Breeding Condition
The breeding programme.
Your filing system be it on the computer,a book or a filing card system containing all accurate entries of your breeding programmes will enable you to decide which will be the most suitable pairings to make.Once you make the choice of breeding partners jot them down on paper and then compare your birds side by side visually,do not pair up birds with the same faults and visualise what you are trying to breed.
I do not pair up all my birds at once i take ten hens and the ten chosen breeding partners and cage them up in flight cages keeping the cocks and hens seperate.During this period which is a minimum of four weeks in my birdroom i prepare all my breeding cages they are all washed out using virkon s i also include all the nest boxes and feeding utensils at this stage.The ten pairs are now offered extra light which has a major influence on condition ,plentiful supplies of grit,iodine blocks,charcoal,thrive on and cuttlefish bone these are available always,extras are added in the form of egg food,tonic seed,groats and extra plain canary seed all in moderation.All the birds will have a dose of ivermectin before breeding starts and the nest boxes will be sprayed with anti mite.
I never found any advantage which ever sex entered the breeding cage first but i still put the hen in for twenty four hours just to check out the surroundings and her nest box,the cock will join her the next evening. Do place plenty of clean sterilised shavings in the nest box. Remember budgerigars must be in top breeding condition before pairing them up,if not do not waste your own time and the birds. The budgerigars breeding cycle condition peaks about every seven weeks and the signs of readiness to breed can be observed.They will be constantly flying about and after landing will seem to flex their wing muscles.The hen will dip her back in readiness for mating,cocks will continuously tap the perch with their beaks and their head feathers will rise as they perform a type of crowing act.The birds will be vocal and may even feed and try and mate with the same sex,although this is more obvious in male birds.Hens will chew everything in sight and fight over small areas in the flights and cages.The white iris ring of both sexes becomes larger causing the pupils to look smaller,this is more pronounced in the cock birds.The cere on the cock will be shiny and blue except on Lutinos,Albinos,Fallows,Lacewings and Recessive pieds on these it will be a purple - flesh colour.All hens will range from light to nut brown,i prefer the hens to be a light brown cere. I do like to see breeding pairs complete in feather .
Once these ten pairs are settled into their breeding cage i will catch up another ten pairs who will be placed into stock cages for a period of time during which they will be conditioned , fed the extras and mated up on paper before introduction to their breeding cages.
Now let the breeding commence and may you breed that world show winner.
Fertile Eggs
Breeding problems.
we are dealing with live birds and mistakes will be made let me help you overcome the situation
Infertile Eggs.
Run through the check list.
Have you firm perches? I prefer 12 or 15mm square perches and these are fixed into the back of the cage by nailing an oval brad nail part way into the perch,now cut it's head off with a pair of nips,drill a very tiny hole in the cage back and the nail will push through.The front of the perch has a saw cut in the opposite end which slots into the wire cage front.
Are your birds the correct age? I use breeding birds from eight months old,hens are used up till three years old and any super cock would be used until his age meant no eggs were fertilised.
Are your adult birds in condition? Breeding condition must not be confused with show condition
Do you need the vents trimmed? Some of the modern budgerigars have long buff feathered vents which can prevent the sperm to be transfered,You can cut away all the the long vent feathers on both sexes and succesful mating should take place.
Do the hens come out of the box? Failure for the hen to come out of the box means mating will not take place which is typical of a box bound hen,closing the box entrance hole for a few hours each day may break her out of this habit.
Are your perches round or square ? I did say i prefer mine square and that is to give the hen a good grip during mating,round perches can become very smooth over time and this results in infertile eggs.
Have you a radio on? If the avairy is too quite the birds will not breed well because there is no stimulation,the budgerigar is a flock bird and they. breed in the company of others so the more noise the better
Are your birds mature? Although i use my birds from eight months old i would recommend the novice breeder uses birds at no less than twelve months old.Once you get to know your birds you can use them a little younger.
Are the birds having a good mixed diet? See my feeding programme above and remember these very wise words YOU WILL ONLY GET OUT OF A BUDGIE WHAT YOU PUT IN IT.
Are your birds compatible? If your pair show interest in each other then that is good , if they are sitting at each end of the perch ignoring each other you will have to introduce another partner for the hen.
Are the pair too old to breed? Old birds are easy to spot they hang over the perch,often they are fat and listless and fertile eggs will never appear.
Have you two budgies,one of each sex ? Not a trick question but i have seen two birds of the same sex paired up ,inos and recessive pieds can sometimes fool us.
Are your nest boxes suitable?The market place is full of many options but always check they have a deep concave inside.
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We need fit and healthy pairs between the ages of nine months and three years.
Any small round or loose perches should be replaced with firmly fixed square perches or a 15 mm dowel. Check the feathers on the hens ,a buff feathered bird may need it's vent feathers trimmed.
Leave a radio on during the day budgerigars need noise to stimulate them into breeding. Check the hens are not boxed bound,chase them out each day to mate.
Eggs.The first egg is laid between 8 and 14 days from pairing up.When the first egg is laid do note the date ,the legs will be laid every other day and the average clutch will be 5/7 eggs.The hen starts incubation after the second egg is laid which means eighteen days from this date it will hatch,because she sat the first two eggs at the same time the second chick will hatch the day after the first one,the rest will hatch every other day.28 days old the chicks will leave the nest box,if they leave earlier i pop them back in with mum,once they reach 42 days old they will be fully weaned and can be moved into a nursery cage.
The condition we have our budgerigars in at breeding time will make all the difference between fertile or infertile eggs and healthy or weak chicks and this is down to the effort we made in getting our birds into breeding condition.Remember these words WHAT YOU PUT INTO THAT EGG IS WHAT YOU WILL GET OUT. Offer your birds the extras eight weeks before breeding starts,a good clean budgie seed mix,millet sprays,groats,extra plain canary seed,egg food,carrots,corn on the cob,grit,cuttle fish bone,iodine blocks,charcoal and a few greens. The hen must produce good eggs which will take some of the calcium stored in parts of her bone structure.the yolk should be the highest grade possible because this is the unborn chicks food source.Because we spent that eight weeks conditioning our birds our cocks will not produce weak sperm and the hens will lay eggs with rich yolks.Keep a bottle of calcivite in your birdroom just incase the odd hen lays thin or rough eggs,a five day course will make a difference to the egg quality laid prior to it's use. The eggs laid may vary in size but this makes no difference to the size of the chicks.The eggs in the picture are fertile the colour tells us that.Do supply clean wood shavings in each nest box.
| Candling Eggs | | Print | |
| Written by Ravengypsy | |
 Eggs can be candled when they are about 5 days old. All you need is to buy a small penlight flashlight like a Mag light or an egg candler. Most bird clubs sell egg candlers.
Hold the egg in front of you (about 1 foot or so away at your eye height) and hold the flashlight very close behind the egg so you are looking through the egg with the flashlight pointing towards you and you should be able to see red veins on the inside of the shell and a small dark spot which will be the embryo. If the egg is clear/yellowish through it is probably not fertile. You can also tell by the egg color as fertile eggs well be bright white while infertile will be a dull white. If you do not see the lines (veins) or dark spot inside after 10 days you can probably throw them out. Before you open any nest box to remove or check the eggs you should always tap on the box door lightly so the hen expects you and you do not frighten her and possibly have her trample the eggs. In time the hen will know it is you and get out of the nest box for you. You can then take an egg and candle it to see if it is fertile. Do not do this too often and never shake the eggs, which can addle the eggs. Sometimes the hen will wait a few days before sitting on them so the 10th day is the safest time to say whether they are OK or not |
Addled eggs.
An addled egg is one that has been fertilised and then stops growing and dies,we can prevent some of these from addling.
Do have a night light if the hen is disturbed during the night and leaves the nest box she will not be able to find her way back,the eggs will chill and the chicks may die.If this happens and the eggs are cold never throw them away transfer them to fosters and you may save some future champion budgerigar from death.Mice in your birdroom can also disturb the sitting hens.Sometimes a hen will go out of condition and leave the eggs but having a routine of checking all your breeding pairs each morning and night can at least give you a chance to transfer these eggs.After the hen completes six day's of incubation you can candle your egg and look for the red vein that tells you it is fertile,now leave your eggs alone.
Mishandling can addled your eggs as can frequent removing and replacing the eggs which alters the hen's egg rotation .
Clear eggs.
These eggs on close inspection may have bumps at the ends or may be very thin.this is where air has penertrated the shell because of insufficient shell formation,now is the time to supply calcivite in the drinking water.
Punctured eggs.
In most cases the egg is punctured because the toe nails of the cock or hen are requiring clipping. Sometimes eggs stick to the hen's vent feathers and are carried out of the nest accidently and sometimes the hen will lay her egg off the perch.
Egg eaters
This can be either the cock or the hen,once a egg eater always a egg eater.Remove the cock on the day's eggs are due to identify the egg eater if it is the cock you must transfer the egg into a foster pair,if it turns out to be the hen at fault you need a 20mm hole drilled in the bottom of the concave , the concave needs to be raised up with a bed of shavings below to catch the egg,once laid they can be transfered under fosters that are laying at the same time.
BEWARE OF THE EGG EATERS.
Outside Layers.
The hen that lays outside the nest and will not sit on dummy eggs or replaced eggs may be encouraged to use the nest box if it is re-located giving the hen more security with a darker entrance.
In the wild these hens may prefer laying deep in a long hollow tree limb.
Egg Bound.
Sometimes a hen is unable to lay an egg which is mid way between the shell gland and the vent,this is often the first egg.The reason is the muscles in the vent area are not relaxed to allow the egg to pass,this often during cold conditions.Remove a egg bound hen and lubricate the vent area with warm olive oil and place her in a hospital cage or under a infra-red lamp.If this fails to work immerse her up to the chest in warm water for about a minute and return her to the heat source you have.
Box bound hens.
A hen may produce infertile clutches even when paired to a proven cock and the cause is often the hen refusing to come out and mate,this is where we need a vigorous cock that will chase her out of the nest box for mating.
Large and small eggs.
Occasionally a hen will lay a very large egg or a very small egg,i have never had either size hatch,the large one is a double embryo (twins)and cases of successful hatchings are on record.
Chicks & Eggs
Soft shells.
Hens may lay a soft shelled egg during the laying of the clutch which is a malfunction of the shell gland and this is where i would offer them calcivite.If all the eggs are soft shelled the hens are not any good in your breeding programme.
Single eggs.
Sometimes some hens will only lay a single egg,if this happens i just foster the egg and let her lay again,often a full clutch will be layed eventially.
Cold eggs.
Never throw a cold egg away.Sometimes a hen may have night fright,be ill or die on the nest and the eggs are cold,transfer them to fosters and that super chick may be saved.
Non layers.
We may have the odd hen that produces wet droppings and has a swollen vent yet never produces a egg,these are called internal or non layers.
Dirty eggs.
If your eggs become dirty with excreta they will become addled with harmful bacteria entering the porous eggs.
Thank you Karthik.
Marked eggs.
Always number your eggs in the sequence they are laid.When the eggs are six days incubated they should show fertile when candled,if mine are not i remove the egg and the hen will lay another to replace it. If you need to foster any eggs you can write the pair number on the egg also,use a indelible felt tip pen.
We have now got fertile eggs in all our nest boxes all we want now are the chicks,what can go wrong?
I think the cock was split.
Hatching.
When the chick is eighteen days old it needs to break through the eggs membrane into the air sac,it needs to breath. It should be strong having absorbed all of the yolk and will now start to chip away at the egg shell using it's egg tooth on the top of it's upper beak,once it breaks through the shell the chick rotates in a complete circle with continues cutting and then virtually pushes the end of the egg off.
Do not be tempted to assist the chick out you will lose more than you could ever save. One helpful hint prior to this stage is supply moisture if the weather conditions are very dry,a light mist over the eggs and the box with tepid clean water will help stop the eggs membrane fron drying which in turn will stop the chick from rotating and releasing itself from the egg.
Check the chick is receiving milk from the hen which will show as a nice bulging creamy white area down below the beak in the transparent skin called the crop.
If the chick is not being fed you will need to foster it to another pair who have chicks about the same age,It is very rare a budgerigar hen would reject someone elses chick,if you need to keep track of this chick until it is closed ringed just put a dab of tipex under it's wing.
My birds tend to lay around 3.00pm and the chicks hatch early morning this will allow the chicks to be well fed with crop milk by early afternoon.If the new chick is not fed transfer a three or four day old chick into this nest box and put the baby into a pair that are feeding chicks of an early age,do keep a check on the three to four day old to make sure it gets fed,once the chick is fed all the other hatching eggs should be fed without any problems. If the chick is still not fed feed it with a little complan mixed in boiling water,place the baby on it's back and feed it on the left hand side of it's beak with a small syringe when the liquid is lukewarm. The most common cause of death at this age is dehydration so liquid is important.
Budgerigars feed by regurgitation .After hatching the cock feeds the hen who in turn feeds the hen who then feeds the chicks.She also produces a milk in her crop which is fed to the very young and it is unwise to place too many newly hatched chicks under one hen if she is not capable of producing enough crop milk,the presence of seed in the crop will indicate that.The crop milk is very rich in protein and is essential for the newly hatched chick.It is their first food and the crop will be full of a soft creamy substance during it's first week.
It's amazing that the last chick to hatch will only be as small as the eldest chicks foot yet will still get fed in the semi darkness of the nest box.Until the eighth day budgie chicks are naked and blind.The down appears first and depending on a normal or opaline the down will be grey or white. Next the wing feathers and then the tail feathers grow,at approximately the fourteenth day the colourful contour feathers will appear.
View this link for hand rearing a chick
http://www.vetafarm.com/manage/documents/HandRearingNeocare.pdf
Squashed Chicks.
Some hens are tight sitters and as a result chicks become flattened and die,if this happens foster a chick about six days old from another nest to lift the hen up and offer protection to the unhatched.It may also be the hen is not at fault and the chicks were weak at hatching and did not call for food and died.Once all the eggs are hatched i place a large dummy egg in the nest just to keep the hen up off the chicks a little.
Inflated crops.
Chicks with a crop blown up full of air need urgent help or they will waste and die. With gentle pressure using finger and thumb the air can be slowly squezzed out or using a sterliized needle you can pierce the crop,this will not harm the chick.
Cold chicks.
Sometimes a hen will die on the nest or take ill and we find a nest of cold lifeless chicks just place them in your cupped hands and blow warm air onto them.If they start showing signs of life place them under a foster hen and they will soon be back to full health.
Single chicks.
If only one chick hatches in the nest do transfer it if possible often a single chick never gets fed very well,the ideal number i like per nest is four.
Routine.
always have a routine and from when the chicks are five days old they should be handled daily to inspect the inside of the upper beak for hardened food adhering.this can be safely removed with the pointed end of a sharpened matchstick.A further check should be made to ensure the legs and feet are not fouled with hardened excreta,moisten the areas and remove with care, many a claw can be lost at this stage.CHECK the ring moves freely and nothing has gotten in between the leg and the ring,this can result in serious problems to the legs if missed.Do not forget to check your chicks have full crops of food late evening.
Remember to wash,dry and warm your hands before handling chicks.Always keep a pair of ring cutters in your first aid box.
Ring Cutter
Available from the Budgerigar Society,see my links.
Legs spread out.
When a chick is two or three days old its legs may be seen to be spread out. At this tender age it is impossible to tell whether the cause is rickets or due to the mother sitting too heavy. In either case it is advisable to take the baby away and place it under foster parents, and substitute an older one of five or six days.
To relieve the pressure from the mother's body weight ensure that there are at least two eggs in the nest at all times. Clear eggs can be used if they are warmed previously. After the youngest chick is two weeks of age the practice can be discontinued. By this time they will be stronger and more likely nestle under the wing of the parent rather than below the body. Unfortunately, I know of no cure for rickets and the affected youngster is best destroyed if it develops with the legs spread wide apart. This complaint will rarely arise if a sufficiency of vitamin D is absorbed by the parent hen before breeding commences. Cod liver oil, which is rich in this vitamin, can be added to the normal seed during the autumn and winter months, and as calcium is vital to strong bones, this mineral should be offered all the year round in the form of cuttlefish bone.
Rigid legs.
A chick with legs rigid and spreadeagled at right angles to their bodies are the result of close sitting hens on a shallow concave with no sawdust beneath the chick,to prevent this i always place at least one large dummy egg in the concave.Chicks with this complaint should be culled immediatly as there is no chance of recovery.
Adults out of condition.
Out of condition adults that are tiring can be spotted by the change in the cere colour,the hens may turn almost white and the cocks can turn brown,they are on the downhill breeding cycle and need to be rested.Watch for the signs and transfer chicks to foster pairs before problems occur.
Care and cleanliness.
Regular attention to the nest box interior will prevent the build up of hard droppings around the feet and claws,these must be cleaned off regulary to prevent disfigured feet.Soften the feet in warm water and gently remove the droppings.The same procedure applies to the build up on the end of the tail feathers although care must be taken not to remove the whole feather.Regular cleaning of the nest box and the sprinkling of a few new shavings will help alleviate the problems.
Clean feet make happy feet.
Feather plucking.
Gone are our feathered chicks in the nest box and we now have chicks in various stages of undress plucked by the parents and in most cases the hen is the culprit.This can vary from a few down feathers to chicks minus wing and rump feathers,red raw and in extreme cases skin and scalps may have been removed.The culprit can be identified by the blood on the face.I would never use a feather plucker again in the breeding cage.I use bitter aloes applied to the areas plucked,this is available from the chemist and it does work.
Foster parents.
For reasons that will crop up during our breeding season both chicks and eggs may need to be transfered.You must transfer chicks and eggs that are a similar age to the foster pairs nest box contents.A nest box with ten fertile eggs will mean the younger chicks may not hatch and survive so now is the time to transfer some eggs,mark the eggs with the pair number using a non smelling indelible felt pen.Chicks under three weeks old will be accepted by foster pairs,after that age they can be detected as strangers and will not be fed or may even be attacked immediately.Unrung chicks can be marked under the wing with tippex before transfering making identification easy.
Dead Anemic chicks.
Finding white under developed chicks is a sure sign that they are under constant attack from red mites,the anemic appearance is lack of blood.
Stunted chicks.
A stunted chick is one that has fallen behind it's nest mates in growth rate,it will have a large head,thin legs,a sharp breastbone and only a little food in it's crop,these chicks will never survive and need to be culled.
Sudden death.
None of us like to open the nest box and find a two or three week old chick dead with a full crop and no evidence of disease. Sometimes the following day we find more dead chicks and we do not know why,we must check our feeding have we supplied something new,could we have overdosed on vitamins or perhaps a poisonous contamination was the cause,have we any stale food lying on the cage floor?
Chicks attacked.
When chicks leave the nest always have a BARRIE,S GAZUNDER in the cage the chicks will make straight for it knowing it is a safe haven for them.The adults are now wanting to start breeding again and are sexually active to the point of frustation and any baby cocks will be seen as a threat to the males breeding cycle and baby hens are also under threat from the adult hen,i must add this happens only on occassions but we must be aware and prepared.A wise chick knows that climbing onto the top perch will result in a budgie clip around the ear so they stick to the lower perches and peace prevails.
Barrie's gazunders - the empty ice cream tub makes a temporary home until we make some wooden ones.
Smells.
Budgerigars do have a acute sense of smell so you must always wash your hands before touching any nests. Anything that changes the smell in a nest box gives you a good chance of the parents killing or deserting the chicks,how easy is it to stroke your dog just before entering the birdroom? take care.
Animals(and birds) in the wild have built up considerable resistance to the various infections that may attack them in their home enviroment .Bring them into our own domestic circle and they find themselves up against germs they have never met before - the germ of human illness.Treat your birds with care and don't risk infecting them with your coughs and sneezes,chicks will be under threat.
Ringing a chick.
We now have our chicks reaching seven days old and it is the time for ringing them for easy identification.
Be warned for a thing so small they can't half wriggle a lot.
This is the rewards seeing your own bred birds fit and healthy.
Your own personal breeding chart,find the date your egg was laid the date below is the hatch date.
Example laid Dec 2nd-Hatch Dec 20th........Laid dec 12th-Hatch Dec 30th.
Do remember most hens will not incubate until the second egg is laid.
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DEC |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
DEC |
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DEC |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
JAN |
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JAN |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
JAN |
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JAN |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
FEB |
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FEB |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
1 |
MAR |
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MAR |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
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