breeding my budgies

Question
QUESTION: hi i have had my budgies for like 4 months now and they just wont breed.i have a nest box out side of the cage which the go into when i clean the cage.food always available room temperature always around 21c clean water.i just don't know what to do I've always wanted a breeding pair but they never breed.plus no one bothers my birds there in my room.ive read all Internet sites about breeding and i do everything.the male sometimes bobs his head up and down and looks like he wants to do it.but the female keeps pecking him away.the kiss all the time.today the female was leaning over like it was about to happen but nothing happened.please please help me out.i really want to breed my birds because i love budgies and want to experience breeding.look forward to your reply.
thanks.

ANSWER: Hi, Ali,

I need more information from you in order to help.

How old are your budgies?  Are you sure you have a male and female?  If so, how are you sure of this?  Do you only allow your birds to go in the nesting box when you clean their cage?  Does the male budgie feed the female beak-to-beak?  What type of diet are they on?  

Provide answers to the above questions and provide any additional information about the bird's cage setup, etc.

Chrys

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: the budgies are 16 months-2years old. i am sure there male and female from there ceres and their tails.the nest box is always there but when i clean the cage the hide there.they do hold beaks sometimes but im not sure if there feeding each other.i feed my budgies trill seeds,nothing else.

Answer
Hi again, Ali,

You can't sex a budgie by his tail.  It's OK for your birds to hide in their nesting box when you clean their cage.  They want to get out of your way so you can clean it!  Holding beaks and feeding can be different.  If the male is not feeding his mate beak-to-beak, then they are not pair-bonded.  Pair bonding has to take place before a pair of birds will mate.  You will actually see the male acting like he is regurgitating into the female's beak.  If this is not happening, then they are not bonded and will not mate.  If you have any substrate in the nesting box, remove it.  Budgies don't like nesting material in their nesting box.  An all-seed diet is a poor diet for your budgies.  You really need to get them on a varied diet of healthy, nutritional human foods, as well as pellets, leaving seed as a 50/50 mix with pellets or only as treats/rewards.  If your birds are not healthy, they will not breed.  If they are molting, they will not breed.  

I hope I've helped you figure out what is going on/not going on with your birds.  Just because we put 2 birds together in a cage, doesn't necessarily mean they will like each other and bond to produce offspring.  Perhaps your birds are compatible enough with each other to breed.  On the other hand, perhaps there is something else amiss that you are missing.  Are you leaving their lights on long enough each day?  For breeding, lights need to stay on for about 16 hours per day.

Chrys