Reproduction of budgies at home

Small budgerigars enjoy well-deserved popularity among bird lovers. It is to these birds that the honorary title of pets belongs. This is not surprising - they are kind, affectionate and very amusing creatures who adore their owners... It is not uncommon for breeders to start breeding their pets to increase their numbers. In this situation, it will be useful to learn all the intricacies of bird breeding.

Budgerigars are adapted to breeding in captivity, in addition, the birds are quite fertile, therefore they can reproduce up to 3 times a year. However, caring owners try to avoid such situations, otherwise the chicks may be born sick.

In order for the female to be able to give offspring, a novice poultry breeder must first of all understand that it is a schooling bird, 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 a long time.

If only a male parrot lives with you, then you can get him a young female about 3-4 months old. It's not a secret for anyone that usually females dominate, so your parrot will have an excellent opportunity to tame a young bird "for himself." While she is growing up, she will have time to become strongly attached to her companion and will no longer show her sharp character.

If only a female about one year old lives in your house, then it is best to purchase an adult male for her. Only he will be able to endure 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 the one-year-old milestone. It is best to take parrots from different nurseries, otherwise there is a high risk of mixing related genes, which often leads to the birth of genetically mutated offspring.

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

The optimal time for successful mating is the warm season - from the second decade of May to the beginning of September. During this period, the birds have enough light, green juicy food and a temperature background. In the spring, the body of birds experiences a strong vitamin deficiency, becomes weakened, and the female is unable to bear strong offspring. The offspring conceived at such a time in most cases is underdeveloped and dies even in the egg.

Birds have every chance for full-fledged breeding in captivity, subject to a few 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 - at least 22 degrees;
• good nutrition with the inclusion of juicy greens at least 2 times a day;
• maintaining the hygiene of the home.

If the female is still too young or, on the contrary, is already elderly, it is not worth artificially creating favorable conditions for mating. It should be noted that The mating games of budgerigars are an extremely touching sight. During this period, the male begins to very tenderly look after the female, pleases her in every possible way, takes the most amusing poses only so that his beloved will pay attention to him.

At these minutes loud singing is heard, in addition, the male of the parrots begins to talk - hammer with his beak on a variety of objects, including the beak of his female. The seriousness of the intentions of the male can be understood by his desire to feed the female. If breeders begin to notice that the male begins to constantly present his beloved with tidbits, therefore, his behavior signals his readiness to take care of her and their future offspring, because it is the male that will be responsible for obtaining food during the period when the female begins to lay and hatch eggs.

It is best to plant the young couple in a separate enclosure and follow their further relationship. - if they do not start pecking at each other and pulling feathers, then you can count on the imminent appearance of chicks.

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

To make the process more successful, you can resort to a little trick - a couple of weeks before the act, the birds should be given the opportunity to fly as much as possible: during such flights, their muscles become stronger, their appetite increases and their metabolism normalizes.

If the birds reached their goal the first time, then all the same, the parrots continue their mating for several more days. Usually, it is possible to determine whether the attempt was successful after a few days - the bird begins to "nest". At this point, you should take care of installing 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: after a couple of days, the female will begin to explore the nest from all sides and restore order in it at her discretion. At this moment, the male parrot continues caring for the expectant mother, takes over her feeding and chirps happily at the same time.

The minimum cage size 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 pulled out, and the side slats provide an opportunity to attach a nest to them.

You can find nests on sale 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 ones are much more responsive to the needs of young parents and chicks - they provide good heat transfer and have a pleasant texture for birds.

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

• Horizontal - they are very convenient for females to enter, and the clutch remains intact and intact at the time of incubation. However, a too low inlet opening can cause young chicks to leave the nest too early, 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 this creates a risk that the female will be able to split the eggs upon entering.
• Compression - perhaps the best option for feathered lovers. The structure of such a nest is convenient for both young parents and their cubs, while an additional step allows you to keep the clutch intact and safe.

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

It is necessary to prepare for the breeding of birds in advance. For example, you need to gradually increase the length of daylight hours. If this is done abruptly, then the birds may begin to molt, 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 can come into contact must be disinfected. To do this, the cage itself, as well as all drinkers, feeders and favorite toys, are washed with water with the addition of a small amount of bleach using a brush, and then rinsed thoroughly.

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

The nutrition of the expectant mother should be complete and varied throughout the entire period while she bears eggs. In addition to the grain mixture, she should consume cereals, fruits, vegetables, juicy greens and young shoots of fruit trees. Mineral dressings are extremely important during this period, as well as cottage cheese and eggs. - they serve as a source of easily assimilable calcium.

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

It is imperative that your 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 throw out all uneaten fruits, berries and vegetables.

Good feed mixes 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 tablets of calcium gluconate to 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 air humidity near the nest to 60-65%, otherwise the film will entangle the chick and it will simply suffocate... Usually they use humidifiers or place indoor fountains near the cage.

After laying eggs soft foods should be immediately excluded from the female's diet, and the volume of grain, on the contrary, should be doubled. Chicken eggs at this time are given very rarely and in scanty volumes. Two to three days before the chicks hatch, chicken eggs can be returned to the mother's diet, and to strengthen the menu with products rich in carotene - carrots, beets, and bell peppers.

Usually, the female can lay eggs at intervals of 1-2 days... The total number of eggs is influenced by the age of the birds. Usually there are 4-7 eggs, although 5 is considered the best option - only this amount can be heated evenly by the bird. If there are more eggs, then you should either put some of them to another pair, or use a special incubator.

Chicks usually hatch after 18-19 days. The birds from the inside split the shell with their beak, and if they are unable to do this themselves, their mother helps them. After the birth of the first child should reduce the mother's consumption of germinated seeds, replacing them with vegetables.

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

• infectious and fungal diseases of the parents;
• insufficient moisture level near the nest;
• excessively cool indoor air;
• insufficient hygiene of the home in which the birds sit;
• poor quality feed or violation of the drinking regime;
• genetic incompatibility of the couple.

Chicks during this period are very weak, after birth they cannot even hold their heads on their own, therefore they lie on their backs. At this stage, the mother takes all the care of their food: she feeds them with goiter mucous secretions with the addition of pieces of undigested food.

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