Wooden Nest Box for Cage Birds
A dark cavity, which is what they are looking for.
A dark enclosed cavity is what triggers nesting behaviour. That is exactly what you want if you are breeding deliberately, and exactly what you do not want otherwise.
Taxes calculated at checkout
- Solid paulownia, light but stable
- 17.5 x 16 x 15 cm
- Round entrance into a dark cavity
- Bark-look finish, so it disappears on a tree or a wall
- Hangs indoors in an aviary or outdoors in a garden
Why you'll love it
Made for happy, healthy pets
Cavity nesters need a cavity
Budgies, cockatiels and most garden hole-nesters will not build in the open. Without an enclosed dark space they simply do not breed, and in a garden they move on to someone else's box.
Wood breathes, plastic sweats
A plastic box condenses inside and chills eggs and chicks. Untreated timber lets moisture through the walls, which is why every serious nest box is made of wood.
Think before you put it in a cage
Adding a nest box to a cage with a pair usually triggers breeding, and that is a decision with consequences: eggs, chicks and the homes they will need. For a single bird it is just a dark place to sit.
Good fit if
- Deliberate, planned breeding in an aviary or cage
- Garden use, for wild hole-nesting birds
- Giving wild birds a roost site through winter
- Anyone who has researched the species they intend to breed
Look elsewhere if
- You keep a lone hen, where a box can trigger egg laying
- You want somewhere for a bird to sleep, not to nest
- You have not planned what happens to the young
A box is a breeding decision
Hole-nesting birds respond to the availability of a suitable cavity. Providing one is a signal, not a neutral piece of furniture, and hens will often begin laying within weeks of a box appearing whether or not a male is present.
Unfertilised laying is the risk people do not anticipate. Producing eggs draws heavily on calcium reserves, and a hen that lays repeatedly is at real risk of egg binding, which is a veterinary emergency. If you are not breeding, take the box out and offer a covered sleeping perch instead.
If you are breeding
Research the specific species before fitting anything. Entrance diameter, internal dimensions, nesting material and even the time of year all vary, and a box that suits one species can be unusable or unsafe for another. Both birds should also be in good condition, of appropriate age and unrelated.
Have a plan for the young before there are any. Hand-rearing is demanding and often goes badly for an inexperienced keeper, and finding homes for a clutch is harder than most people expect. Breeding without that plan is how surplus birds end up in rescue.
Garden use
Outdoors the calculation is different and entirely positive, since natural cavities have become scarce. Face the box between north and east so it avoids the strongest sun and the prevailing wet, tilt it slightly forward so rain runs off the front rather than in, and site it two to four metres up.
Keep it clear of a busy feeding station, since queuing birds attract predators to the nest, and well away from anywhere a cat can reach or wait. Put boxes up in autumn or winter: birds prospect for sites long before the breeding season, and one erected in April has usually missed that year.
The entrance hole determines which species can use it. A smaller hole admits blue tits and coal tits while excluding house sparrows and starlings; a larger one opens it up to more species and also to competition. Fix the box with a screw rather than a nail, and never through the trunk of a living tree if you can hang it from a branch instead.
In the box
Everything you need
- 1 wooden nest box
How it works
Simple, from basket to doorstep
- 1
Browse
Shop by pet or category to find exactly what your cat or dog needs, no wading through thousands of listings.
- 2
Order
Check out securely with card, PayPal or one-tap Apple Pay & Google Pay. Free delivery over $59.
- 3
Delivered
Fast, tracked dispatch straight to your door, and a happier pet before you know it.
The details
Specifications
- Size
- 17.5 x 16 x 15 cm
- Weight
- 400 g
- Material
- Paulownia, polished
- Use
- Aviary, cage or garden
- Shipping
- Bulky for its weight, bills on volume
Cleaning out
In the UK it is legal to clean out a garden nest box between the first of September and the end of January, and only then. Remove old nesting material, which harbours parasites, and rinse with boiling water rather than any cleaning product. Let it dry fully before rehanging.
Never disturb a box in use. Beyond the legal protection wild nesting birds have, a disturbed nest is frequently abandoned. Check from a distance, and leave any inspection until you have seen no activity for several weeks.
Good questions
Before you buy
With a compatible pair, very likely, as a nest box is the usual trigger. Do not add one unless you intend to raise and rehome chicks, and take it out again if you do not.
Two to four metres up, facing between north and east so it avoids the midday sun and the wettest wind, and clear of anything a cat can climb from.
Yes, once the season is over, because old nesting material carries parasites. In the UK, garden boxes are best cleaned between autumn and midwinter when nobody is using them.
It may well trigger it, which is the point of a box. A lone hen can also start laying unfertilised eggs, which drains calcium and risks egg binding. Only fit one if breeding is the intention.
Two to four metres up, facing between north and east, tilted slightly forward so rain runs off. Away from feeders and out of reach of cats. Put it up in autumn or winter.
Yes, but only between 1 September and 31 January in the UK. Remove old material and rinse with boiling water, never a cleaning product, and let it dry before rehanging.