Breeders of budgies. Reproduction of budgies. The optimal choice of a nesting house

They can even successfully reproduce at home. The main thing is to choose the right partners and properly prepare them.

Parrot Health Requirements

Sick and weak individuals are not able to give healthy offspring. So we exclude this category right away. Also, old birds cannot be mixed, as they give offspring of poor quality.

Starting to mate, parrots should be moderately well-fed, but not fat. If they, on the contrary, are thin and weak, they are not able to qualitatively hatch eggs.

The ability to give birth to budgerigars occurs already at 5-7 months of life, but maturity - only to 1-1.5 years. A younger female may die when laying eggs. The most suitable age for reproduction is 2-4 years of life. The ability to reproduce is preserved up to 8-9 years, subject to the correct maintenance and moderate receipt of broods (up to 3 times a year).

Conditions for the reproduction of budgies

In addition to choosing the right pair, it is important to create budgies for home breeding conditions that are close to those in their natural habitat.

So, in nature, they lay eggs in hollows of trees. For home breeding of budgies, a nest is used, or rather nest boxes. They look like ordinary birdhouses, knocked together from wooden plinths. According to the form and method of fastening, they can be vertical, horizontal and compromise.

Inside the "nest" you need to pour dry leafy sawdust with a layer of 2-3 cm, and for disinfection, you can add a couple of teaspoons of ordinary pharmacy chamomile.

In the period (you will notice it by the changed behavior of budgies - they will become more aggressive towards you), the birds need to start giving an egg mixture: boiled eggs, semolina and carrots. You also need to increase the amount of greens, vegetables and fruits. In addition to the mineral stone, the cell must also contain crushed eggshell and chalk (calcium gluconate tablets).

Almost every family has a pet: a cat or dog, fish, rodents or parrots. Pets cheer up, and care and play with them bring incredible pleasure to both children and adults. But how do you look to turn a hobby into a full-fledged way to earn money? Interesting? Then let's take a closer look at the idea of \u200b\u200bbreeding budgies at home as a business.

Parrots have long been popular pets, most people adore these cute and funny talking birds. The demand for them is quite large, they are sold out very quickly in pet stores. Therefore, it makes sense to turn parrot breeding into a profitable home-based business.

The benefits of breeding parrots at home

High demand. The variety of species of parrots makes them popular. Each person can choose their favorite breed, choose a parrot coloring. Most often they are bought by children. Growing parrots, unlike, does not require living in the countryside, chicks can be bred even in a city apartment.

The cost of the bird. Some species of parrots are very expensive, but the demand for such exclusive birds is small. The most sought after and inexpensive are budgies. Therefore, at the initial stage, I recommend that you start breeding just this type of bird.

Low financial costs. Unlike those for which you need to equip a large territory, you can raise budgies in the city in your own house or apartment. All that is needed is to purchase a couple at an age ready for breeding, equip the cages for their maintenance, and provide the birds with full nutrition. You can start small, gradually turning this business into a full-fledged business.

Disadvantages of breeding parrots at home

Noisy birds. If you live in a one-room apartment, then raising parrots at home will be difficult. The fact is that they need freedom, they need to be released from the cage to fly, and parrots are also quite noisy birds. So think about whether you are prepared for the upcoming difficulties.
A lot of time. Birds require constant care: feeding, cleaning cells, training. Keep in mind that parrots cannot be left unattended for a week and left to travel. Be prepared to devote almost all your time to your pets.

Is it profitable to breed parrots?

Given all the pros and cons of breeding parrots at home, we can conclude that this business is suitable for people who have a lot of free time and are ready to devote it to caring and raising birds. As for the financial benefits, the parrot breeding business may well become a profitable business with a competent approach to the implementation of the idea.

How to breed budgies at home?

If you decide to grow parrots at home, then, first of all, you need to buy several pairs of birds for breeding.

You can buy birds in a pet store, in the market or in a nursery, directly from people who are breeding birds for sale. But before you go shopping, you should thoroughly study all the information about this type of bird, determine the breed. You can try breeding budgies, lovebirds, cockatoo or jaco. It all depends on your desire and financial capabilities. Budgerigars are less whimsical to the conditions of maintenance and nutrition, so it is advisable for a beginning poultry breeder to start his business with breeding this funny bird. As for large breeds, such as macaws, cockatoos, and Jaco, their maintenance is financially more expensive.

Breeding budgies at home: choose a pair

Budgerigars are flocks of birds that stick together in nature and breed offspring at about the same time. Therefore, if you want to do business in breeding parrots, it is recommended to purchase several pairs at once. You can start breeding different breeds of parrots or stop at one specific form.

When choosing pets, you need to make sure that the boy and girl are not related to each other. Offspring from such birds will be weak and most likely will not survive, so be sure to consider this nuance.

At about the age of one and a half to two years, parrots reach puberty and are ready for breeding. You should be ready for this stage, properly equip the premises for keeping birds, take care of the diet, because at the moment it all plays an important role.

How to breed budgerigars?

If the couples are chosen successfully and all suitable conditions for breeding are created at home, the birds are ready to start breeding. After 8-10 days, the female will lay the first egg, then other eggs will appear with an interval of a day. Usually, a female lays about 5–6 eggs at a time, but maybe more up to 10–12. After 12-18 days, the first-born will appear, a small cub, the next, hatch with an interval of one day. A week later, the chicks begin to see, after two weeks of life - they are covered with feathers. And after a month, the birds are already completely covered with feathers and acquire color. After 35-40 days, young parrots are already free to fly, it's time to move them into their own spacious cage.

Bird feeding

Parrots feed mainly on special food, which is enriched with vitamins necessary for their full growth. But in addition to dry food, in their diet should be present vitamin vegetables and fruits, cottage cheese, boiled eggs, sprouted grains. During the breeding season, birds need to be given young branches of linden, apple tree, birch, mountain ash, dandelions. A drop of fish oil and crushed egg husks should be added to the feed, this will provide the bird with calcium and phosphorus, they will not hurt.

Costs and profits from a parrot breeding business

Business expenses

Buying parrots. The price will depend directly on the breed and place of purchase. Budgerigars are considered the cheapest and unpretentious, you can start with the breeding of this breed. If the funds allow, then you can start growing and breeding more exotic species: jaco, macaw, cockatoo.
Acquisition of cages and accessories. To keep the birds you need to buy spacious cages where they will live. You will also need drinkers, feeders, entertaining toys for birds.
The cost of feed. Depending on the breed, the cost of food will vary significantly. Naturally, a large cockatoo consumes much more food than a budgie, consider this nuance.

Profit

Breeding birds can bring you a steady, stable income. The main thing is to find a profitable sales channel. To do this, you need to develop a competent advertising campaign. A lot of people are looking for pets on thematic forums and classified sites. Therefore, be sure to place ads on these resources. If possible, create your own website where all information will be posted on the breed of birds, their conditions, price and contact numbers for communication.

Sale of parrots at a pet store. An excellent sales channel will be a pet store. To do this, you must conclude the relevant agreements and negotiate the price.

Selling birds over the Internet. You can sell parrots through an online store. Believe me, in modern times, this option is the most acceptable and you will quickly find buyers.

Read this article

Someone breeds a certain type of bird for sale, someone just wants to increase the number of feathered pets, and someone just wants to make tweeting friends. Therefore, many of us are wondering which feathered creatures are the easiest to breed. Nowadays, one of the most popular types of birds are budgies, the reproduction at home of which even novice breeders can afford.

So, the owner of the parrot, planning to breed them, will have to pay attention to the following issues:

Matching a pair.
Equipping cages and nesting sites.
To study the behavior of birds.
Enrichment of the diet with useful substances.
Caring for parents and little parrots.

Matching couples

Individuals selected for the role of parents must be strong and mobile. Elderly or debilitated pets often lay unfertilized or non-viable eggs. In addition, birds should be well-fed, but not excessively. Thin individuals usually do not want to constantly sit on their eggs and fully feed offspring.

The chicks will be healthy if their parents are acquired from different manufacturers (this will exclude the possibility of incest). Females are considered to be mature, the age of which has reached 1 year and males from 10 months, but the highest fecundity occurs in the 2nd-4th years of life. When properly maintained, parrots can breed up to 9-10 years of age, and sometimes longer.

The mating season in nature occurs in June, but the reproduction of budgerigars at home can occur in other months, moreover, up to 2-3 times a year.

Cell preparation

The main requirements for housing for budgies are sufficient dimensions, cleanliness and access to light. The parameters of the abode should be calculated taking into account future chicks (area - 65 × 55 cm or more at a height of 65 cm). Cramped conditions can cause parents to destroy their offspring.

The behavior of females at the breeding stage varies greatly - they become more mobile and gnaw everything that is in their field of vision. The owner must provide them with everything necessary: \u200b\u200bslices of apples and carrots, small branches of various thicknesses. Otherwise, rods of cages, jewelry, toys and even the plumage of the male will be used.

It is important to take into account a very important nuance that pets will require their owners to pay attention to: breeding at home these birds will be successful only when the length of daylight hours is at least 15 hours. The temperature in the room where the cell stands should be + 18 + 20 ° C. In summer, it will be quite simple to open the curtains in the morning, and with the onset of cold weather you can not do without artificial lighting and heating. With the advent of the first twilight it is necessary to immediately turn on the overhead light. It is unacceptable to keep pets in a draft.

How does a prevailing couple behave?

The first meeting of birds should take place in a cage designed for them. If the feathered "newlyweds" get along with each other, do not arrange fights with feathers pulled out, then it means that you can wait for replenishment very soon. The groom during the courtship flaunts in front of his girlfriend, fervently tweets, picks her feathers, feeds from the beak, spreads his wings, raises the crest. The female, showing reciprocity, keeps near her narrowed: sitting with narrowed eyes, responds to frequent kisses. This attachment lasts until the end of life.

- A very quick process, so it very often goes unnoticed by the owners. Sometimes once is enough to impregnate a female, but sometimes spouses do not stop mating for several days or even weeks.

The best time for the reproduction of budgies is the period from June to September, when there is enough heat, light and fresh vitamin food.

If the pair does not form, which is extremely rare, then the birds fight or simply ignore each other, while the female does not pay any attention to the nest. In this case, a calm potential parent must be left, and the “rebel” should be replaced by a more peaceful relative.

Budgie ration

During the breeding season, the food of feathered wards, in addition to traditional grain mixtures, should contain a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals. Future parents also need to provide round-the-clock access to clean water. Fresh vegetable food should always be in the feeder. If the treats begin to fade or rot, then they should be changed immediately.

To improve health, thrillers can be periodically given special food: mix finely chopped boiled egg with grated carrots and ground egg shells or calcium from a veterinary pharmacy. Germinated grains are useful for birds throughout life, but during the breeding season they are simply irreplaceable. Their average daily portion before masonry should be doubled. Special pebbles and crayons will become good additional sources of calcium. A thin twigs of fruit trees come in handy as feed, as building material for the nest and as a "sharpener" for the beak.

Nesting and offspring

A day or two after pairing budgies, the female’s behavior changes - she begins to look for a nook in the cage. It was at this time that the owner should take care of the nesting device. The bird house should be hung as high as possible. The parameters of the "maternity hospital" should be as follows: bottom area - 22 × 15 cm .; height - 20 cm, diameter of the notch - 2.5 cm. Do not be scared if the expectant mother will bypass him first. Gradually, she will get used to an unfamiliar structure, begin to examine it from the outside and from the inside, and then she will certainly take up putting things in order.

The female’s tummy is gradually rounded, the appetite increases noticeably, feathers are thinning on the chest and abdomen (she rips them out to warm the nests). And the dad’s function in this period is to sit out for a long time near the nesting room, loudly chirping and feeding his half. These signs indicate that the bird is definitely pregnant, and the first egg will appear soon. At this time, do not bother the couple, checking for masonry. It is better not to touch the house at all, so that the female does not give up her place or die from an egg that was not laid.

It should be borne in mind that a lot of time can pass from the moment a bird has settled in and until the first egg appears - up to one month. Usually 2-4 eggs incubate. After hatching the first parrot, the germinated grain should be gradually removed from the pet's diet, and the proportion of vegetables rich in carotene, on the contrary, should be increased.

After the chicks reach the 2-week-old, the mother’s behavior changes: she becomes much calmer, more often leaves the house. At this time, you can clean the nest. After waiting for the moment when the bird goes away to eat, one must carefully take the nesting place, remove the young from it (not with bare hands, but with gloves, otherwise the female may then not recognize her children). By removing the waste and replacing the litter with a clean one, you can return the offspring to their place.

When the grown-up parrots begin to leave the nest on their own, the house can be removed, and the kids themselves can be transferred from their parents to another cage.

It is possible to separate offspring no earlier than a month after hatching. After the parrots have reached 2 months of age, they are returned to the common cage, but only on the condition that the plumage of the juvenile has become stronger.

Breeding budgies is not complicated. All that is required of a person is strict adherence to hygiene rules and providing pets with nutritious nutrition. Most attention will have to be paid to the first masonry, and if the owner can well study the habits of his feathered wards, then strong offspring will not take long.

Video on the breeding of budgies

Breeding animals is a fairly labor-intensive process, which, nevertheless, with the proper organization of the business, can become a source of quite decent income. And one of the easiest options is breeding budgies.

Brief business analysis:
Costs of organizing a business:90-100 thousand rubles (at the factory 30 pairs of parrots)
Actual for cities with a population:from 150 thousand
Industry Situation:a wide range of offers at the zoo market
The complexity of organizing a business:2/5
Payback: 6-8 months

The benefits of such a business

Budgies are the best option for beginner breeders. There are several reasons for this:

Ease of care and maintenance of this species of birds. Small and unpretentious, they do not require the creation of special climatic conditions.
Small financial investments. Due to its low cost and wide distribution, large costs are not required at all. Moreover, there is always the opportunity to purchase only one pair of birds per sample, and already further expand the scale of poultry farming.
The ability to breed these parrots, even in a small apartment, thanks again to the small size of budgies.
A sufficiently large demand for these birds will not cause problems with the sale of offspring.

But there are also disadvantages

However, such a business as breeding parrots at home has a number of disadvantages:

low cost of parrots leads to low profits from one sale;
a big expenditure of time and effort - after all, birds require constant care and attention;
high level of noise made by birds;
the risk of death of the entire number of birds with improper care and breeding.

Based on all of the above, before you start breeding parrots, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons, and also study the largest possible amount of specialized literature. This will help to avoid mistakes in the future and save time and money. It will also be useful to talk with breeders and just lovers of this type of parrot. Now you can chat with such people in numerous forums or bird shows.

It is also necessary to soberly evaluate one's own strengths. Maybe, worth a try with buying one pair of birdsto see if this type of business is right for you. It must be remembered that keeping parrots at home requires the constant presence of a person. This means that you must either abandon all long trips, or have at the ready person who is ready to take care of the birds during the absence of the owner.

Budgies

Among the wide variety of parrot species, it is the budgies that have gained the most popularity. After all, they are small in size, for their maintenance it is not necessary to create special conditions of temperature and humidity. You can buy such a parrot for very little money, and the cost of feed consumed is quite low.

In addition, budgies are fun and outgoing. They quickly get used to the person and behave with him quite companionably.

Often you can meet larger, exhibition budgies. These are larger individuals with an unusual feather color, which is bred by breeders. Such parrots are valued much higher, but also care for the exhibition breeds requires more complex. Also, due to not too successful crosses, individuals who are not able to give offspring are often found. But healthy full-fledged birds are much less fertile than ordinary budgies, and therefore are not suitable for breeding at the initial stage.

Usually, those breeders who have accumulated considerable experience and have an established clientele begin to breed larger and more expensive parrot breeds. In this case, the more expensive and rare birds become an addition to the usual budgies.

Estimated Costs

Breeding budgies at home requires certain investments, which consist of:

the cost of buying birds;
the cost of buying cages, feeders, nesting boxes and other equipment;
feed costs and various vitamin supplements.

The approximate cost of all these purchases per one pair of birds, male and female, is presented in the table.

Buying both the birds themselves and everything necessary for their keeping and breeding in a pet store will cost more than buying from a hand or from breeders. Moreover, buying in bulk can provide even greater savings.

One pair with normal breeding is able to bring 2-3 broods per year, in each of which there can be 4-10 chicks. Usually private breeders can count on 500-600 rubles from each young parrot. Thus, one pair on average can generate income of 5-20 thousand rubles per year. Obviously, to get more or less serious profit, you need to take a few pairs. But this, in turn, increases the effort and time spent on caring for birds.

Breeding parrots requires, as a rule, practically does not require additional costs, because the mineral supplements necessary for the nursing female chicks are inexpensive.

This calculation is very preliminary. After all, acquiring several pairs at once, you can arrange them in one cage, which will be more expensive due to its large size, but per one pair will cost less.

To whom and where to sell parrots

Also a very important point is setting up a distribution channel for future offspring. This question, as in any other business, must be thought out in advance, otherwise breeding parrots will lose all economic meaning.

There are several options for selling budgies:

Pet Shops. If you agree with an organization selling animals, you can get a stable sales channel. But the price in this case will be quite low, because the store in this case acts only as an intermediary.
Specialized forums for exotic bird lovers. There is great competition in the form of other breeders, as well as a limited influx of buyers. But then people come here purposefully and, as a rule, know in advance which parrots they want to buy.
Advertisements. There are both paid and free ways to submit sales announcements. A common and low-cost way to sell.
Your own website or page in social networks. Although the promotion of your website requires investments either of money or of your own strength, in our time this way of advertising your products can bring serious results.
Sale to friends and acquaintances, as well as the organization of word of mouth.

You need to understand that the number of people for whom the cultivation of parrots has become a professional business is quite large, and experienced breeders are more reliable sellers for buyers. Therefore, at first, farmed birds will have to be sold quite cheaply.

Buying parrots

If after all the preliminary miscalculations you made the decision to start breeding budgies, then the first thing you need to do is purchase the birds.

To obtain healthy and beautiful offspring, it is necessary that parents have health. Therefore, it is undesirable to buy from hand, as well as from unverified breeders. It is better to spend a little more money, but get guaranteed healthy birds.

The age of the future parents also matters. The peak of reproduction in parrots falls on the age of 2-8 years. A young pair of parrots will bear offspring for several years, but older budgerigars after several nests will become useless from the point of view of breeding.

It is very important that the purchased male and female fit together. In budgerigars, sympathy or, on the contrary, antipathy play a big role in pairing. If it is incorrect to choose a pair, they may not have offspring at all or chicks will appear extremely rarely.

When buying two birds, you should choose an already established pair, in which the male obviously cares for the female, and she takes these signs of attention. In addition, it is important to make sure that the purchased birds are of the opposite sex. It is not uncommon for the owners of purchased birds to wait for offspring for a long time and only after some time learn that both of their pets are males.

When buying birds for breeding, the situation is facilitated by the fact that in a flock the pairs form much faster and easier. Indeed, budgies are flocks of birds, and the example of relatives increases the instinct of reproduction.

To obtain healthy offspring, it is necessary that the reduced birds do not have common ancestors. Therefore, it is not recommended to purchase all parrots for breeding from one breeder at once. This increases the chances that some birds will be relatives.

Home improvement

A cage for parrots should be equipped with everything necessary for their full life. What you need to install in the cell:

poles, preferably made of wood, not plastic, which harms the health of birds;
separate feeders for grain and for mineral mixtures;
preferably a feeder for various additives in the form of fruits, vegetables and sprouted grains;
a drinking bowl with water, to which birds will have constant and easy access;
mineral stone or chalk that parrots can nibble;
toys and swings that will serve as entertainment for your pets;
twigs for grinding beak.

The most convenient and properly equipped cage will contribute to maintaining the health of birds. This will not only save you from calling a veterinarian and additional expenses for treatment, but also lead to the fertility of the female.

In addition to the large cage, in which several pairs live, it is also necessary to have a smaller cage, where it will be possible to plant a male and a female during the preparation of them for hatching eggs and raising offspring.

Nesting period

Breeding budgies also requires a special place for the nesting of the female. For this, a special nest box is attached to the cage. It can be either purchased at pet stores or built on its own. There are several types of crates; bird owners usually prefer a compromise design that combines the advantages of horizontal and vertical nest boxes.

At the time of nesting, additional beneficial substances and elements should be added to the diet of parrots. Usually experienced owners recommend a mixture of eggs and carrots with the addition of mineral elements. It is also useful to put eggshell and chalk containing calcium in the cell.

A cage with a nest box should be kept away from any noise sources. After all, the female’s nervous experience can lead to problems with future offspring.

Time to breed chicks

In nature, budgies can bring offspring every 2-3 months. But in order to maintain bird health, it is necessary to limit the number of annual broods. A couple of nests per year will allow not only to increase the female’s life span, but also to extend the age at which she can continue to bear offspring, but also improve the quality of the appearing chicks.

Since birds during reproduction of offspring are guided by a change in climatic conditions, it is possible to stimulate their reproduction, using simple tricks. Among them

increase in daylight hours, for example, using additional artificial lighting;
a slight increase in temperature and maintaining it for some time.

On average, the time from mating to the final plumage of the chicks, when they can be separated from their parents, is 2 - 2.5 months. First, 10 days after mating, the female begins to lay eggs, every day is new. Three weeks later, the chicks begin to hatch. They are fed not only by the female, but also by the male.

To summarize

Although the breeding of budgies is a fairly simple and financially inexpensive process, it will take some effort to get healthy and quality offspring. At many stages, unexpected problems may occur. For example, with the wrong choice of purchased birds, they will refuse to mate or the female will be barren.

Choosing the path of the breeder, you can choose two strategies:

Start small, try your hand at one pair. In this case, the costs will be minimal, the risks will also be reduced to almost zero. However, the path to organizing the process of breeding parrots will be quite long.
Organization of breeding of these birds immediately in large numbers with preliminary work on the organization of distribution channels. This approach will make it possible to get a decent profit in the very near future, but any mistake in the organization can ruin the whole thing.

Watch a video about breeding parrots in cages

In the article we will tell with the help of a photo about the reproduction of budgerigars at home. This is a small story about how a budgerigar hatches from an egg, develops, grows older and prepares to leave the nest.

How parrots breed

The reproduction of budgies from females and males that are physiologically in a state of reproduction and mating begins.
The first egg, as a rule, is laid by the female approximately 10 days after successful mating, and then each subsequent egg every other day. The female budgie sits in the nest box most of the time and the male feeds her. About 18-23 days after the first egg, the chick hatches.
Parrots are growing fast, you can see it in the following photos. We continue the description of how budgerigars breed at home. These photos show the senior budgie on days 3, 7, 10, and 12, respectively.

How budgerigars breed

After two weeks, the chick begins to grow feathers. At first it looks like a “thorn” and very funny, but it soon starts to look like a “real” budgie. The eldest of the small parrots is different from his younger brothers and sisters. You can see his next photos. There he is 13, 14, 16 and 22 days.
At the age of 23 days, the parrot is almost feathered, and only some small areas are uncovered with feathers, in the next photo he is 26 days old. After 29 days, the whole body is completely covered with feathers and he is ready to begin to explore the world outside of his nest. On day 31, he looks a lot like a young budgie, which is sold in a pet store.

The chick is old enough now to start thinking about leaving the nest box forever. He will usually do this somewhere between 28-35 days from birth. Somewhere up to 38-42 days, the male will still feed him, after which he becomes very independent and able to eat and drink on his own.

When the budgie chick has 6-8 weeks, you can start thinking about replanting it in another cage, or letting it out in the aviary, or selling it if you decide to do it. Never sell or give away a small budgie before it can eat and drink without the help of its parents.
I recommend that you watch a video about the reproduction of budgies.

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