Budgie nestiing box advice needed.

[falconsportspack]

G'day. I need some advice about nesting boxes because I'm getting conflicting information from different people in town. I'm a member of my towns' Men's Shed & I was elected to make budgie nesting boxes that we sell, along with other items we make, at one of the local shops. They are made out of 19mm pine.

I have been making these for a while & the only directions I was given to start with, was to make a box with an opening lid on top. 
I was also directed to make single, double & triple boxes, & it's the last two of these where the conflicting information comes in that I need advice on. A single box is easy, one nest one bird. The way I make the doubles & triples, which is the way I was told to make them, is like this.

Double box: An oblong box twice the width of the single with 2 entry holes each with perch, 2 hollows & a dividing wall between them. The dividing wall is 8mm thick lining board.

Triple box is triple the width of the single with 3 entry holes with perches, 3 hollows & 2 dividing walls to make 3 compartments.

Okay, so the person who first told me to make them is happy with this, but one of the other members (who has budgies) says it's wrong & I should make the doubles & triples like a multi story building. One compartment above the other & not side by side.

Now I'm being told by someone else in town (who also has budgies) that I should NOT be making the doubles & triples because the birds won't be happy being right next to another bird, even though there's a dividing wall between them. He says only one bird will occupy a double, & only the 2 end compartments will be occupied in the triple, leaving the middle compartment unoccupied.

So what's the deal here, as I'm really confused now. Are the double & triple boxes the right thing to make or not. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Andrew. 

[harley_babes_hoard]

errr something else for you to ponder.. Not sure how most breeders attach their boxes to there aviaries but if attaching to a colorbond wall you would only need one hanger for the uprights where as for the horizontals you would need two.

[flashie*]

Budgies will fight for the highest breeding box............so definitely side by side.

When we bred budgies we had them all on the same level an had extras...........eg....3 breeding pair...........5 boxes.

They have different personalities and prefer differing things..............this would explain why you are being given conflicting information.

[harley_babes_hoard]

he is making them side by side, he was told this was not right by people who breed budgies.

[falconsportspack]

Thanks everyone for your replies, I really appreciate it.

@ paints. Thanks for posting the photos, so cute.

@ harley. I don't know if the people who have bought them so far, hang them or not. I don't put hooks on the ones I've made, & no one has asked me to.

[chuk_77]

I bred for years all happy healthy birds and chicks.

I would never have any boxes higher than another. As flashie said they will fight for the highest.

I also wouldnt have boxes to close together so having dividers makes no sense to me. Nor have I ever seen them at my breeder.

Also the pine needs to be untreated as the birds chew it and should also contain chip/particle board for chewing.

Bird breeders are a funny lot. Each one is ALWAYS right. Much of the time it is whatever works for the colony and the breeder

[fiestas*girl]

*waving* to Andy