cockatiel and budgie aviary

[abutler]

Hello,
I am getting a shed in the next couple of weeks and I am going to put cages in it for breeding my chickens. I am also going to make the last part an aviary for cockatiels and budgies. It will be about 8' by 3' inside and there would be an additional 10' by 3' outside. I am wondering what features would I need and how many pairs of cockatiels and budgies could I put in it. What size should the nest boxes be and how many and what is the best system for giving them water and what should they be fed out of. Also what kind of toys could I put in it. I have loads of branches from a fallen popular tree. Would these be ok for roosts. Any additional advice on breeding and general care would also be approval.
Thanks.

 

[abutler]

Any answers would be apritiated

 

[kq_fan]

So your putting it on the chicken coop? Because chicken poop and debris is toxic to humans (but not much) and even worse for birds. Maybe its not a wonderful idea? Maybe put it farther away? Cockatiels and Budgies sometimes don't mix. Since the teils are a bit bigger they might bully the budgies. In the wild they don't flock together. But with that said if you think its ok then do it, I'm not trying to tell you what to do its just some cautions you need to know about. For toys I would get chew apart toys and some plastic bell toys. At some pet stores, they have some small logs that the budgies chew through to make a nest, and put some foraging toys in there to. Be careful about the tree you use, it might be toxic and I don't know how to disinfect branches. So those are just some precautions and some advise. Hope this helps!

 

[MikeyTN]

The only major things you have to watch is mites, parasites, and diseases. So regular vet visit for all is needed. Another thing about breeding budgies and cockatiels together is if the budgie decided they want the tiels nest they will not hesitate to destroy their eggs or kill their chicks. Budgies are colony breeders and it's best to give them all same type of nest box at the same level. In that size you should be able to keep about 10 pairs of tiels within or 20 pairs of keets. I would not suggest breeding them together!

 

[owleyes]

I have sort of the same set-up here at home...
In our shed, where my sister houses her MANY Guinea Pigs, I have my indoor flight for my pair of cockatiels, pair of budgies and two male budgies awaiting partners...! They all get along absolutely fine together, -but I don't know if I'm just a lucky one... We've had budgies and cockatiels in together before that have lived peacefully but not quite as friendly... We've never had any major incidents.... I'm not saying that it definitely won't happen to you, just that it has never happened to me...
We take the budgies out of the aviary to breed to prevent abandonnement and/or any sort of squabbles and that works fine. They never have any trouble going back in or when they're coming out. This way the cockatiels can breed without being disturbed. If there is any sort of ruckus going on I just distract them with pieces of Millet spray - always put one in for each bird and an extra one because beleive you me there is always going to one greedy monkey that has to have two pieces just to feel like he is king-of-the-roost!!
The best toy I have ever made for the aviary was a swinging log. I just got a 2foot long log -make sure its safe etc- and it was about 3 or 4 inches in diameter and just tied it up at both ends and then hung it off the aviary roof. It was an immediate hit! Budgies -or at least my budgies- just love to destroy/de-bark/de-leaf enything they can get their beaks into! Another favourite of mine is wet leaves from our eucalyptus and apple trees! They get to chew up something and get wet at the same time!
As others have said mites are something to look out for so just keep checking and spraying if need be.
Only one of my budgies actually bathes in the water dish, pretty much daily. The others get sprayed with a spray bottle and they absolutely love it! I use stainless steel food and water dishes that are taken out and cleaned daily -make sure you get pretty big bowls or multiple dishes to prevent anyone form not being able to get to the food.
Anyway I hope I helped and didn't bore you with my ramblings too much...
Good Luck!!

 

[Mike17]

Not cockatiels, but Bourke's- I had two budgies (not breeding) and three Bourke's parrots (breeding) in a large aviary, and when the Bourke's hen was on her eggs (which turned out to be infertile) the budgies were forever sitting outside the nesting box looking in on the hen. I took the budgies out and put them in a separate aviary. I have no idea what they were doing, but they prevented the male(s) getting to the hen when they would presumably feed her as the chicks hatched and grew. I didn't know which male was the father (if any) and later the hen attacked one of them after I'd removed the bad eggs and she'd left nest. Unfortunately he escaped while I was changing "recuperation" cages.