My parakeet just laid an egg what do I do?

Question

I have a male and female parakeet in the same cage and now my female just laid an egg. My parakeets tend to eat seed with dried veggies in it. What do I do when the baby hatches (if it does)? What will it need to eat. I understand that dad will feed mom and mom will feed baby but I don't have a clue what to feed them.

Answer 1

If you don't have a nest box in the cage, you will need one. I am not assuming that you have one because birds will lay eggs with out them but there would be no way to get the bird to sit on the egg and hatch it. Being the first egg(s) they may not sit on it anyway.

The nest box should NOT have any nest material in it. They are not nest builders. A real parakeet nest box will have a shallow bowl shape carved into the middle of the bottom.

As for feed, now is a hard time to get your birds to eat better, but if you can find a small pellet type feed that they will eat, that would be great. Chances are they will not eat them though. You should buy a vitamin added supplement called Petamine, most shops that sell bird food will either have it or can get it for you. Parakeets do like it and it will be great for nestlings.

Do NOT add vitamins to the water. It can often cause the birds to drink less and get dehydrated. Water with vitamins also causes bacteria to grow very fast also. If you can't find the Petamine, find a seed that has it added or add some that can be sprinkled on fresh bread. Follow the directions on the water but not adding it to water.

If you are serious about letting your birds breed, you need to search the net and find all the information you can but only from real experts. You will have a lot to learn.

If you are not wanting babies, just pull the eggs and toss them. Do not have a nest box. However if you find your bird lays more than 4 or 5 eggs, leave the eggs for about a week after they lay the last one and then toss them. This will let them stop the laying cycle in a day or three they will forget about the eggs and not lay again until next year.

Answer 2

Parakeets can breed as young as six months of age. Their average clutch size is four to five eggs, but seven is not uncommon. They lay one egg each day, instead of every other day like the bigger birds, and it takes about 2 ½ weeks for the eggs to hatch. They nest in wooden boxes, roughly eight inches front to back, and six to seven inches, left to right. The babies leave the nest at about five to seven weeks of age. A parakeet will breed year-round, except during the three hottest months of the year, typically June, July and August. While nesting in the box, the mother bird will stay inside with the babies while the father bird will feed the mother. Then, in-turn, the mother will take the food from the father and feed the babies. When the babies leave the nesting box, the father takes care of the babies about 80% of the time. Parakeets often mate for life, but the male will colony breed if a lot of females are in the cage.

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Answer 3

The first thing you need to do is to figure out what you are feeding the bird that is making it want to lay. Parakeets lay when there is an abundance of food. That is the problem with pellets. They make the bird think that good times are rolling in so they start laying. Get some plain parakeet seed. (canary-white millet-oats) Don't feed anything besides the plain seed. One tablespoon of seed a day is all they need. The best thing to do now is to leave the eggs alone. She will finish the clutch and might sit on them. That is OK, as long as she is pre-occupied with these eggs she is less likely to lay again.

Answer 4

It is not uncommon for females to lay eggs, whether they are fertilized or not. However, if the egg wasn't laid in a nest already in the cage - like a nesting box- the egg will have to be disposed of when you clean the cage. If you want them to have little ones, you will have to supply a nesting box and nesting material-- they have them at the pet stores, and once the babies hatch there is special nesting food you feed the parents so they can feed the babies.

Good luck to you and your budgies.

Answer 5

I would call a local vet hospital in your area and find out what they say. They will usually give you some free advice over the phone so your birds get proper nutrition, as well as the baby. I think the baby's eat what mom and dad eat, so it will be important that all of them eat really well. I would contact someone as soon as possible, because if you do need to make a diet change for your birds, it is best done slowly over the course of a week or two. If ample time is not taken, the sudden change in diet could make your birds very sick. You may not need to make any changes at all, or perhaps only a slight variation. Good luck!

Answer 6

Give the parents a good quality pellet food. 20%seed, 20%fruit and veggies and increase their protein and calcium intake with chopped hard cooked egg with the shell. The parents will take care of the chicks, but nutrition is the key. They will hatch 21-26 days after the last egg is laid. Good luck and congratulations.

Answer 7

if you have nesting material in the cage, and the egg is in the nest, nature and mom and dad will take care of everything. If the egg is just on the floor of the cage, there is little chance anything will happen. Just leave it, and put some nesting stuff in the cage, so next time they will lay in the proper place. You can even buy a nest to attach to the inside of the cage, at most pet stores.

Answer 8

You want to leave the baby in for a while until his eyes open. Watch closely as the parents could evertually start to pick at the baby. Eventually when the baby is a bit bigger, or the parents are picking on it, you want to seperate the baby and keep him warm. Use hand feeding formula in a syringe to feed the baby until it can eat on it's own. We used a heating pad on low with a plastic 'critter keeper' in top. (I've bred birds for 8 years now) Your local feed store or Petco will have the formula and the cage. =)

Answer 9

The female will feed the baby don't worry, just feed it whatever you're already feeding your other birds. Make sure the egg doesn't get jostled around though and that the mother bird keeps it warm.

Answer 10

normal food will be fine although you may want to check how much food they have left more often to ensure there is always food available. Other than keeping an eye on the birds there is nothing you need to do for them. They will do it all themselves. But chances are they won't just lay one egg. They may lay up to 6.