How to Breed Parakeets (Budgies)

Breeding parakeets, or budgies, is not as difficult as you might think. Once you have a matched pair, all it takes is the right setting and a few simple supplies to encourage your parakeets to breed. Within a short time, you can become the proud owner of a pair of breeding parakeets with adorable babies.

Provide Their Basic Needs

Before you encourage your parakeets to breed, you need to make sure you provide the proper care for their basic needs while breeding. First, your parakeets need to have a big enough cage to put a nesting box in and that will have room in it for more birds when the babies are old enough to leave the nesting box. Second, make sure you provide your birds a proper diet and fresh water every day. Give them a good parakeet food that is a mix of seeds and pellets. Hang a spray of millet in their cage and switch it out with a new one as needed. Some parakeets will also eat small pieces of fruits and vegetables, but do your research first to know which ones you can and can't feed them. Our parakeets won't eat fruits or vegetables, so I buy vitamin drops that I add to their food to make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need when breeding and raising babies. I personally recommend giving your birds vitamins even if they do eat fruits and vegetables. You also need to make sure they have a cuttle bone in their cage at all times as it is very important that the female gets the calcium she needs to form eggs and stay healthy.

The Proper Setting

Your parakeets need the proper setting in order to breed. A dimly lit, stuffy room won't do the trick. Place their cage in a room that gets plenty of sunlight and air flow, but not cold drafts. An area of medium to low traffic and activity will help your birds feel like they have a place of their own. Our parakeets are in the master bedroom, which is bright and airy with a total of four windows on two different walls. Only two people in our household are in that room on a regular basis. Our parakeets don't mind some noise and traffic. I do work in our home several days a week and my computer desk is in the master bedroom, so they are used to people being in the room and the daily noises. We also watch television in our room and listen to music, which makes them chirp and sing even more. We only let the younger children of the household come in to see the parakeets once in a while as it seems to be too much for our birds when a lot of active, noisy people are around. I would say our room gets low to medium traffic and activity, depending on the day, and we have had success with breeding our parakeets with every egg hatching and every baby healthy.

A Nesting Box

Once you've provided the basic needs for your parakeets and found a good place to put their cage, you need to give them a nesting box. Parakeets require a nesting box that measures approximately 9"L x 6"W x 6"H. If the nesting box is too small, the female may feel crowded in it after the babies start to grow, which could make her not want to stay in the box to take care of them. You can buy a wooden nesting box at most pet stores or you can make one out of a small cardboard box. I personally like to make my own nesting box because I can throw it away when they are done with it and give them a new, clean one the next time around. If you make one, the round opening should be toward the top and have a diameter of about 1 1/2 inches. You should also cut a flap in the top so you can open it to check on the female and the babies. Parakeets don't need nesting material, but I like to give ours a little shredded paper. After making the nesting box, put little holes in the back corners to put twisty ties through to attach the box to the cage. Parakeets nest in tree hollows in the wild, so make sure you attach their nesting box toward the top of the cage. If you set a nesting box on the floor of the cage, it will most likely be ignored. Once you've attached the nesting box to the cage, leave it alone. The female will start to check out the box and will claim it if she is getting ready to lay eggs. Do not clean the nesting box because this can cause the female to abandon it even after she's laid eggs in it.

More Birds, More Responsibility

If you provide your parakeets with these basic needs, the proper setting, and a nesting box, it is very likely that they will breed, lay eggs, and have babies. Before you encourage your birds to breed, make sure you are prepared for the added responsibility and cost of taking care of more birds. Even if you plan to find good homes for the babies, you will still need to provide and care for them for two to three months after they hatch.

Further Reading

How to Take Care of Breeding Parakeets (Budgies)