Nesting box

[Blue_star]

I got a nesting box for trix and rhythm saturday and they seem terrified of it. I put them on the perch outside the box but they quickly got away from it. And now won't go near it. What should I do? How can I help them like it?

 

[IcyWolf]

Aw, I just love their names! It's pretty common for birds to be afraid of new things in their home. Did you put the whole box in the cage or did you mount it from the outside? I have all of ours mounted on the outside but I know people that put them inside, it just seems like that would make it hard to clean. Try putting some kind of nesting material in the box, I use a mixture of carefresh and aspen, for the budgies I usually put some millet or other seed in a corner of the box as well. You may want to add some type of nesting toys in their main cage as well, give them things to shred up to entice them to start nesting. I've been making origami boxes out of plain paper and then stuffing them with treats and sisal, the birds love to tear them up Don't move the box either, try and leave it in one spot, they will get used to it eventually, it just may take some time for them to learn that it's not going to eat them My luck has been sort of hit and miss. The one pair of budgies will jump in the box the moment I give it to them, the other pair has had it since early december and just started to venture into it. My amazons half been weary but they check it out. The male goes completely in but the female has only gone about half way. Don't force them into it by any means, I wouldn't even make them get close to it, that's likely to only make them fear it worse. After awhile, they will realize it's not going to hurt them, they should venture in eventually and then they should realize that it's a cozy little place to lay some eggs Just give them some time and condition them for breeding and they will do the rest