Essential Care Tips for Parakeet Breeding Season

Important Considerations for Breeding Parakeets

1. Breeding Season and Frequency

Parakeets reach sexual maturity and can breed throughout the year, with the potential to produce up to 4 to 5 clutches annually. However, due to the heat during summer months, the hens become more vulnerable. Continuous nesting and incubation can compromise their health, reduce the chances of successful hatching and chick survival, and lead to weaker offspring. Therefore, it's generally advisable to avoid breeding during the summer season to ensure the wellbeing of the hens.

2. Nest Humidity

During the hen's incubation period, if the weather is dry, it's crucial for the owner to spray or sprinkle water outside the nest every other day. This helps to increase the humidity inside the nest box, further ensuring the survival rate of the chicks.

3. Calcium Intake

While breeding, it's essential to keep a pair of oppositesex birds separate and enrich their diet with calciumrich foods such as cuttlefish bones. This ensures the hens receive adequate calcium for egg production.

4. Incubation and Parental Care

As the hen's nesting period approaches, she may start to eat less and appear less energetic, while the male will take on the role of feeding her. The hen typically lays 3 to 5 eggs, one every other day, and begins incubating after the third egg. Incubation usually takes about 21 days. During this time, the hen will incubate the eggs diligently, and the male will stand guard nearby, sometimes even assisting in incubation.

5. Minimizing Disturbance

It's important for owners to avoid disturbing the birds during the incubation period. Regular checking or nest cleaning can lead to the mother bird abandoning her nest and ceasing incubation.

6. Artificial Feeding of Chicks

While most parakeets are excellent at caring for their chicks, there are rare instances where a bird may attack or abandon its offspring. In such cases, the owner must step in to provide artificial feeding. This involves preparing a syringe without a needle, filling it with a pastelike food, and gently squirting small amounts into the chick's mouth.

That concludes our guide on the important considerations for breeding parakeets. We hope this information proves helpful to new bird owners.