Appropriate breeding age for hen

[Nani]

Hi all,


My female budgie Princess, is about 10-11 months old, is this too young for her to lay eggs? She has egg-butt already and is ripping up paper, I haven't put any nestbox in, or even did anything that would encourage her to breed. She is in condition though.
Hmm...
I had heard they needed to be at least 1 year old, but I've also heard varying answers.

My other female budgie Kiwi just had a successful clutch and is in the process of weaning the chicks. (She is almost 2) However, I had them in a separate room from where Princess and others are. They could hear each other, but not see each other.

Silly question, but..by hearing each other, do they have different calls for breeding? Do birds let others know they are laying eggs..witth chicks..etc?

I figure if I don't ask, I'l never learn.

Pls and thanks!

[Bonesy]

some hens start early, though usually 12months is just right.

[BudgiesBuddy]

Stimulation is very important in breeding and encourages other to breed. It happens by watching and listening to other budgies. Although 12 months is the right age to breed, if she is in condition and bonded, she will be OK. Perhaps you post a close up picture pf her to be sure of her condition.

[Lushen1600]

12 months old to prevent egg binding and make sure the mum is mature enough to look after eggs and chicks

[Nani]

Hi everyone,

So sorry for the late reply, I've been horribly sick and haven't even had the energy to log on the computer. I'm just jumping through the last hurdles and should be back to tip top shape in a few days.
Thank you to everyone who has advised me!

Re: Princess.

My older hen Kiwi, after raising her first clutch (chicks were 5 weeks old and she had egg-butt and had started to push them out of the nest box. I removed her and left the cock with the chicks. However, even though I had removed her she laid two eggs a few days later.

Curious as to whether Princess would even 'know' what to do with the egg, I removed Kiwi's eggs and placed them with Princess. She pushed them out of her makeshift nesting area and wouldn't go near them.
I then removed her partner, and removed all things that could potentially look like it could be used for nesting ground. (newspaper etc) She only has the grate at the bottom of the cage now.

Is this fine?

Because Princess also had egg-butt, I was waiting for her to expel the egg and then remove it. Finally, today she just laid one egg in the morning. However, she appears to have another egg forming??

Also, Kiwi laid another egg again today.

I have already removed both Kiwi and Princess' eggs.
None are with their partners.

What do I do now? I don't want Kiwi laying anymore eggs as the last one seemed to be painful for her. She was straining, and it was painful for her to grip/grab/walk with her left leg/foot. I was worried she would be egg-bound. I have checked her today and she doesn't appear to have any eggs forming.

I will not breed Princess: too young still. And I don't think she even knows what to do yet.

Many thanks in advance for the advice/information.

[Nani]

This is Princess.








This is Kiwi: She is not in breeding condition which is what worries me. She went out of it, when she finished raising her chicks.

[BudgiesBuddy]

Where are they laying the eggs? Can you post pictures of the cages where hens are now.
You will have to keep moving both hens around every few hours and change their cage setup daily. This is all you can do now. Provide them with calcium in the water to avoid any egg binding especially when one had trouble laying last egg.
If this doesn't work, the vet can give medicine to stop the egg laying.

[Nani]

[quote author=budgiesbuddy
You will have to keep moving both hens around every few hours and change their cage setup daily. This is all you can do now. Provide them with calcium in the water to avoid any egg binding especially when one had trouble laying last egg.
If this doesn't work, the vet can give medicine to stop the egg laying.
[/quote]



Thank-you! your suggestion about moving the hens every few hours is already making a difference. I have added calcium and kiwi is no longer laying eggs.

many many thanks!!

[BudgiesBuddy]

Mar 2, 2012 11:08:22 GMT Nani said:

Feb 27, 2012 7:45:33 GMT BudgiesBuddy said:

You will have to keep moving both hens around every few hours and change their cage setup daily. This is all you can do now. Provide them with calcium in the water to avoid any egg binding especially when one had trouble laying last egg.
If this doesn't work, the vet can give medicine to stop the egg laying.

Thank-you! your suggestion about moving the hens every few hours is already making a difference. I have added calcium and kiwi is no longer laying eggs.

many many thanks!!

You're welcome
I am glad it worked for you.