Baby Cockatiel: If you have a pair of cockatiel, maybe you are considering breeding them. Before mating two cockatiels, ask yourself the right questions: do you have enough space to accommodate up to 6 chicks, at least enough time to find new owners who can adopt them?
Cockatiel reproduction
A female cockatiel can lay eggs from 8 months but it is best to wait until she is double or 16 months old for reproduction.
At this age, its reproductive system is formed and the cockatiel is robust enough to draw from its bones the calcium necessary for laying eggs.
Likewise, the male must be sufficiently mature and robust since he takes charge, along with the female, of the brooding and rearing of the baby parakeets.
If you are unsure of the age of your parakeets, wait until they are at least two years old before breeding them to be on the safe side. Do not breed them more than twice a year, to avoid straining them physically.
Mating can take place throughout the year, but parakeets reproduce more easily in spring or summer.
To prepare your couple for breeding, be sure to follow these tips.
Baby cockatiel food
Give your parakeets good quality seeds, freshwater, and food supplements like cuttlefish bones, for example. A balanced and rich diet is essential to avoid deficiencies.
You will therefore modify the couple’s diet a good month before placing the nest box and maintain this diet during the period of reproduction, brooding, and during the rearing of the chicks, which requires a lot of energy from the male and the female.
The diet of your parakeets will therefore have to be changed several weeks before installing the nest box. It should be richer, with more vitamins and protein.
Food for cockatiels during the breeding season:
Cockatiel nest
The nest for cockatiels should be large enough for them to settle comfortably. And, above all, to prevent the weaker chicks from being crushed …
Here is a nest that we can recommend to you with your eyes closed: in natural wood, it has to fix hooks. However, be sure to favor the XL model (L minimum) to ensure maximum comfort for your cockatiels.
You will have the nest high so that your cockatiels feel safe. Preferably place the nest outside the cage with an entrance accessible from the inside. You will be able to access it more easily while disturbing the couple as little as possible.
To make the nest more comfortable, you can place wood or hemp shavings at the bottom of it. If you don’t have one, fresh weed will do the trick as well.
You will not be able to remove the nest until all the young have left it and no longer return to it. Also avoid leaving it too long in the cage: you risk having a second litter quickly.
Baby cockatiel growth stages
The eggs are laid several weeks after the first matings and hatching take place after about 21 days. However, it is rare for the entire litter to survive – be prepared for the death of one or more chicks.
Above all, do not try to raise them by hand if the parents abandon them: you could do it badly, which would cause serious consequences, even the death of the baby cockatiel.
During the first few days, avoid too frequent inspections of the nest (no more than twice a day) which can only stress the parents. Remove most of the droppings daily and add clean litter, without touching the young, fragile.
Cockatiel baby care
Once hatched, the baby parakeets open their eyes after ten days and their feathers appear after two weeks.
They emerge from the nest after about five weeks and then learn to fly. They can be clumsy and will need your vigilance. cockatiel completely weaned around 8 weeks.
After weaning, if you want to get them adopted, wait a minimum of two to three more weeks to allow the budgerigar babies to learn as much as possible from their parents.
To optimize the growth of your young parakeets, you can also give them specially adapted food.
Taming young parakeets
Avoid handling the chicks before they leave the nest: you risk injuring them or transmitting germs to them. You will be able to take care of them more when they are weaned and independent: the young cockatiels tame much more easily than the adults.
To facilitate their taming, entertain them: if you do not stimulate your parakeets by means of various games, they will tend to be frightened much more quickly rather than express curiosity in front of a new situation. They will become anxious and therefore difficult to tame …
