The process that is very exciting and sensitive is the breeding and hatching of parrot bird eggs. It requires your full and precise attention to take care of them, their diet, weather, and everything you might not know. Here is a detailed overview of a journey from parrot breeding to the hatching of eggs and then parrot baby.
Nesting and Egg Laying: Setting Up the Perfect Breeding Environment
You will create a perfect environment for breeding. Here are some tips you must ensure to provide your parrot.
Cage Size:
The cage size should be much greater than the parrot himself. If you afford then a cage of 36 inches in length with 24 inches in width is considered ideal for small-size parrots or medium.
For a large parrot like a macaw, the cage size should be 60 inches in length & width.
If you have a problem related to cage styles and size then click here to get a detailed overview that help you know which type of cage is best for your parrot.
Temperature:
The best temperature for breeding or laying eggs is 18°C to 24°C. Parrots are very sensitive to harsh temperatures so try to maintain the given temperature. So there is a comfortable temperature for both parents and their eggs.
Building a Nesting Box:
It’s a closed structure wooden box provided to parrots to lay eggs comfortably and raise their chicks.
The nest box size should be 12 inches in length and width while having a 4-inch diameter circle in which the parrot easily goes inside to lay eggs and a small entrance gives him a secure feel.
The box structure looks like a natural cavity which is mostly in the forest. There should be some mimics that give him a proper feeling that your parrot is in the forest in a hollow space tree where your parrot lays the egg.
Choosing the Right Breeding Pair for Healthy Eggs
Here are some points that help you in finding the right breeding pair for healthy eggs.
Age:
The age which is perfect is when both male and female parrots reach sexual maturity. Small parrots like Budgerigars reach their sexual maturity at the age of 6 to 11 or 12 months.
While large parrots like macaws wait 3 to 5 years to reach their sexual maturity age.
Health Issues:
Parrot Pairs must not have any serious health issues that affect their eggs or their reproductive health.
Diet:
Give them a diet enriched with calcium because calcium has a main role in the quality of eggshells. Also give them a balanced diet like seeds, pellets, etc.
Optimizing Incubation Conditions for Perfect Hatching
Incubation is actually a process in which we maintain the right environmental conditions for the growth of eggs until the eggs hatch.
These environmental conditions involve temperature, humidity room environment and proper care of them.
Some of these factors are given below in detail.
Temperature:
The optimal temperature which is critical for achieving the best Incubation is about 37.5° Celsius.
Humidity:
Humidity during incubation is well-balanced and it should be around about 45% or 50%, not too much moisture, and not very dry.
Turning The Egg:
You must turn or rotate the parrot egg 4 to 5 times a day so the embryo inside the egg not stuck on one side of the embryo and continue his development.
Recognizing Hatching Signs: What to Look for and When
To recognize hatching signs there are some tricks.
After a week check the egg with a candle if you see any blood vessels then understand the embryo is under development and if you see a black circle in the egg then understand that the embryo died. Remember to pick the egg very carefully when you put the egg in front of the candle. Little mistakes can die the life inside the egg.
After some 20 or 21 days the egg starts to hatch. First, you see some pipping (little cracks) some 24 or 48 hours before than actual cracking and emergence of a new being into this world. First, from the small cracks the baby parrot breathes after some hours, he tries to make some big cracks and at least after a day or 2 days, the new baby parrot comes out.
And A New Life Starts With No Desires But A Desire To Discover The World And Its Beauty Around It.
Common Challenges in Breeding and Hatching Parrot Eggs
There are several challenges which was faced by both parents and newborn parrot babies while hatching eggs.
Some of the problems related to parrot bird eggs are given below:
Egg Binding:
It’s a very life-threatening problem. In this problem due to a deficiency of calcium female parrot feels problems because she can’t pass the eggs, it may be due to obesity. This is very painful when your body have an egg and it’s time for the egg to come from your body but you can’t do it.
These problems can be reduced by providing calcium calcium-rich diet.
Died In Eggs:
The most common challenge is to check that the baby parrot is how much developed or fertilized. Sometimes the embryo inside the egg dies due to several reasons like noise, environment, temperature, humidity, etc.
How to check the trick is that after 7 to 8 days place carefully the egg in front of the candle and then try to see inside. If you see blood vessels and after some days you see the eyes, and body of the baby then he is alive but if you see a black ring in the egg then the embryo inside the egg dies.
Failed Hatching:
Sometimes thing goes in right way like perfect breeding, a good start-up of incubation, and the baby parrot inside the egg is fully developed but due to failed hatching, the baby parrot dies in the shell.
This is because of not proper care of temperature and humidity etc.
Solving the Problem of Failure-hatching
Sometimes egg fails to hatch due to several reasons. To solve these problems there is some advice given below.
Environment:
The environment has a serious effect on the parrot bird eggs. There should be a controlled temperature of around about 37.5° Celsius.
Humidity:
There should be a controlled humidity of 45 to 55%. Not too much moisture not very less but a balanced moisture with a controlled temperature.
Turning The Egg:
Turning the egg 3 to 5 times a day so that the embryo doesn’t stuck on a specific side of the egg.
Caring for Newly Hatched Parrot Chicks: A Complete Guide
After the Hatching of the parrot’s chicks then follow some steps:
Environment:
First, make the setup, maintain the temperature to a regular of 35 Celsius, and then maintain the humidity to 60 – 70%.
Feeding:
Parrot chicks need to be fed after 2 to 4 hours. So you must give them formulated parrot chick formula with hand or syringe feeding, both are common methods.
Growth:
Regularly check their growth and weight. The baby must increase their height and weight day by day which you should check by a scale.
Conclusion: Becoming a Pro at Parrot Bird Eggs & Breeding
If you want to become a pro at parrot bird egg breeding then you should take care of these things
- Their Temperature
- Their Humidity
- Their Diet(Ensuring Calcium Enrich Diet)
- Cage and Nests
- If the bird is in an incubator then check after some days by putting the egg in front of the candle that whether the embryo started to develop or died.
If you’re interested in gardens then you should visit these websites shimmerwise