Ask Lafeber

Baby budgies

Can I keep the 5 baby budgies in the same cage with their parents and the other pair also living in the same cage.
They are 4 weeks and one is 3 weeks mom is feeding them in their nesting box.

Hi,

Definitely not. When you are breeding, you should only have one pair of birds in the cage. Breeding birds are very territorial. A rival pair is likely to attack and kill the chicks. Or the parents may attack and kill the other pair. Once chicks have left the nest box, you should take the box down. Otherwise the parents will start another clutch and let the older chicks die instead of teaching them to eat. Once the chicks are eating on their own, they need to be moved to a separate cage, and not with other budgies. You should find homes for the chicks or you have to keep the males and female separate. You can never put the chicks back with the parents. If the parents don’t bully them and possibly kill them, they will start trying to mate with them. You should never allow related birds to breed. You can’t put babies with other adults or the same thing can happen – either bullying or the older birds will want to mate with the chicks. Breeding pairs should be rested for 6 months between every clutch and limited to two clutches per year. In captivity, a pair will literally breed over and over until the hens dies if you do not take the box away and make the rest.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda