How To Care For Parakeet Eggs For Breeding Birds
Things Needed
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Nesting box
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Nesting material
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Incubator
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Thermometer
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Humidifier
Warning
If you choose to incubate some of the eggs, you will be responsible for caring for the young when they hatch. This includes feeding them and keeping them warm enough.
Tip
Make sure the female parakeet is properly fed and watered. The healthier she is, the more likely she will be to take care of her eggs and young on her own.
A pair of breeding parakeets can lay several clutches of eggs a year. They may lay from four to nine eggs per clutch, each coming a day or so apart. The eggs will begin hatching within 18 days and can actually start to hatch before the female parakeet has finished laying. In some instances, she will determine that there are too many young to care for and kick eggs or hatchlings out of the nest. If you provide extra care for the eggs and even remove some if necessary, you can keep the number of healthy baby parakeets to a maximum.
Step 1
Provide a proper nesting box. It should be attached to the outside of the cage and be made out of wood, measuring 7.5 inches by 6.5 inches by 7.5 inches. A concave indent in the floor provides a place for the female parakeet to lay her eggs so they won't roll about. Include around .75 inches of nesting material such as pine shavings.
Step 2
Keep the nest at the proper humidity and temperature. The eggs will receive a lot of their warmth from the female parakeet as she sits on them, but you don't want them to get too cold if she moves. Keep the air in and around the nesting box at 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Eggs also require some humidity to develop and hatch properly. If the air around the nesting box is too dry, use a humidifier to make it more humid but not too damp.
Step 3
Remove broken shells and bad eggs. To determine if an egg is viable or not, carefully hold it up to a small flashlight while in a darkened room. Good eggs will have blood vessels as well as a developing embryo, which will often look like a red kidney bean. If an egg is not viable, remove it from the nest. As the eggs begin to hatch, pull out the pieces of broken egg shell as well.
Step 4
Incubate some of the eggs. If your female parakeet lays more than four eggs, pull some of them and incubate them and take care of the young yourself, to take some of the pressure off of her. You can get commercially available electric incubators to make this process easier. Keep the eggs at temperatures of 104 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit to simulate the body temperature of their mother. When the eggs begin to hatch, you will have to remove the young from the incubator and feed them yourself.