Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 6/2/2007

Question
I just bought 2 Parakeets about 2 months ago, I wanted a male and female so I got one that had a brown cere I know she's a female, then the other one has a pinkish purple cere that is very light. I thought this was a male b/c the pet store owner said it was but the cere has not changed Blue. So anyways I was going to buy another to make sure I have a Male for breeding! So How BIG of a CAGE do I need for them and can I have 2 females and 1 male all in the same cage together with 2 nest boxs, and what kind of stuff so I need for their nests. How do I tell if their mating or ready to breed. Thanks so much Robin  

Answer
Employees at pet shops aren't always knowledgeable about the pets/products they sell.

Chrys
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Hi, Robin.

I don't want to offend you, but I can tell by your questions, you have a lot to learn before you allow your birds to breed.  There are MANY problems that crop up and if you don't know what to do, your birds will suffer.  Things will happen that are normal and you won't know this because you're not knowledgeable enough.

If your birds are not at least 1 year old, they are not old enough to breed yet.  If you just bought these birds about 2 months ago from a pet shop, they may still be baby birds.  By the time they are old enough, you'll know for sure their sexes.  If you breed them too young, there will likely be problems with offspring and your birds will not live as long as they could, especially females.  Let your birds grow up first.  

A pinkish purple cere can still change to blue if your bird is less than 6 months of age.  Cere color can change until the bird has its first molt.  If the bird is mainly white in color, the cere color may stay as is, but the sex of the bird could go either way.  

The size cage you would need would be for about 8 birds...2 adults and about 6 babies.  No, do not house a 3d bird in with 2 that you want to breed.  This bird will need a separate cage of its own.  You only need 1 nestbox with 1 pair of birds.  All you need would be a nesting box...nothing inside...leave it bare.  The only way you'll know if they are mating is if you see them.  Your birds have to be old enough and pair-bonded first before you should even put up a nesting box.  Birds that are not pair-bonded will not mate with each other.  

Parakeets are very prolific.  Once they are old enough, you have a nesting box set up properly, and the birds are pair-bonded, they will most likely go to nest.  You'll see them preparing the nesting box, then the female will go inside (after they have mated) to lay eggs.  

Visit my website for lots of information you will need.  One thing you will need to decide is what will you do with any babies and will you handfeed them.  If you don't handfeed the babies, they will not be tame enough to be handled and be nice pet birds.

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

Chrys