Budgie Breeding Questions!

Question
Hello Leah! I need you to please answer all my questions about breeding. I'll tell you the full story. After my female laid an egg it never went inside the nest box. One day, my neighbor was about to throw out a very big budgie breeding cage. I took the cage and transferred the budgies and nest box. My neighbor said that the budgies got confused and they didn't know what to do with the egg . Also the egg was infertile and I threw it out. I even removed the nest box from the cage and placed it in storage. I want to try breeding again and want to get some answers. The questions are: 1. How long should I wait before putting the nest box in the cage? 2. What should my budgies be fed during breeding? 3. I think my female laid an egg on her own desire , without mating, how can I get both of the budgies to mate? Thanks and please answer soon, Ustat.

Answer
They probably did get confused.  A hen's first batch often doesn't turn out, and sometimes they will have "practice eggs".  In a way, its a good sign though because they will have a bit more experience next time.

1- You can probably put the nest box in at any time.  There's no guarantee that they will go for it right away, but there's no guarantee they won't either.  The only reason you might want to wait is to allow them to get used to the new cage for a few days.
2- During breeding, just make sure they have good nutrition.  A high quality seed, fresh fruits and veggies, cuttlebones, or hardboiled or scrambled eggs.  You may also want to try giving them sprouts; you can either buy these or produce them yourself by taking a paper towel and getting it wet, then sprinkling seeds on it.  The seeds will sprout in a few days.  The sprouts have nutrients in them that the seed itself lacks.
3- You can't really force them to mate, but you can encourage it.  There are some things that can sometimes make them think its breeding season.
 *Increase the amount of time the lights are on.  Since birds tend to  mate during spring and summer, try gradually making the "daytime" around their cage longer, making them think the days are getting longer.  Conversely, if you want them to stop, decrease the time the lights are on.
 *Give them a second nest box.  A good rule of thumb is two boxes per pair.  That way, they can pick which one they want to use.
 *Wood shavings.  Budgies will instinctively clean a nest area.  Wood shavings or dryer lint placed in the box will be considered by the pair to be a defect with the nest site, so they will pick it out.  This behavior often happens soon before they start to mate.

I hope this helps, best of luck!