Is my parakeet going to lay eggs?

Question

i have 2 keets.

one boy.

one girl....about 10 months old....

and they have been feeding each other lately, preening, and rubbing beack, and what not...

i haven't SEEN them mate but I think they did...and now my female looks BIG i mean her stomach is really big[a few weeks after i think that they mated]

so is she going to lay eggs?

i have a nesting box and bedding....

so?

Answer 1

You probably have seen them mate. They are too young to breed at any rate. They need to be about 14-18 months old before they are set up. They need a bunch of parakeets around to make them take that last step and go to nest. A parakeet doesn't get pregnant like you are thinking. She doesn't develop a big stomach. Her stomach (craw) is in the front. She lays her eggs from the back. It takes her almost two days to develop an egg and lay it. They don't use bedding in their nest box. They use what is called a nest block. It has a concave hole cut into it. They lay their eggs in that cup. Since they are not nest builders they need some help to keep up to 10 eggs underneath of them to keep warm.

In the wild parakeets breed in large colonies in Eucalyptus trees. There will be hundreds of pairs in a small grove of trees maybe thousands. The chatter is unbelievable. (I have had as many as 300 keets at one time and you can not hear yourself think.) This chatter is necessary for them to come into breeding condition. There are a lot of other factors involved in breeding keets.

The first thing you should do is go buy a book about parakeets and learn about them before thinking of trying to raise them.Go to Ebay you can get a great book on keets for less than $10. You won't live long enough to keep coming on here asking questions that can be answered with a little research and books. The books can be put on a shelf when you get tired of it. The birds can't be shelved so easily. Why take a chance of putting your hen through the great possibility of getting egg bound or suffering from a calcium deficiency? Just so you can say you raised some parakeets? It takes lots of work and you have to know what you are doing. The parakeet market is so overstocked now that people have quit breeding them. There is a wholesaler in Florida that will sell them for $2.50 each if you purchase a hundred of them. So it will be hard to sell them at a pet shop. The mess that 10 birds make is exponentially higher than what 3-4 birds make. You really need to purchase the book Parakeet Handbook by THF at a pet shop or somewhere. There you will find the answers to all of your questions about breeding parakeets.

Just remember you are putting your birds at risk if you try to breed them without the information to do it properly. It can be done. It is a labor of love. The mess and work alone can be very demanding and as you have probably already found out, they are mess makers. If you leave it one day it is twice as hard to clean the cage or what ever the second day and so on. You can't take a holiday because you have cages to clean  and birds to take care of. Just some food for thought. I love raising them. I lose money every year as a bird breeder. If I was depending on it for a living I would starve to death. By the time I buy my supplies and feed at retail and sell my birds at wholesale I lose about 15% on my birds. I would raise them if it cost me twice as much. It isn't about the money. It is about breeding a perfect pet. A bird that will be a joy to have around that is smart and pretty. You really need to do some reading on your keets. I can tell by your questions that you only know what you have experienced so far. READ, READ and READ You need to know how to prepare or condition your bird for breeding. Otherwise be prepared for a lot of headaches trying to raise them and not realy knowing what you are doing. Just read some of the questions about keets on here. There is so much more to it than to just throw two birds in a cage and get rich selling babies.

Answer 2

Do not touch her because you could break the egg inside her, if in fact she has developed an egg.

Look closely above her vet for swelling/enlargement, that where she would show if has an egg.

Watch her closely. Is she eating normally and drinking water.

Before laying egg's hen's droppings/p**p are larger and greener and more messy, versa formed.

And they won't eat much before laying.

Ensure, if she is still eating that you give her foods for extra calcium that laying hens need to build firm egg's.

Watercress, bite of hard cheese like cheddar and boil an egg for 15Mins., cool, then chop up small and give her, plus leafy green vegatables plus any other foods she will eat, but don't be concerned if she doesn't eat - if she has an egg.

Main thing is for you to stay calm, birds pick up on our emotions and we want her to stay calm.

Watch from afar, that is keep an eye on her for any problems, but leave her alone.They want privacy.

Also know that often first time hens don't know what to do, she may lay an egg while on a perch, rather than in the nest ( you do have nestling material in the nest box, I hope) an d break it.

Answer 3

if you have the nest

do what im doing check the cage every morning and might.