Question on Breeding Cages for Budges

Hiya.

I'm Lauren and currently doing Animal studies at Bently Tafe in Western Australia. My fellow class mates and I are doing an project on breeding budges. We are going to buy some hopefully breed them and take them to shows. I was wondering if you guys out there could help me on a question.

What are the minimum Dimensions of a breeding cage, and how many cages we can have per bank. E.g: how many cages high could our bank be? how many cages wide, how many do we need? and because we are on a tight budget what is the minimum number that we could get away with? and also what is the maximum size? and why?

I hope you can get back to me A.S.A.P

Thankyou for your time it is much appreciated


Lauren :y_the_best:

 

Hi Breeding should not be taken lightly as there is so much that can and will go wrong.

You need to name sure you have cages large enough so that the birds can safely spread there wings without touching the bars they also need room to move around freely.

A cage that is 10inch high x 10inch wide x 17inch long is sufficent for 1 bird Also the bars should be no wider than 1 1/2cms as they can fit through larger bars and sometimes get stuck.

The larger the cage the happier birds are.
Breeding birds especially budgies should be done in pairs only in seperate cages as female budgies are very aggressive during the breeding season and even more so when they have eggs or chicks in the nest.

Birds need to be of excellent quality and not from a petstore or flea market, Breeder only bought birds are best as they have been bred correctly.

Birds should be no younger than 18months old even though a female bird will lay eggs at 6months old this should never be allowed.

The room they are kept in should be warm quiet and clean.
The temp in the room needs to be kept the same at all times and the birds should be allowed out of the cage time this helps them stay in condition especially when it comes to egg laying.

They need cuttlefish bone attached to the inside of there cage aswell as mineral blocks at all times as these help keep her calcium and mineral levels up as egg laying takes alot out of the female birds.

They need a good quality seed plus fresh fruit and vegtables daily.
Never put 2 birds together and then attach a nest box they need at least 6-12months together to bond properly this is to ensue that they succesfully breed and will lay eggs and raise chicks together properly and safely.
A pair that is not bonded well will break eggs and even kill there chicks.

Egg binding is another serious problem this is when the female bird is so weak and run down with low calicum and mineral levels that she can not pass the egg becuase it is soft shelled if not noticed and treated by an avian vet ASAP she will die within a matter of days even hours.

When breeding there cages must be kept clean and food and water must be changed regularly to stop any bacteria and germs forming which can cause problems.
You should never breed birds that are going through a molt as there body is weakend during this time.
You should never allow a bird to lay more than 2clutches of eggs in any 1 year period as she needs time to recover and build herself back up.
Never breed a pair under 18months old.
Never breed birds that are agressive towards each other or towards other birds when not breeding.

When you are not breeding ans she is resting i usually seperate my males and females and put them into seperate cages.

These are some of the things that you should be aware of i have been breeding Budgies, cockatiels, finch's, dogs for many years and if you think a problem could happen then it most likely will i have seen alot of things go wrong and seen alot of tragedy when breeding.

Mike