how do i know if my parakeet is pregnant?

Question

i have 2 parakeets a male(mo) and a femmale(sky). I have had them together for a long time and they have never had babies befor. She is a lot more active now and is more plump than ushual. She kinda has a line down her stomach where it looks like the feathers have been parted. I do not have a nesting box in their cage, i used to but all they did was chew a hole in the bottom and use it as a perch. Do parakeets have a breeding season? If they do what is it? i live in illinois so it is still cold but is reaching the 40's. I will greatly appreceate your answers

Have a nice day!
Lindsay

Answer 1

When she says something like "Awk, Polly wants a pickle with ice-cream Awk" ...

Answer 2

They won't get "pregnant" but they will become gravid. Pregnant is when the young is incubated inside the body, gravid is when the animal is with egg.

If your female is ready she will lay eggs. You will probably find them in the bottom of the cage for the first round, don't worry about these and don't feel bad about discarding them. Either the male or female may try to set on them and they can become aggressive when you try to remove the eggs.

High quality food, calcium supplements, a stress free environment, and an acceptable (to her) male are all they need to start a clutch. If you plan on raising chicks, make sure they have a decent nest box for this as the cage floor isn't adequate. She probably won't lay until into her second year of age, so don't get too anxious.

Answer 3

I assume you mean is your parakeet getting ready to lay an egg since birds don't get pregnant. Yes, she could be getting ready to lay. Put the nesting box back in, parakeets do chew a bit on anything. The bottom of the box should have a "cup" in it so that the eggs don't roll out from under her.

For everything else you need to know, check here and have fun
http://www.budgieplace.com/breeding.html

Answer 4

They don't particularly have a breeding season, but the environment dictates their behaviour. For example, if it's spring time but it's cold, windy, and dark outside, their bodies tell them "hey, this is a bad time to have babies because they'll probably die in these situations". If it's spring time and warm, bright for more than 12 hours a day, calm, and unchanging, their bodies think "this is an A+++ breeding period, babies do well in this environment".

So consider this: What kind of environment have you provided them? (In parenthesis are ways to combat the mating triggers)
- 12 or more hours of daylight will probably stimulate breeding (Cover the cage with a dark sheet for at LEAST 12 hours a night and be sure to provide total darkness and total silence)
- An excess of food will stimulate breeding because this makes it seem like there is an abundance of food to feed young - You should typically only feed what the birds you have now can eat on a day-by-day basis, no more and no less (Monitor how much they eat and feed them only that much. I would say start with a base of one spoon of food per bird per day. If they still act hungry after the food is empty, you'll know they need a bit more. If there's extra left over, you'll know less)
- Are their cage environment and the surroundings changing? Birds will know that an environment that is constantly changing could jeopardize the safety and well being of their potential babies, and it's highly suggested whether you want to breed or not to rotate totally new and different toys and perches in and out of your bird cage at least once a week for mental stimulation. Otherwise, they can get bored and resort to plucking and other destructive behaviour, as well as nuisance behaviours like squawking. (Have at least 10 to 15 toys on hand so that you'll have plenty of choice to give them when you change the cage around. Make sure not one thing in that cage stays the same, including perches and if possible, move food bowls around too)

Also, "doing the deed" is obviously a sign that they're trying to mate, so that should be telling you something about the environment you've given them. Birds who are preparing for babies will probably seek nesting materials, like the paper lining on the bottom of the cage, and gather it to a specific nook or cranny to make a nest. Hens, if about to lay, will have an "egg bump" near their vent. They'll start spending more time in that nest, making it comfier and getting comfy herself. Birds typically lay eggs every other day, and a clutch is usually 3 to 5 eggs. If she's holding eggs longer than that, she may be egg bound, which is a serious and life threatening condition where she needs to see an avian vet to have it massaged out or surgically removed (since droppings come out the same way and obviously if there's something blocking that exit and birds have such fast metabolisms, needing to poop every 7 to 20 minutes, it's SERIOUS and must be moved out of the way immediately before things get backed up in her system) or she'll die.

If they do lay eggs and you don't want babies (I advise against breeding them because 1. it's very risky, especially with small birds and 2. there are already so many birds out there and many without homes), don't just remove the eggs! You can do a few things:
i) Boil the eggs. When both parents are distracted and away from the fully laid clutch, take them, boil them in a small pot of water for a couple of minutes, dry off, and return to the nest.
ii) Freeze the eggs. I don't like this idea because, especially with small bird eggs, they can crack VERY easily. It's best to freeze them for about 8 hours, but if you freeze too long, they crack. If not long enough, you may still have life, now deformed babies.
iii) Buy small dud eggs the same size as the budgie eggs and replace them in the nest when you throw the real ones out.
When both parents lose interest in the eggs (usually takes 21 to 30 days), throw them in the garbage. By removing the eggs as they're laid, the female thinks predators are taking the eggs and for the better of her population and species, she'll continue to lay more and more, which depletes her supply of nutrients and calcium.

Hope that helps.

Answer 5

Hi There,

I do beleive they lay eggs, dont they? The season is the same for all Birds, early spring, when the weather is just getting warm, eccept here it's always warm, so I figure they will " get Busy " as soon as it warms up there.

TIP: If your birds never had chicks, try a bigger cage!

Answer 6

They don't get 'pregnant' they lay eggs!