FEATURE
hygienic and parrotlets like to climb, which they would not be able to do as much in the old style wooden box type cages. (Make sure they are positioned in draft-free areas) I like to furnish the breeding cages with toys and fresh branches; breeding pairs like to play just as much as pet parrotlets! Babies will play with them once they are out of the nest box and the weaning process will start; it will stimulate and keep them engaged. Parrotlets mature quickly and are ready to breed at one year of age; some will want to breed earlier, some later. I have seen parrotlets mating when they were 5-6 months old. Providing you do not give them nest boxes, they should be fine until they reach maturity at one year old. There is a lot of strain put on birds when they breed and if you breed with your stock when they are too young it could shorten their life and reduce the number of young they raise in subsequent broods. Make sure your birds are fit and are not
moulting when you supply the nest box. Birds should be fed a nutritious diet made of sprouted pulses, grains and seeds, mixed twice a week with a proprietary dry egg food (daily with chicks in the nest) fruits and vegetables and a high quality seed mixture. Cuttlefish is a must and they consume a lot of it. You can gauge when the hen starts to lay she will munch on it vigorously; she needs calcium to produce eggs. In addition twice a week I
also add a calcium powder to their soft food.
If it is too cold problems can start occurring; hens are not able to produce enough calcium and risk becoming egg bound. (It has never happened to my parrotlets in many years of breeding them but it has happened to a Mountain parakeet hen (Bolborhynchus aurifrons) and to a Lovebird hen before, with deadly consequences) There was a previous article in the
March 2014 issue about nest boxes. In short, parrotlets are not fussy when it comes to nest boxes; they should be placed on a top corner at the front, horizontally, with the entrance hole facing towards the inside of the cage; this will give a sense of security to the hen. A good size would be 21cm long x 13cm wide x 15 high, with the opening hinged lid for easy inspection. I have also used the classic budgie type boxes but I find them a tad smaller and fiddler then
Parrotlets mature quickly and are ready to breed at one year of age; some will want to breed earlier, some later. I have seen parrotlets mating when they were 5-6 months old. Providing you do not give them nest boxes, they should be fine until they reach maturity at one year old.
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