Giggles new toy

[Shrub]

Giggles loves her new toy... Well box, she spends so much time playing in there, looking out, walking back and forth, going under the top (which I bent and so crawls under to go into the other area of box) She sounds like she is scratching. She is having fun, so keeps her entertained.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D0lPqNGWoAIQZOK.jpg:large

 

[ChristaNL]

so...you gave her a nestbox?


(I am glad she is having fun, just want you to be aware you might be triggering reproductive behaviours that way.)

 

[SassiBird]

so...you gave her a nestbox?


(I am glad she is having fun, just want you to be aware you might be triggering reproductive behaviours that way.)

Shrub, I went back and read your introduction post. Giggles is still a baby. You're fine. Let her play away! *EDIT* I take that back. according to Beauty of Birds website, they can breed at 5 MONTHS! So, use your judgment.**

And I honestly don't know if nesting triggers for Kakariki's is the same as other parrots. ???

 

[EllenD]

Christa took the words right out of my mouth!!! As much as they love to play inside of and underneath of small, dark places, you just can't allow them to do so if you don't want to end-up with them starting to become extremely hormonal; Budgies in-particular are extremely prone to constant and continual hormonal periods, and if your Budgies is definitely a female Budgie, then this is a HUGE NO-NO, because it's going to eventually result in her constantly laying eggs, and with that comes a ton of serious health issues...

Budgies and Cockatiels are the two species of Parrots that are very prone to chronic egg-laying, with them laying clutch after clutch after clutch of infertile eggs, and once they start it's very difficult to get them to stop. And with Budgies who are chronic egg-layers, each clutch that they lay back-to-back-to-back is typically larger and larger, eventually getting to the point where they are laying up to 13+ infertile eggs in each clutch...And this can quickly become life-threatening, because they quickly become Anemic, Malnourished, and Undernourished, because it's impossible for them to eat enough food and take-in enough nutrition to keep-up with the energy and nutrients they are expending by constantly making Follicles and Eggs...Their beaks eventually turn to a dark-blue tint, as does the bare skin on their feet/toes and their legs, and this is because they are so Anemic. And eventually they either die from malnutrition, not because you aren't feeding them a good diet, but because they just can't keep-up with replacing the nutrition they are expending constantly, OR they become Egg-Bound, which is ALWAYS 100% FATAL without immediate medical intervention, usually major surgery that they don't survive...

***So, the bottom-line is that for the health and well-being of your female Budgie, and so that she lives a nice, long, healthy, happy life that is in the span it should be, you need to remove ANY AND ALL small, dark places that she can get inside of or underneath or behind, both inside of her cage and when she's out of her cage in your house. (pet Budgies in captivity should easily live into their mid-teens if they are fed a healthy diet, given lots of exercise and mental stimulation and direct-attention, and they are kept from constantly laying eggs and/or feeding chicks if they are with a male and the eggs are fertile instead of infertile like your Budgie will start laying).

***This means NO Beds/Triangle Bed of any kind, No Tents, No "Huts" (Snuggle Huts/Happy Huts), Hammocks, Boxes of any kind, etc. inside of her cage, along with NO Bedding/Nesting Material inside of her cage or on the bottom of her cage that she will think of as "Nesting-Material", such as any Rodent-Bedding, Wood Chips, Corn-Cob Bedding, Crushed Walnut-Shell Bedding, Shredded Paper Bedding such as Carefresh, or anything similar in the bottom of her cage, along with no shredded paper or newspaper...She should only have Newspaper, Butcher's Paper, Cage Liners, etc. under the grate in the very bottom of her cage to collect droppings and that she cannot get at or have access to.

***Your bird can happily sleep standing on a perch and needs no "Bed" of any kind either...Budgies absolutely LOVE all kinds of toys, especially the cheaper, plastic toys that have bells on them, so you get-off each with Budgies, lol, you don't need to buy the $20-$30 a piece toys that they only shred apart after a couple of hours like the large parrots need and run through...My Budgies just love the $2-$5 a piece plastic bird toys that Petco and Petsmart both sell.

We're only telling you this because we want your Budgie to live a long and healthy life, and we certainly don't want you to suddenly come home one day to find your Budgie either already dead, or even worse is finding them in horrible pain, constantly "straining" themselves because they are trying to lay an infertile-Egg that they can't lay because either it's way too big to pass, or because it's not dropped into the correct area (her Oviduct) but rather dropped into her free-Abdominal space, where the only thing that will save her life in either of these situations is immediate open-abdominal surgery that costs thousands of dollars and they often die during anyway. Usually Euthanasia is what is suggested for Egg-Bound Budgies unfortunately, because it's horribly painful for them to suffer through, and the surgery often fails anyway...No one should have to go through that with their birds, and the best way to avoid this happening is to keep your Budgie from becoming hormonal in the first place as much as possible, and the quickest way to CAUSE THEM to become hormonal is by providing them any type of Box or any of the other things I listed above...

 

[EllenD]

so...you gave her a nestbox?


(I am glad she is having fun, just want you to be aware you might be triggering reproductive behaviours that way.)

Shrub, I went back and read your introduction post. Giggles is still a baby. You're fine. Let her play away! *EDIT* I take that back. according to Beauty of Birds website, they can breed at 5 MONTHS! So, use your judgment.**

And I honestly don't know if nesting triggers for Kakariki's is the same as other parrots. ???

Yeah, PLEASE DO NOT "LET HER PLAY AWAY" in the box, with the utmost respect to Sassibird, that's horrible advice...You need to remove the box IMMEDIATELY and read my post above to make sure that she has no other hormonal-triggers inside of her cage or access to any outside of her cage either, such as being allowed to go underneath or behind furniture, or even behind pillows on the couch, etc. NO SMALL, DARK PLACES AT ALL!!!

***Budgies fully-wean around the age of 2-3 months old typically, and as someone who bred and hand-raised both American and English Budgies for over 20 years, as well as owned my very first hand-raised, pet Budgie for 18 years and 9 months when he finally passed-away (bred and hand-raised by my mother and given to me when I was 6 years old), I can tell you that I've seen extremely young Budgies lay INFERTILE Eggs as young as 4 months old, and Fertile Eggs as young as 5-6 months old...So NO AGE is good for providing them with any types of boxes, tents, huts, hammocks, beds, or anything that could be considered "nesting material"...

***And YES, all of these hormonal-triggers are EXACTLY THE SAME FOR ALL SPECIES OF BIRDS, as well as all types of birds, from Parrots to Doves/Pigeons to Poultry Birds to Game Birds etc. So yes, your Kakariki's have the exact same hormonal triggers, so if you have any small, dark places that you allow them to play in/sleep in, you need to remove them ALL from their cages immediately and make sure that they don't go underneath furniture, etc. when outside of their cages...Birds are birds, and parrots are parrots, regardless of their species, and they all have extremely similar Reproductive Systems, if not exactly the same Reproductive Systems, as well as Endocrine Systems...So ALL of their hormones work exactly the same way, including their Sex Hormones...

 

[Shrub]

She more seems to be ripping up the cardboard. The box is gone now. The rabbit started eating it... but will keep in mind. I know if she starts laying eggs it unhealthy as cycle wont complete eggs wont hatch and we have no plans to try and breed her at all. At most may get her a companion eventually but not to breed with. I keep her cage clean. She likes to mess it up a lot everyday i change het water and seeds and within a few hrs her seeds are scattered everywhere. (Only give her enough for the day and try not put much in there) and she sleeps on her perch. I know not to put nesting boxes or any lil bird house in her cage. At most she has a big tin that is quiet open and bright and no nesting materials in her cage.
Might have to keep eye on her she been exploring a lot lately. And keeps trying to hide and play in shopping bags (reusable ones and a mesh one) so have to make sure they are not left out after shopping too.

 

[EllenD]

Just don't give her any more boxes, tents, huts, hammocks, etc. I have been breeding and owning Budgies for over 20 years, and trust me, you don't want a hormonal female who is a chronic layer of infertile eggs, it's extremely hard on their bodies, they become Anemic and malnourished very quickly due to their size and the amount of energy they expend making and laying the infertile eggs, and they can become very sick due to it...And there is no faster way to make them hormonal than to give them a box or any other small, dark place to get under or inside of...