Ask Lafeber

Question:

June 7, 2022

My budgies are not sitting on their eggs


I purchased a breeding pair with eggs and the female was sitting on her eggs but then she stopped sitting on the nest.


Answer:

Hi Dominic,

Unfortunately breeding birds should never be moved once they have eggs or chicks. Whoever sold them to you must not know much about breeding, or maybe they had no choice, or possibly didn’t care. Moving a nesting pair will almost always cause them to abandon the eggs or chicks. I’ve actually never heard of a pair that didn’t abandon their nest once they were moved. Even moving a cage to another place in the same room or same home will cause them to abandon their nest. It’s too disruptive. They have to feel like their nesting area is stable and safe, so moving them makes them feel unsafe and they abandon the nest. Something like cleaning the cage can also cause them to do this. A nesting pair needs privacy and no changes in their immediate area.

The best thing to do is remove the nest box and discard the eggs. The pair must be rested for 6 months in between each clutch, whether the eggs hatch or not. So go ahead and rest this pair for 6 months, without a nest box, and this also gives them time to get used to their new environment. After 6 months you can return the box and hopefully they will have settled in enough to breed again. I do have to warn you that some pairs never breed again once they have been relocated, or given a new cage or had any major changes made around their cage. So this rest period is extra important this time to give them time to settle in and feel safe. Remember they need this 6 month rest between each clutch, and should be limited to 2 clutches per year.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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