Ask Lafeber

Is the hole my Budgie made a nest?

So, my budgie does have a brown cere which I know indicates that she is hormonal. She has been digging a hole in a pot of dirt we for some reason left in with them and I am concerned that she may be trying to build a nest there despite us also giving her a nesting box. She has also be exhibiting mating behaviours with another one of our budgies like regurgitation. They are quite young budgies and I am not sure that their possible clutch of eggs could be fertile either. If she is making a nest I wanted to ensure that I would be educated about what to do next incase she does lay and raise the eggs. She is not tamed either and they currently live in a cage outside so I cannot limit her light exposure to reduce her homones. What should I do about her ‘nest’ and is it even a nest or is she just playing?

Hi,

I would remove the pot because it’s not good for her to dig through dirt. You don’t know what might be in it, and if it’s a potting soil it could have chemicals in it.

If these birds are under 2 years old, they should not be paired, or have a nest box because they are too young to breed. If you have more than 2 birds in a cage, there should not be a nest box in the cage. When breeding, your birds should be 2 years old, with only one pair of birds per cage. It does sound like she is thinking of nesting. You need to remove the nest box until she is old enough and then you would need to remove all but the pair from the cage. Breeding birds are very territorial and the hens especially will kill other hens or males in the cage to protect their territory and nest. Hens will raid each other’s nests and destroy eggs or kill chicks.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda