nest box issues, help.

My female parakeet has been going in and out of her nest box religiously, yet her cere is not at all dark brown. She's been going in and out for at least 2 weeks now, but lately she's been staying in there more than she's been out of it. Any suggestions of what she's doing? Is she just teasing me? But at least I got my first zebra finch egg tho! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-mandi

 

Hiya what people do not tell you is not all female budgies ceres will change colour when they are going to lay.
If she goes in the nest and stays in and her poop becomes very large and watery you can bet she is going to lay eggs.

Congratulations on the finch egg mine laid 5eggs but only 1 hatched and will be 2weeks old on tuesday

Mike

 

Congratulations to both of you. I just sold two baby zebras and now have four eggs. The funny thing is that i didn't have a wicker nest is the cage and then one day i noticed that it looked like she was going to lay so i added a nest and the next day i got an egg. Now i have four.

 

Parakeet questions...again yay

Well, now things are clearing up now that I know not all budgies ceres turn color! LOL She's been in there a whole lot, and now she's even staying in there at night. I've started to make it routine to check her nest box so she gets used to it and won't freak out if and when there are eggs. Now yesterday I saw the male on top of her, but he just stood on her back and their tail area didn't make any contact...he was just using her as a step stool...that I could see. So is this what they are supposed to be doing?? Thanks in advance. And by the way, I've now got 3 finch eggs!!!! Congrats on your finch too charmedagain!
-Mandi

 

Hiya its sounds like if he is stepping on her back then they have been mating.
Females that spend mostof there time in the nest box are sure to lay eggs soon she may suprise you one morning when you check and she sat on an egg.

Congratulations on the finch eggs bet you can't wait for them to hatch i know i was excited out of the 5eggs mine laid only one has hatched and its so cute has its feathers now and eyes open and alert cant wait for it to start eaving the nest...

Mike

 

Yay! I've got eggs!

Hey Mike, I was so surprised last night to look in the budgie nest box and find an egg! I'm now up to 4 finch eggs and 1 budgie egg. I didn't find anymore budgie eggs this morning, but maybe tomorrow there will be another one. She is constantly in there and if she's not, and she see's you she rushes to her egg, she's very protective. The father feeds her all the time too, it's cute! I have a finch book (Specially for zebra's) that says zebras start to incubate after the 5th egg is laid...I thought it was after the 3rd? Also...how long is the incubation? Around 12-16 days? thanks for everything guys!!!
- Mandi

 

Hi congratulations on the eggs.

Budgies lay 1egg every second day and usually around the same time the incubation period is usually 19days and they do not sit on the eggs properly until the 2nd or 3rd egg has been laid.

Finches lay 1 egg everyday and don't usually sit them fully until again the 2nd or 3rd egg has been laid and the incubation period is usually 14days.

It is not uncommon for both breed of birds to have 2 eggs hatch within a few hours of each other.

The male feeding the female while she is in her nest shows a strong bond between the pair..

Good luck and hope to hear when the eggs start hatching...

P.s just goes to show you that they don't always tell you everything in the books i found that out myself...

Mike

 

My bird laid eggs!

Hi, I've had my 4 parakeets for about a month and a week as of today and I have them in two separate cages. I bought a new one yesterday, actually, too(he's in the cage with others). There was a diharrea epidemic that started just about yesterday(pasting of poo around the fanny, etc.) and I was holding Devi(the girl) yesterday morning and she pooed on me... a lot. Like you had said, it was watery, but I'd been trying to get her to breed and I'm leaving town in two weeks. Guess what? She had an egg today!
I'm so happy for her, but I'm scared that if it is fertile, it might hatch while I'm gone. Also, isn't the first clutch non-fertile? And she's not in heat. The thing above her beak hasn't changed colour yet. Do you think that the egg would have a baby in it?
How frequently do parakeets lay eggs?
And I'm buying a Bourke's Parakeet on Monday, will the addition of new birds(this one will be in a third cage, away from the one in the cage with 3 and away from the one with the nesting box, which holds two of my parakeets) upset the others? I did not take this into account yesterday when I bought the new one.
Thanks!
~Katie

 

Hi new birds should be kep in seprate cages for 30days this is the quarantine period.

If planning on breeding the birds should be kept in pairs without a nest box for 6months to bond properly this helps reduce the risk of either parent eating the eggs or killing any chicks yes this does happen especially in young birds.

Both birds need to be 2years old 18months at the youngest as until then the female is still growing and her laying eggs will put a great deal of stress and strain on her body and could result in egg binding this is fatal if not noticed and treated ASAP by an avian vet.

They need cuttlefish bone and mineral blocks in there cages at all times fresh water twice a day.
Chances of this egg being fertile is low.
Remove the nest box and allow them more time to bond together before allowing them to breed.

They lay an 1egg every second day and there clutch is between 4-6 eggs sometimes 8 and some like mine have been known to lay 10 or more eggs usually resulting most being infertile.
They do not incubate the eggs properly until the 3rd egg has been laid and the incubation period is usually 19days.

The watery poop especially if they have all come down with it is usually an indication of a virus or bacteria in the body and this should be checked by an avian vet.
Female birds get large copous poop when they are egg laying this is because they do not poop much while egg laying or incubating eggs.

But like i say the best and safest thing to do is remove the nests and allow the more time before breeding them even if its just to reduce the risk of illness or even death.

Mike

 

About my parakeet, Devi

I had bought them from the same place over a month ago. It's not that I want them to breed immediately, but I want to be able to care for them while this is happening. I really want this for Devi, and like I said there's a diharrea thing going around in my birds. I have a special formulated water that I use to treat it, and I mix conditioning food in with the sunflower seeds that they eat.
So it's safe to say that it's infertile? *sigh* okay...

 

Like i say since all birds have the diarreah problem all birds need to be seen by an avian vet as this can cause severe dehydration and could be fatal to all your birds.
If its a viral or bacterial infection they have the vet will need to give antibiotics for the problem or the matter will just get worse you should never give them any sort of water treatment unless you know the cause of the problem doing so will only cause more problems in the future.

The nest box and the egg needs to be taken away from Devi and allow her get better before laying eggs all this is too much for there little bodies.
Like i say they should be together 6months in pairs to bond well even though you got them from the same place does not mean they have bonded well enough to raise chicks..

All precautions should be taken before giving any pair of birds a nest box 1 month is not long enough for them to adjust and egg laying is just adding another problem to her stress.
They will be stressed from the change of enviroment they will be stressed with the diarreah problem and now egg laying.
Feed them a good quality parrakeet food, fresh fruit and vegtables stay away from iceberg lettace as this is mostly water and will cause the diarreah problem to get worse.

Mike