The

Pidgeon

Coop

Treat them well & they will always love you!!


MALE OR FEMALE

You can tell whether your parakeet is a male or female by their cere. The cere is the fleshy part above their beak.  The average age to be able to tell male from female is about 1 year old. Our guess of whether your baby is male or female is just that, it's a guess.


Males have a dark colored cere. It can be dark blue, purplish-blue or purple. It can also be bright violet or pink & this is some of the rare colors.


Females have a light colored cere. It is usually white, light blue, tan or brown. If your parakeet has a light colored cere (like a light blue) but there is a white ring around the nostril holes, it is probably a female. The female's cere, when turning brown, can crust up & this is normal for a parakeet going through her maturity/breeding stages. Sometimes the cere may turn back to its original color after the female parakeet comes out of her breeding stage.



FROM BREEDING TO READY TO GO HOME

From our experience, it can take adult female parakeets any where from a month or longer to start laying eggs when they are introduced to the male parakeet. Once the female starts laying eggs, it can take 2 weeks to a month before the 1st baby starts to hatch. The babies, once they hatch, will not be ready until about 8 weeks old. Sometimes we allow them to go sooner & sometimes we hold them a bit longer. It depends on each individual baby.

Should I Breed My Parakeets?


Having baby parakeets is a great experience! However, It does take a lot of dedication & time. You will experience loss & you have to know when your mom parakeet is stressed so you know when to stop her from breeding.


Here are a few things that you should know before breeding your parakeets:


*Females can become egg bound & possibly die.

*Both parents can become stressed & destroy their nest/kill their babies.

*Females can kill their male mate out of stress.

*Not all eggs will hatch & not all babies will survive.

*Babies can die from "failure to thrive".

*Babies need to eat about every 3 to 4 hours.

*The correct temperature of baby parakeet food is essential!

*You can not breed your male & female nonstop. It will kill them so they need a break. We recommend breeding them two times a year.

*Cuttlebones are a must!

Should I Get 1 Parakeet Or 2?


We get asked this question a lot. "Should I get 1 parakeet or 2 parakeets?"  This all depends on what you plan to do with  your parakeet. Do you want your parakeet to be your companion? Will you pull him or her out every day? Or is your parakeet just there to keep some happy noise in your home & you will not handle him or her every day?


If you want a companion parakeet than we will recommend 1 parakeet so that your parakeet can bond with you. If you don't plan on handling your parakeet on a daily basis than we recommend 2 parakeets so they can keep each other company.


If you have one hand tamed parakeet already & would like another, that is ok too. We recommend that you keep them separate until your new parakeet is bonded to you. After your new parakeet is bonded to you than you can introduce him or her to your other parakeet.

Will My Baby Parakeet Love Me Immediately?


We get asked a lot of questions about our parakeets behavior. Are they sweet? What is their personality like? Are they calm? Will they get along with me and my family? Will they get along with our other pets? Does my parakeet know tricks yet?  Do they bite? Can I have a parakeet that is sweet, nice, calm, & will fit in to our home immediately?


We pull our babies from their parents at about 2 to 3 weeks of age. They are hand fed until they stop eating from us & afterwards, they are placed with their new families. We only get about 8 weeks with our babies. That is not enough time to teach them tricks & see what type of personalities they have. Our only responsibility is to give you a parakeet baby you can handle. The rest is up to you as their new parent.


So our babies will be shy around strangers, may try to hide or run, will not do tricks & will need all the love you can give them. Their personalities will come out when they get adjusted to their new home with you. Also, keep in mind that what you do as a new parakeet parent, their surroundings  & exposure will help develop their personalities in a good way or a bad way. That is up to you.