can you help me with my budgie breeding problem

[blah]

i have 4 budgies in a large cage 2 males and 2 females both femals are interessted in 1 male and ignor the other.the male only seems to like 1 of them so ignors the other. yet both females are interessted in the boxes but they wont mate and their are no eggs can you fill me in y

[Giselle]

First, I must ask you why you want to breed and if you understand the many problems that will arise.

Do you know what eggbinding is and how you can prevent it?
Do you understand that many many budgerigars are prone to egg cracking/chick killing? How will you cope with this? My two breeders killed 10 chicks, and it was only their second clutch.
How many clutches do you plan to have?
How old are your birds?
How many nest boxes are in the cage right now?
How big is the cage? Breeders should fly for that extra breast muscle mass. Strong muscles are said to help prevent egg binding.
What diet are your birds on now?
Do they receive calcium supplementation? Breeding hens require abnormal amounts of calcium.
What will you do if the hen abandons the nest?
It is very likely your two hens will attack each other for the right of the nestbox. Again, the size of the cage plays into this.
What will you do with the chicks after they are weaned?
How do you plan to stop the hen from laying multiple clutches?
How will you prevent splayed legs?
Lastly, WHY do you want to breed?

I ask this from an experienced point of view. I remain in contact with many of my local breeders and I converse with them frequently. My breeder budgerigars have also produced two clutches, one of which went fantastically and the other which was pure terror. If you cannot answer the questions above, I guarantee you something might/will go wrong. I hope you reply soon

[blah]

i am aware of all the problems you put forward and the reason i want to breed is for hobby

[blah]

How many clutches do you plan to have? i plan to let here have 2-3 clutches in the year
How old are your birds?my 2 males are around 1and a half and my females are around 4
How many nest boxes are in the cage right now?there are curently 2
How big is the cage?2feet by 1 foot

[Giselle]

24"x12"? Blah, I'm very sorry, but that cage is WAY too small if you plan to bring in approximately 18+ new lives. Also, do you plan to have 2 clutches per pair or one clutch each? At least answer the ones regarding diet . If you do, I can further help you because the information you've given is very limited. I'd hate to make an assumption and have it turn out all wrong.

Please read:
http://www.tuxford.dabsol.co.uk/mast...r/contents.htm
The above is a greyt site, but it's not very easy to understand for beginners.

[blah]

i wasnt planning on keeping thm all in the same cage i was going to move the all to an averi and their diet is a mix of tonic and canary mix with fresh apple and carrot.

[Giselle]

Blah, I hate to be a pessimist, but I want you to not breed for this year. During the time that you will not be breeding, I wan't you to re-study everything you learned about budgies. Learn about WHY *they* want to breed. What triggers them? What type of diet should they be receiving (I'm sorry, but a canary mix+tonic seeds+apples and carrots is deficient in every aspect). I will guarantee you that a simple change of diet will significantly decrease your chances of weak chicks, DIS, and egg binding. From the looks of it, now, you're simply not ready. Please don't take this offensively. I'm trying to help you can your birds and my best advice is to wait and study more until you can answer your own questions. That is the ultimate test, and that is when you KNOW you can go through with this planned breeding. Right now, I'm not so sure about that.

[blah]

well what diet should they be on