Questions on budgie babies?

[HazelBird029]

So, I've owned parakeets for years, mostly in pairs, but occasionally single. The only pairs I've had have been same sex.
I had a single parakeet male, Sprite, who's about 1 and a half.
A friend of mine gave me a 2 (or close to that age) year old female parakeet, Storm. She bonded to Sprite incredibly quick. The eat food together, snuggle, feed each other and everything. I figured Sprite would mate with her at some point and he finally did. I want to let them raise a clutch.
However, I've never bred parakeets before so I have a couple questions.
1. Do I need to change their diet? I feed them a diet of fresh fruits and veggies, mixed with a bit of pellets and seeds. They also have a cuttlebone and mineral block.
2. Do you all recommend any particular next box? I'm having trouble choosing.
3. When they lay eggs, how often do I check the box?
4. When the eggs hatch, how often do I check/clean the box?
Any other tips would be much appreciated!!!

 

[Cockatoo-Dust]

I have never bred budgies either so i can't really answer your questions.
What are you going to do if the parents don't feed the babies? Do you know how to handfeed? do you have formula?

 

[HazelBird029]

I have never bred budgies either so i can't really answer your questions.
What are you going to do if the parents don't feed the babies? Do you know how to handfeed? do you have formula?

If the parents don't feed the babies, I do know how to handfeed, as I've raised baby birds (wild ones) before. I just bought a formula And I have plenty of time of time on my hands to do so.

 

[rocky'smom]

i have bred budgies.
Q1. i did change their diet 2 months b/4 i started, lots of veggies,greens, some fruit (i use apples green), extra Calcium i used a powder form that i got from breeder friend. (cuttlebones and mineral blocks aren't enough good calcium, in usable form for budgies)
Q2. there is special box to use for breeding budgies make sure to get that size.
Q3. i would not check more then one a day. everytime you disturb them there is the chance they will abandon the eggs and the nest.
Q4. you do not need to clean the box, the parents will take care of it. i would only check once a day until the babies are about 10 days old.
one thing i learned the hard way is the type of chips in the box. DO NOT USE Pine or cedar. i would suggest aspen only.

 

[karen256]

I haven't bred budgies either but it sounds to me that their diet is good. You may want to offer a bit of extra protein (egg food or hard boiled egg or even a little dry handfeeding powder).
For nestboxes, wooden ones tend to be best, but plastic ones are OK and easier to clean. And you should look for a box with a rough bottom with a concave depression (so the eggs tend to roll to the middle). Female budgies are known for tossing out all the bedding you place in the box (it's a natural instinct for them to toss out what they perceive as potentially used nesting material) and if the bottom of the box isn't rough, babies will slide around and get splay leg. So look for a box with a rough bottom just in case you have a mother who likes to toss bedding (the bottom of plastic boxes can be roughened with sandpaper).

 

[Jan]

If you do not want them to breed then don't provide a nest box. If along the way the hen lays eggs anyway you can then provide a nest box if you want to deal with the babies. If you do not want to have babies period then you can remove the eggs at some point.

You can find the nest box dimensions online or in books for budgies, probably something like a 6" x 7" x 10" size made from wood.