Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 10/12/2006

Question
As of today, I have 3 new baby parakeets.  There are still 2 more eggs unhatched, but should be hatching in the next few days. It seems the male is taking care of the mom and babies.  She stays in the box most of the time. How long before I can handle the babies?  Will the parents wean them?  Do I leave them in the cage with the parents if I keep them?  Do I feed them different food than the parents?  I've had the parents for 3 years now and this is the first time this has happened. I know nothing about the breeding and hatching and after hatching process.
I know these are a lot of questions, but I want to make sure I do things right.  Please help.  I haven't been able to find anyone knowledgeable.
Thank you
Georgia  

Answer
Hi, Georgia.  Thanks for posting!

Congratulations on your new babies!  However, you have a lot to learn!  I wish you would have asked these questions BEFORE you allowed your keets to mate and breed.

You can handle the babies any time you want, however, please be careful with them...they are so small and delicate right now.  You may want to let them get a day or two older before handling them for the first time.  And when you do handle them, please be sure your hands are thoroughly clean and free of germs, etc.  Babies are born as clean slates and don't have any antibodies against germs.

The mom will feed the babies and the parents will wean them.  However, if you want these babies to be tame enough to be handled, you'll need to handfeed them (or at the very least, handle them several times per day so they imprint on humans).  Otherwise, the babies will not be tame.  Whether you leave them in the cage with the parents depends is your decision, but again, if you want them to be tame, you need to pull them for handfeeding preferably before they open their eyes.  Once they are weaned, if you've left them with the parents, the parents will prefer that the babies leave the cage, as the parents will want to go to nest again.  They won't want the previous babies in the cage with new babies coming.  What to feed the babies - if you pull them for handfeeding, you'll need to wean them yourself to the types of food they will eat the rest of their lives.

There's much information on the internet about breeding keets/parrots, etc.  You must not be looking in the right places or asking the right people!  Visit my website for information you need.  Come back with all your questions!

http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Chrys