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Nest boxes
- During
the year I visit a number of Budgerigar breeding rooms and it never fails to
amaze me at the different types of nestbox that I see being used. They vary
from inside the cage, outside the cage, made of plywood, cardboard solid
timber even plastic. Some appear to be small
or others seem so large one has to believe they were once used for
Cockatiels.
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- Some
boxes seem to be difficult to inspect while others have easy access. What is
important is that the fancier and the Budgerigars are happy with the boxes
that are available. Sometimes it is worth having a couple of different boxes
that can be provided for a hen that shows all the signs of wanting to go to
nest but fails to enter the nest-box. It is at these times that when a
completely different box is offered, she will enter within minutes and
prepare to lay her clutch. I believe that hens prefer to use a box similar
to the one in which they were born. Frequently a second-season hen will not
use a different design to the box she used during the previous breeding
season.
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- Some
of the finest boxes I have seen for some time were in the birdroom of
champion Worcester breeder, George Jenkins He uses outside nest-box which
includes a second box inside. This second box can be removed for easy
inspection and can even be exchanged with a spare, should this be necessary.
George is one of those fanciers who hates to see a dirty box so when they
become soiled at the half-way stage
of the round, he likes to exchange the inner box for a clean one.
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- At
the back of the box, two metal hooks are positioned so the nest-box can be
easily attached or removed from the cage front. George likes to protect the
entry hole. Some hens like to chew around the hole so George re-inforces it
by adding a plywood disc with a second hole to the inside and the outside of
the box. When these become damaged, they are replaced "
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- If
fanciers are considering the production of new nest-boxes, they would do
well to give careful consideration to the design that George uses in his
birdroom.
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