I plan on buying a pair of parakeets (male and female). what supplies will i need? (read description!!)?

Question

I own what is recommended by petco (food, cage, treats, cuttlebone, stuff like that) to care for one, but if i plan on breeding them, will i need additional supplies?
About how long untill i should exspect them to breed?

Answer 1

If you really want to breed, wait at least 1 1/2 years. Birds coming from petco and other pet stores are BABIES. They will need to mature, be put on a good BREEDING diet, not seeds that is birdie junk food. I reccomend, if you really want to breed, to get your birds from a breeder that way you can garentuee that they are not related and of good stock.

YOU will need to do LOTS of work and research.
If your birds abandon the chicks or refuse to feed, you will have to step in and feed the chicks. This is AROUND THE CLOCK. They would then need to be in a brooder so they could digest their food properly, otherwise they will die. If they are handfed incorrectly, they can die a very slow, painful death from crop burn, slow crop, pneumonia, or infection.

I'll go into a short list of things that you as a responsible person will need to do before allowing your birds to breed.

First, do not put the nest box in the cage until you do your research.

Go to the book store and purchase a book on how to raise and breed budgies.

Go to the vet and learn how to properly handfeed, just in case they toss or abandon the chicks. They can also help you out if your hen becomes eggbound. This can be and is usually fatal if not treated immediently.

Find buyers for any and all chicks that hatch, before you let them breed. There are LOTS of birds out there due to overbreeding that are in need of homes, most are cockatiels and budgies (parakeets) due to the ease of breeding these birds.

Why do you want to breed? Is it to better the species, or because you think they need to?
Do you know the background of both birds?
Did their parents have any problems?
Are your birds on a good breeding diet?
Do they have enough calcium to prevent eggbinding?
Do they have fresh foods offered daily?

If you cannot answer all of those questions, then I would not breed.

If they are not on a good breeding diet, pellets, fresh foods, and very little seed, you may loose one of your birds during the breeding, or have chicks that are sickly.

Here is another good resource for breeding birds.
http://www.budgieplace.com/breeding.html

Answer 2

For the time frame you'll need to be patient. Are they mature birds? It could take a long time for them to be ready if they're babies. Have they bonded already? Birds don't just mate with who's sitting there...they have to like each other. Are you getting them from the pet store or a breeder? Make sure they're not related. Conditions also have to be right for them. Enough daylight, non-stressful quiet space etc.

Answer 3

millet sprays and a nesting box. something to line the nesting box with would be good for them. ask your vet what is safe for that. i say that because my grandma lost a bird during breeding because of a product that she was told was safe and it was not.

Answer 4

to breed them you need a nestbox . Thats really about all. You will need more cages or a small aviary for the babies once they can feed themselves .