housing and breeding

Question
Hi

I would like to keep 4 budgies two males/two females but was wondering if they should be housed together or n two cages where they can see each other? I am interested in breeding and handfeeding the babies. Could you reccomend a good cage size for each pair or the group?

Answer
Hi Tara!

Putting them together is fine as long as you have two nesting boxes. I use a cage with about 3 square feet of space on the bottom and then a ten gallon tank in which I house the chicks after they're a month old until they leave for their new homes. I don't suggest hand-feeding the chicks unless you are home 24 hours a day and are experienced in breeding first. After you've had about a year of experience breeding your budgies and dealing with chicks, is the best time to start hand-feeding. I find that just hold the chick from when it starts opening it's eyes for about 10 minutes a day makes them as great pets as hand-fed budgies. You can gradually increase the time you have the chicks out and they make the best pets are extremely affectionate. If you still wish to hand-feed you can ask a follow-up on how or any other questions you may have.

Hope this helps!
Erika