If you wish to breed Keets, get a special breeding cage and nest box. The breeding cage has a little trap door so that the nest box can be attached to the cage.
In the wild, Budgies nest in holes in trees. In captivity, these birds use nest boxes, generally constructed of wood. Unless you own a lumber yard, you are better off buying the nest box.
Keets don't build a nest like Canaries, Finches, Robins, or Pigeons.
Breeding cages can be constructed out of one inch by one half inch welded wire mesh, bent and fastened with "J" clips.
I liked to use a cage 24" by 18" square, with the nest box on the front. One pair of birds was kept per cage. The birds lived their whole lives in the cage. No flights were used. Breeding was started/stopped by installing/removing the nest box. I found it very stressful to the Keets to move
them in and out of the flights. The security of a "home" cage resulted in much better breeding results.
Half-inch by half-inch "baluster" board makes the best perch material. If you've got to use dowel wood, run a hacks saw down it, as the smooth wood is very uncomfortable to the bird's feet. Perches can be cleaned with a solution of pine oil and bleach in very hot water. This is good for the nest boxes, too. Dry in the sun.
Pine shavings are very good inside the nest box. It's said that cedar shavings are poisonous, but I've never observed any bad effects on either the breeding pair or chicks.
18. Do Keets breed better as a flock in a large walk-in cage (a flight)?
Budgerigars can be bred as flocks in flights. The only good reason to do this is to save labor. Feed will be wasted. Less young per pair will be produced. In a flight make sure that the number of males and females is exactly equal. Extra males are a waste. Un-paired hens will raid the nests of the breeding birds. Use twenty-five percent extra nest boxes, for the Keet hens always squabble over nests.
These are social birds. A single pair will very rarely breed. Four pairs, in the same room, are the minimum for successful breeding. There are many exceptions to this rule, but if you really want to raise Keets, start off with a number of pairs.
19. How do I tell the difference between male and female Keets?
With Budgerigars, the males are playful, foolish and care-free while the hens tend to be serious, grumpy and moody - just like in people! (This is meant to be amusing, but there IS a definite difference in the disposition of the male and female budgerigars.) You can distinguish the males, for the cere, that fleshy area over the beak, around the nostrils is bright blue in the boys. If it's ANY other color, the bird is a hen. In the light colored Keets, particularly Albinos and Lutinos, the Ceres in both cocks and hens are pink. When you have a breeding pair, you may never witness any interaction between the two birds. The male will do acrobatics about the cage. The hen will sit in one spot and grumble and nag to herself. This is normal for Ma and Pa Keet!
20. What is the natural Keet breeding season?
Budgerigars do not have a regular breeding or molting season. In their Australian outback native haunts, they commence breeding whenever the rains bring about a growth of vegetation. In captivity, Keets will breed best in the Spring and early Summer. If the nests boxes are then removed, they will go into a heavy molt. Keeping the birds on a seasonal schedule is a good idea. This allows the Fancier the ability to plan ahead. Being in a regular cycle gives the bird's system a good pace at which to work.
21. How long does it take for the eggs to hatch?
The eggs hatch in eighteen days from the time the hen starts sitting. She may not sit until several, or all the eggs are produced. Five eggs is average. The hen incubates the eggs and handles most of the feeding chores.
22. What is banding?
The babies should be "closed-banded" so that records can be kept. If you wish to show your birds, you will have to use bands issued by the American Budgerigar Society, or some other official organization. The young are banded before they develop pin feathers. Then, the toes are still pliable and can be manipulated and pulled through the ring. In a few days, the toes grow and the bones harden. After this time, the ring will neither go on or off.
23. Are any special foods required for nesting and rearing the young?
Protein supplement foods MUST be provided during nesting and the molt for optimum health. Many different nesting foods are on the market. Cooked chicken egg serves the purpose. If you've a number of birds, place a whole hard boiled chicken egg, shell and all, in the food processor or blender. The bits of egg shell are a great source of calcium.
24. What should I do if the father abuses his young?
Sometimes the cock will kill or abuse the chicks as soon as they come out of the nest. If ANY HINT of trouble is observed, remove the young, if they are eating on their own, or remove the father.
25. How can I tell the age of a Keet?
A young Budgerigar has a smooth cere, black stripes (except for the light colored types) on the forehead (giving the term "bar-head" for a immature Keet), and a completely black eye. Within six months, the forehead is white or yellow and the eye has a white iris. The male's cere remains smooth. The hen's darkens in color and becomes crusty and flakey in appearance, not to be confused with a mite infestation. This is a normal sign of sexual maturity and can be used to differentiate the genders in Albinos and Lutinos, where cere color is no help.
Keets are ready to breed by nine months. I've seen hens as young as five months old produce healthy nests.
26. How long do Keets live?
Budgerigars have short life spans. Seven years is very old for the average bird. The show birds rarely reach five. This is for the males. Breeding hens don't live this long.
27. What is the best temperature for these birds?
Sixty-five to eighty degrees Fahrenheit is a good temperature for Keets. They can adjust to anything from freezing to one hundred degrees. Don't subject them to extremes, unless that's how you live yourself. As the thermometer goes over eighty, mist the birds with a fine spray of cool tap water, as often as possible.
28. How do I give a Keet a bath?
Keets like to bathe. You DO NOT restrain and scrub a Budgie, like you do a dog. A small pan of water is placed in the cage. The bird will perform its ablutions by splashing about. Be ready to clean the cage afterwards.
29. Does the quality and quantity of light make a difference?
Budgies, like all pet birds, must have a regular schedule. The birds should wake up and go to sleep with the sun. Covering the cage at night is a good way to ensure proper rest. If the Keets are in a dark area, set up full spectrum lights. These florescent bulbs, sold in pet shops, mimic the sun's rays in a healthful manner.
30. Can Keets be tamed and trained to talk like the large parrots?
Budgerigars can be tame pets and can be taught to talk. You must get a male baby right out of the nest. Be prepared to watch that he is eating on his own. PARAKEETS ARE SOCIAL BIRDS! If you plan to train a baby parakeet, realize that somebody should almost always be home, or the bird will sorely feel the lack of companionship. The young Keet, desiring a friend, will naturally accept your advances. You can teach him to talk by repeating a single word over and over. "Hello" is a good start. Most birds in pet shops will be too old to train. If the bird has a white or yellow forehead, not black stripes, it is WAY past taming age.
If you do not wish to put the time into training a Keet, if somebody is not always home, or if you can not obtain a very young bird, you can still enjoy the pleasure of Budgies. In this case, get at least two birds. Try to get either two males, or a male and a female. Two hens will just sit at either end of the cage glaring at each other. With a friendly, little group, the antics of the birds and the cheerful chirping will never cease to amuse and entertain.
If you at first acquired a single Keet and now want to get a buddy for the bird, don't immediately put the new bird in the same cage. Imagine coming home to find a stranger plopped down in front of the TV! Put the new guy in a separate cage, right next to the original bird. When you see them playing through the bars , then they can be placed together.
31. Does my bird need a toy?
Budgerigars enjoy toys. Bells, wheels, and chew toys are best. Avoid mirrors and plastic birds, for these items distract the birds. Mirrors will turn male Keets into (literally) the spitting image of Narcissus.
32. My bird's beak is starting to grow crooked. Somebody tells me that it is mites. What do I do about it?
Mites are a terrible affliction of Budgies. Infestations can be prevented and controlled by spraying the bird, the cage, and the area surrounding it with a .05% pyrethrin solution. If the beak itself starts to look flakey, the cere starts to get a "spongy" look, or a male Keet's cere begins to turn brown, stronger measures are required. Mites can be eliminated by the application of IVERMECTIN, under the directions of a veterinarian. Left untreated, the beak will begin to grow in a horrible, twisted shape. Death from starvation is possible.
33. Can my family or my other pets catch any diseases from Keets?
Budgerigars, like many other species of birds, can carry Psittacosis, which can be fatal to people, and Coccidiosis, a protozoan parasite that can also attack people, cats, and dogs. Psittacosis, "Parrot Fever", has many symptoms. Coccidiosis shows up mostly as foul, wet droppings.
34. What is French Molt?
Keets that never seem to grow in flight or tail feathers, might have "French Molt", which can infect many other species of birds, particularly Cockatoos, with dire results. If disease is suspected, DO consult a veterinarian.
35. What is egg binding?
If you expect the hen to lay an egg and you see her on the bottom of the cage in obvious distress or exhaustion, she probably has egg binding. The bird will die within a few hours without help. The best course of action is to seek a veterinarian's help. I've gently felt the outside of the afflicted hens abdomen and been able to propel the lodged egg through the vent. But I have no medical training, so can not tell you to do the same thing. DO NOT HOLD THE HEN OVER A POT OF BOILING WATER! DO NOT ATTEMPT AN OLIVE OIL ENEMA! I've seen both of these idiocies offered as serious advice in published works.
Egg binding can be caused by a lack of calcium, so be sure that a mineral grit and cuttlebone is available at all times. Vitamins are needed for calcium to be utilized by the bird's system, so be sure that all aspects of nutrition are correct.
