23/08/2025
🩺 Budgie Health Series #2 — How Budgies Mate and Reproduce 🐣💞
Whether you’re a breeder or simply observing your flock’s behaviour, understanding how budgies reproduce is key to supporting their health and wellbeing.
Let’s walk through the full cycle — from pair bonding to baby chicks 👇
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🌿 1. Bonding Comes First
Budgies don’t just mate at random — they form strong emotional bonds first.
Watch for:
💬 Constant chatter between the pair
🪶 Preening each other’s heads and faces
🍽️ Courtship feeding (where the c**k feeds the hen)
These signs show trust and readiness to breed.
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🐦 2. The Mating Process
When the hen is ready, she’ll crouch with her tail lifted and wings out slightly. The c**k mounts her back and they perform a cloacal kiss — a brief contact between their vents.
⚠️ No pe*******on occurs, and the process only lasts a few seconds.
Mating may happen several times to improve fertilisation success.
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🥚 3. The Hen Becomes GRAVID
After successful mating, the hen is now gravid — carrying developing eggs inside her body. This places huge physical and nutritional demands on her.
You may notice:
• A swelling in the lower belly
• Increased nesting behaviour
• Quiet clucking or fluffed-up posture
✅ At this stage, she needs:
🦴 Calcium — for forming strong eggshells
☀️ Vitamin D3 — to help absorb calcium
💪 Protein and conditioning support — to maintain energy and stamina
🌿 At Golden Wings Aviaries, we use Aviform Fertivit, Hormova, and Nutrobal as standard support for breeding hens.
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🐣 4. Egg Laying and Incubation
• Hens usually lay 4–6 eggs, one every 24–48 hours
• Incubation starts after the 2nd or 3rd egg — though
🧠 Proven breeders may start brooding from the FIRST egg, which causes chicks to hatch on different days and grow at different rates.
👩🍼 The hen incubates and feeds crop milk
👨🍳 The c**k feeds the hen and later helps feed the chicks
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🔦 Nest Box Checks & Egg Candling
It’s important to:
✅ Check nest boxes once daily to monitor behaviour and chick development
✅ Candle eggs with a safe torch to track embryo growth and remove any infertile or failed eggs early
This helps prevent rotten eggs and keeps the nest healthy.
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⚠️ EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT BREEDING...
Bonded pairs or mixed aviaries can still result in surprise clutches. That’s why it’s essential to routinely supplement all birds.
📌 If you discover an egg unexpectedly:
🚨 Start supplementing IMMEDIATELY
This helps prevent:
❌ Egg binding
❌ Shell-less eggs
❌ Calcium crashes or seizures
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🏠 Responsible Breeding Checklist
✔️ Use only healthy, unrelated pairs aged 1 YEAR OR OLDER
✔️ Provide a dark, enclosed nest box
✔️ Limit disturbances during incubation
✔️ Monitor hens closely for signs of fatigue, aggression or plucking
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📌 Whether you’re planning to breed or not, knowing the signs and stages of reproduction helps you give your birds the best care possible.
🐦 Want more expert tips on budgie health, behaviour and breeding?
Follow Golden Wings Aviaries for weekly insights and adorable updates!
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