Help with parakeet breeding!

Hello! I have two fairly young parakeets, Skye (male) and Cloud (female). They aren't completely hand tame, but will hop on my finger so long as there's treats tempting them. But they're still generally tame.

So, as far as I know, this is their first spring. I notice Clouds cere is a deep, rough brown, so she's going into condition. Skye is a recessive pied, so his cere remains a peachy color. They've been together now for about 7 months or so. They have been... iffy. On and off, squabbling but never aggressive really. As of late they've been a little more connected.

I tried putting a nest box in the cage. It wouldn't fit outside the door without leaving a big gap in between. I put it inside the cage, but they seemingly never wanted to go inside it, but rather spent most of their time on top of it. I also didn't like this location because, if they layed, I would have to take the entire box out to open the lid and check up on them. That being said, I took it out and forgot about it.

Today, an idea sparked. I have an attachable parakeet bath that could work quite well. It's indented pretty low, and has traction rivets on the bottom. It also has a clear hood. So I attached it to the open door with nesting string, torn up cardboard, paper, etc. After about 5 minutes, they went and investigated. Unfortunately, they found it fun to fling the material out of the "nest"... So, there's that. But I did see cloud (the female) go into the nest and seemed to be scratching at the bottom and at times spreading her wings a little bit as if laying down. They aren't in it anymore, they're just sitting on the top rope perch preening and getting ready for bed. But I wanted to know opinions, and I'm open to any!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I'm by no means experienced in the Art of Breeding. That said, your Parakeets seem very young. What I do know, is that it requires an abundance of time and knowledge and it should not be taken on by the unskilled. Doing so, will likely result in their deaths.

Assure that you have a well developed relationship with a local Certified Avian Vet (CAV) and that you have a account with that Clinic.

Assure that you have at least a couple of years under your belt of studying under the direction of a Skilled and Professional Breeder.

This will get you bumped back onto the Board where one of our Skilled Breeder can provide great insight!

FYI: Remove any and all nesting materials until you have the knowledge and equipment!

SailBoat said:

I'm by no means experienced in the Art of Breeding. That said, your Parakeets seem very young. What I do know, is that it requires an abundance of time and knowledge and it should not be taken on by the unskilled. Doing so, will likely result in their deaths.

Assure that you have a well developed relationship with a local Certified Avian Vet (CAV) and that you have a account with that Clinic.

Assure that you have at least a couple of years under your belt of studying under the direction of a Skilled and Professional Breeder.

This will get you bumped back onto the Board where one of our Skilled Breeder can provide great insight!

FYI: Remove any and all nesting materials until you have the knowledge and equipment!

Click to expand...

I expected this to be a concern, so I'll clarify. I've volunteered at a local pet store and watched their methods in breeding and feeding the babies. I've also done a short internship at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, since it's only about an hour from my house. That being said, I have a good amount of resources to help me in this. The local pet store has allowed me to take some syringes and indented spoons (whichever I preferred I could use or switch to the other) should I decide to hand feed later on. I bought the nest box from them, as well. I've thought about, and talked about the risks and problems I might have and they said I can certainly go to them if the going gets tough.

Thank you for the concern though! As I said, I'm open to anything. If you still think it'd be best to stop here then I'll definitely do that. But I figure I have to start somewhere

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

GlitchTown said:

SailBoat said:

I'm by no means experienced in the Art of Breeding. That said, your Parakeets seem very young. What I do know, is that it requires an abundance of time and knowledge and it should not be taken on by the unskilled. Doing so, will likely result in their deaths.

Assure that you have a well developed relationship with a local Certified Avian Vet (CAV) and that you have a account with that Clinic.

Assure that you have at least a couple of years under your belt of studying under the direction of a Skilled and Professional Breeder.

This will get you bumped back onto the Board where one of our Skilled Breeder can provide great insight!

FYI: Remove any and all nesting materials until you have the knowledge and equipment!

Click to expand...

I expected this to be a concern, so I'll clarify. I've volunteered at a local pet store and watched their methods in breeding and feeding the babies. I've also done a short internship at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, since it's only about an hour from my house. That being said, I have a good amount of resources to help me in this. The local pet store has allowed me to take some syringes and indented spoons (whichever I preferred I could use or switch to the other) should I decide to hand feed later on. I bought the nest box from them, as well. I've thought about, and talked about the risks and problems I might have and they said I can certainly go to them if the going gets tough.

Thank you for the concern though! As I said, I'm open to anything. If you still think it'd be best to stop here then I'll definitely do that. But I figure I have to start somewhere

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

If you did expect this to be a concern, why not include it as part of your Thread as it would have saved time for everyone?

That all said, they are still to young. Yes, they maybe mature enough, but! And, with your stated training, why would you not start with a 'proven' pair?

Enjoy!

Please don't breed these birds.

First of all, they are too young. To be successful a pair of parakeets should be at least a couple years old and be an established mating pair before adding a nest box. These two are too young and do not seem to know how to nest yet.

Second of all, I think I remember your old posts about not having enough time for your sun with the school year and such and your dad not understanding your bird. If you're breeding birds, you need time to be at home.

Thirdly, breeding birds is not cheap. You'll need to feed an abundance of fresh foods to your birds to get them in tip-top shape for making eggs and taking care of young. You will need an incubator should the parents not sit on the eggs, a brooder should the parents abandon the babies/neglect feeding them and experience hand-feeding should you have to take over. You'll also need syringes, a gram scale, formula, food thermometer, not to mention experience hand feeding, which can be extremely difficult should you not know how to do it or what temperatures or consistency the formula should be at.

You will go through much heartbreak if you decide to let your parakeets lay without knowing what you're doing, the supplies to take on babies should they need pulling from parents, or the time (school, friends, job!) to take care of the babies should they need you to feed them.

Please reconsider. Breeding birds should not be taken on by those unprepared to step in and take care of babies at any point of their development. So much can and will go wrong.

itzjbean said:

Please don't breed these birds.

First of all, they are too young. To be successful a pair of parakeets should be at least a couple years old and be an established mating pair before adding a nest box. These two are too young and do not seem to know how to nest yet.

Second of all, I think I remember your old posts about not having enough time for your sun with the school year and such and your dad not understanding your bird. If you're breeding birds, you need time to be at home.

Thirdly, breeding birds is not cheap. You'll need to feed an abundance of fresh foods to your birds to get them in tip-top shape for making eggs and taking care of young. You will need an incubator should the parents not sit on the eggs, a brooder should the parents abandon the babies/neglect feeding them and experience hand-feeding should you have to take over. You'll also need syringes, a gram scale, formula, food thermometer, not to mention experience hand feeding, which can be extremely difficult should you not know how to do it or what temperatures or consistency the formula should be at.

You will go through much heartbreak if you decide to let your parakeets lay without knowing what you're doing, the supplies to take on babies should they need pulling from parents, or the time (school, friends, job!) to take care of the babies should they need you to feed them.

Please reconsider. Breeding birds should not be taken on by those unprepared to step in and take care of babies at any point of their development. So much can and will go wrong.

Click to expand...

Alright then, it's decided! I took the "nest" out, and such and I'll take all these supplies back. And, I mean It! Just needed some extra opinion, and anything else since I had some experience. But I'm taking this for real, and waiting much longer. Just a shot in the dark here. They encouraged me to do it at the shop, but I'll take all of your word over that any day. Just me being a stupid teen here... Thanks!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

GlitchTown said:

itzjbean said:

Please don't breed these birds.

First of all, they are too young. To be successful a pair of parakeets should be at least a couple years old and be an established mating pair before adding a nest box. These two are too young and do not seem to know how to nest yet.

Second of all, I think I remember your old posts about not having enough time for your sun with the school year and such and your dad not understanding your bird. If you're breeding birds, you need time to be at home.

Thirdly, breeding birds is not cheap. You'll need to feed an abundance of fresh foods to your birds to get them in tip-top shape for making eggs and taking care of young. You will need an incubator should the parents not sit on the eggs, a brooder should the parents abandon the babies/neglect feeding them and experience hand-feeding should you have to take over. You'll also need syringes, a gram scale, formula, food thermometer, not to mention experience hand feeding, which can be extremely difficult should you not know how to do it or what temperatures or consistency the formula should be at.

You will go through much heartbreak if you decide to let your parakeets lay without knowing what you're doing, the supplies to take on babies should they need pulling from parents, or the time (school, friends, job!) to take care of the babies should they need you to feed them.

Please reconsider. Breeding birds should not be taken on by those unprepared to step in and take care of babies at any point of their development. So much can and will go wrong.

Click to expand...

Alright then, it's decided! I took the "nest" out, and such and I'll take all these supplies back. And, I mean It! Just needed some extra opinion, and anything else since I had some experience. But I'm taking this for real, and waiting much longer. Just a shot in the dark here. They encouraged me to do it at the shop, but I'll take all of your word over that any day. Just me being a stupid teen here... Thanks!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

well of course the people in the shop will want you to breed them, you gotta go back into the shop to get supplies! Plus when it comes to babies growing up you may be finding a home for them which means more business to the shop and hey you may even give the babies to the shop to sell

in short $$$$

GlitchTown said:

They encouraged me to do it at the shop, but I'll take all of your word over that any day. Just me being a stupid teen here... Thanks!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

You are light-years far from being a stupid teen! It is easy to become interested in birds from every angle, and breeding is a natural process. I am glad you felt sufficiently comfortable to discuss and learn from other's insights!

I agree with Scott. A stupid teen wouldn’t have asked for advice, nor would they have taken it! Keep on with your research and your volunteer work; someday you may be a fabulously skilled breeder producing wonderful babies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk