Getting started
To begin you will need at least three mature parakeets. It is probably best to start with 2 pair. Parakeets won't usually breed unless they have a nest box. You can make your own wooden nest box, or buy one from a pet supply store. The one in the picture is availlable in this area . It's a type of tree that the females love to dig out.
Feeding Breeding Birds
Parakeets will begin to court each other and breed in the springtime, so to prepare them for the breeding season feed them grit, cuttlefish bone, a mineral block, green veggies(lettuce is a favorite of mine) and also supply vitaman drops in their water , along with their regular seeds. Raising chicks is very hard on both parents so they will need a very good diet.
Incubation
Once the female lays the eggs(they are usually laid every other day) she will stay in the nest and incubate them and only come out once or twice a day to poop.(You can tell a nesting female by her large droppings) The male will then take on the responsibility of feeding his mate while she is
sitting on the eggs.
Hatchlings
The eggs start to hatch in about 18 days . Once the chicks are out of the shell check on them often. You will have to clean the droppings off their feet and beaks with warm water so the droppings dont harden and cause deformities-or in the worst cases, kill the young chick by hardening over it's nose so it suffocates.(That happened to two of my newly hatched chicks but I was able to save one just in in time. We named him Lucky .
The baby birds leave the nest at 4 weeks and learn to eat on their own. Usually the hen will then begin to lay more eggs for another round of chicks. |
