parakeets breeding

Question
I have a male & female parakeet.  They are tearing up the newspaper around there cage and piling it in the corner of the cage.  Are they trying to nest ? If so should we clean the cage every week or should we buy a nesting box.  We have had these birds for about a year. This is the first time we have seen this. Thank-you for your quick response.

Answer
Hi, Janet,

Yes, your birds are going to nest.  They are just now old enough.  What you do depends on what you want in your birds.  If you buy a nesting box, they will go to nest for sure.  However, if they start laying eggs on the cage bottom and you remove eggs, they will continue to lay and lay and lay until they have a full clutch.  If you don't want babies, do not put newspaper or anything they can tear up and make a nest from in the cage.  Some birds will lay eggs in their food dishes, etc.  If you don't want eggs/babies, you really need to separate them if keeping nesting material out of the cage doesn't work.  Reduce their available light to 10-12 (or 8-10) hours per day to discourage breeding.  A certified avian vet can give the female an injection to stop her from laying eggs for about 9 months.  This is what happens sometimes when female/male birds are together!

Chrys