Budgies in the wild don't use any kind of nesting material. They just lay their eggs in a hollow tree. The use of nesting material is said to improve incubation. It also helps to prevent a condition called "splayed leg" in the babies. This is where one or both of the babies legs begin to turn outwards, like a severe case of knocked knees. What happens is, the baby isn't able to get a firm grip on anything in the nest and their legs keep sliding outwards, resulting in splayed leg.
The very first budgies I ever raised were "accidents", so I wasn't prepared. Mama bird just laid the eggs in the bottom of the cage and incubated them there. I did not expect for the eggs to hatch, so when they did.....BOY was I surprised!! Because of the incorrect surface, one of the babies ended up getting splayed leg. I was able to correct the problem by putting a splint (made of a small piece of sponge) on the babies legs. I was then forced to hand feed the baby. I named her "Pip", and to this day she is my favorite budgie, and my most friendly budgie.
Here you can see Pip with the splint on her legs.
Here I am hand feeding her.
Here is Pip (she's the white one on the left) with her sister Merry. Her legs are perfect! :)
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