How to Breed Budgies Without Nest Boxes

Budgies come from Australia and have alternative names such as shell parakeets and warbling grass parakeets. Budgies make good pets, and owners of several budgies may wonder how to breed budgies without nest boxes. According to the Lets Talk Birds website, the ideal budgie breeding age is 12 months. Budgies don't build nests like most other birds; instead, they will choose to lay their eggs on a variety of nesting materials or on the floor. That is why breeders recommend using a nest box. They are most commonly bred from professional breeders with the intent to resell.

Instructions

    • 1

      Choose between breeding in a cage or colony breeding such as in a garden shed or open aviary. Place cages in an area that is cool, semi-quiet and away from other birds. Areas to colony breed should be clean, large and free of drafts. Keep the breeding area at around 60 percent humidity with plenty of fresh air but not cold.

    • 2

      Put the female and male together in the same cage, preferably with the doors open so they can come and go as they please.

    • 3

      Generously layer the bottom of the cage or floor with wood shavings, twigs and other nesting materials.

    • 4

      Place several perches that are approximately 5/8 of an inch in diameter in the cage or breeding area. Perches can be hardwood or simply branches from a fruit tree such as an apple tree.

    • 5

      Attach small pieces of flat wood on perches to form floors, and place nesting material on top.

    • 6

      Put plenty of nesting material in the cage to encourage the female to mate. She will not want to mate if she does not have a place to put her babies.

    • 7

      Feed the budgies a basic seed diet with supplements of soft food such as oats, eggs and whole wheat bread soaked in milk. Babies of mothers with seed-only diets often die.

    • 8

      Wait for two days to see if the pair mate. If they do not you may want to try a different male or separate the two for a few days and then try again.