and 25 cm in height.

This model is considered ideal, since it combines the best characteristics of vertical and horizontal houses. In addition, this type of construction is easy to assemble. Its dimensions are 20 cm in height and 25X20 cm in width. There is enough free space for the female to comfortably move around the nest. At the same time, access to early flight for chicks is limited.

The main advantage of a compromise house is the sufficient width of the nest. It allows birds to move freely in the structure and completely eliminates the possibility of damage to the masonry. Thanks to the large area in the house, proper conditions are created for keeping babies.

Many budgerigar owners prefer to make their own nesting houses for them. The process of creating such a structure is simple, but you need to know certain rules on how to equip housing for the female and future chicks, and what material to choose for this. It is not recommended to use chipboard for the construction of houses, since this material contains adhesives and various resins, which can harm newborns.

To do this, choose lining or boards that have not been treated with paint, varnish and penotex. It is advisable to give preference to deciduous wood species. Well suited for the construction of boards of beech, birch and linden up to 50 mm thick (from such a material, housing will turn out to be warm).

In the event that the nest house is planned to be purchased ready-made, then you can choose plastic products. They are inexpensive, but uncomfortable for birds.

Regardless of the material from which the house is made, the nest must also be equipped with bunches of dry grass, branches of shrubs and trees. They are pre-poured with boiling water.

Before you start building a house with your own hands, you need to create its project and draw sketches, having previously decided on the choice of the type of construction and dimensions. The drawings should include all the main details of the house. After that, the preparation of the building material is carried out, which is ideal for boards made of solid wood that has not been treated with chemical compounds. You can also buy blanks of a certain thickness to assemble the walls; they are sold in every pet store.

After you have chosen the type of house, you can get to work.

• First of all, parts are prepared for assembling the roof, bottom and walls. To do this, first make sketches on paper, cut them out and carefully transfer them to the boards. Then the parts are cut with a hacksaw. In this case, an additional hole should be cut out in the front wall for the notch, and 3-4 holes with a diameter of no more than 1 cm should be made in the side walls for ventilation.

• The next step is to assemble the parts using small screws, glue or nails. At the bottom of the entrance, you need to attach a small sill, and place a perch under the entrance.It will also be necessary to install a step inside to protect the eggs from falling out (so that the clutch is always in one place, you need to make a recess with a diameter of 2 cm in the bottom). The bottom of the house is covered with small shavings or sawdust.

• The assembly of the house ends with the installation of the roof. It is attached in such a way that it can be easily removed while cleaning the nest.

Before placing the parrots in the made birdhouse, all the details of its construction must be disinfected by pouring boiling water over it. After that, the structure is washed again with cold water and dried thoroughly. In addition, it is important to check all the edges of the house: nails should not protrude on them and there should be untreated surfaces.

After quality control has been performed, the nesting house is fixed internally or externally to one of the cage walls. You can fix the structure with both special hooks and brackets. The preparation of the nesting house will be completed with its arrangement, during which it is necessary to remember that adult budgerigars in such a structure will live only during nesting.

The nesting house can be made from a plywood box, but it should not be painted with varnish or paint. The nest is also a good breeding ground for budgies. Its design is much simpler compared to plank nest boxes.

Since the diameter of such housing should not be less than 22 cm, and the height should not be more than 40 cm, markings are made in the middle of the log and a hole of appropriate dimensions is made with a chisel. Inside, the hollow should be round and have a wall thickness of 2 cm. In this case, the roof is simply placed on top or fixed with a rope. It is advisable to install the resulting house outside the cage, having previously covered it with sawdust. After the cubs hatch and grow up, the nesting house is removed and hidden for storage.

You can get acquainted with the technology of making nesting houses for budgies in the next video.