Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 10/27/2007

Question
QUESTION: i have two parrotkeets and i want to breed them but i dont know how so please help me

ANSWER: Hi, Truc,

How old are your birds?  Are they male and female?  Are they bonded, i.e., does the male feed the female beak-to-beak?  How long have they been together?  Any other details you can provide will help me answer your question.

Thanks.

Chrys

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: i have a white female i think and i have a graybut i dont know if the gray is a male or female.i dont know if they feed beak to beak but i use to have a green male that feed beak to beak with the white female but the green male escape so i just bought the gray one,maybe 3 or 4 months sence i bought the gray one

Answer
Hi again, Truc,

You still haven't provided enough detailed information for me to help you.

Female keets have brown/white/beige/tan ceres (the colored area above the beak).  Males' ceres are blue.  This is how you sex keets.  If the male hasn't been through at least 1 molt, the bird might be difficult to sex until a molt because the cere color can change if the bird doesn't have its adult coloration.  Your female might be difficult to sex, too, if she is mostly white...her cere may be multicolored making it difficult to sex the bird accurately.

If your pair isn't pair bonded, they won't think of mating yet.  They have to pair-bond before they will mate.  Once this occurs and your birds are at least 1 year old, you can set up a nesting box.  Then let Mother Nature take its course.

Chrys