#6 Breeding Parrotlets - Some general info. (Text Post)

Back in the early 1980's when I first started breeding birds my goal was to become an expert, I was very young and had no real experience. I believed that the answers to all my questions were printed someplace in a book. How wrong I was. Over the years I have read many books, university studies and watched many videos. But I have to say the most beneficial education was actually learning as I go. The best lesson I learned was to never be blinded by new ideas or new ways of doing things. Breeding birds is actually a science and what you learn as you go - will be the most important information. One way to learn valuable information is to talk with other breeders. Go to the bird shows, meet other breeders, join facebook groups and pick up some good books from the local library. Do not close your eyes to new ideas.

Note: The below breeding information is valid for the pacific, Green-Rumped and Spectacled Parrotlets. Their may be some small differences between the three different kinds of Parrotlets, but as far as diet, breeding, nesting and handfeeding, I personally have not seen any difference and following the same practices with each has been very successful for me. 

Parrotlets, particularly hens, should be at least a year old before they attempt to breed or they can become egg bound and die. Males who are too young often do not provide enough food for the hen and the babies which are then abandoned or destroyed. Young pairs can be kept with one another until they go through their first molt, then they should be separated until they are at least eleven months old. It is not uncommon to have hand-fed birds begin laying eggs as young as six months - which can be disastrous.

The male will usually investigate the box first and when he deems it safe, will try and entice the female into it. Once mating has taken place, the hen will lay from four to eight eggs although Pacific hens have been known to produce ten fertile eggs. She will hardly leave the nest box from several days prior to laying until the last baby is gone, which can be as long as nine or ten weeks!

Parrotlets do breed better when you have more than one pair as long as they can hear each other but not see each other. Many people trying to breed a single pair have not had success. This is very important! Stack the cages on top of each other or put something solid in between them so that they can not see each other. These birds cannot be within eye sight of another pair. Not following this suggestion can result in death. Males are very protective of their mates. If they see another male in the same area they will go into attack mode. A Parrotlet will kill its mate to keep it away from, or from flirting with others.

If you have a pair that will not breed don't give up. Try different things such as moving the breeder box or removing it totally for a couple of weeks. Sometimes when the box is there for a long time they just get used to seeing it and are not interested in checking it out. Before breeding your birds remove any breeding triggers such as sleeping huts or sleeping nests if used. When you add the breeder box make sure it is on the outside of the cage and put it up as high as possible. Move the perches or at least one perch in the cage close to the box so that it forces the birds to be closer to the opening of the box. This will give you a better chance of the birds checking out the box. If they show no interest after a couple of weeks try putting a piece of millet spray in the hole of the box with just a little bit of it sticking out. They will eat the millet and follow it into the box in order to get the rest of it. This sometimes helps trigger the breeding to start. Many people who have no luck with breeding only need to make a few changes in order to get results. I have talked to people who have placed the breeder box inside the cage or on the floor, or they have bought a cage that has a precut hole to attach a breeder box but the pre cut holes are almost always in the wrong spot. I have seen these cages with the precut holes placed down to low on the cage or on the side in the middle. This will not work for many breeder pairs. I have my best results with the breeder box on the outside of the cage placed up as high as possible with perches inside the cage moved close to the opening of the box. Also my advise is to check the box every day even if you know they are not going in it or have not laid any eggs. Many birds are strange breeders and they do not like to be disturbed when laying, sitting on or hatching eggs. In order to get my birds over this fear I check the boxes daily by looking inside. They see me looking in the box every day from the start. When they start laying eggs or hatching eggs they will be completely used to me looking in the box. There are several reasons you want to do this other than getting the birds used to it. Checking the box will allow you to catch problems quicker. Problems such as eggs that are buried or covered with pine shavings, broken or cracked eggs or even chicks that are having a hard time hatching. However I do need to advise you to use caution when looking into the box. If you have not got your birds used to it over time or if you did not start looking in the box prior to them having eggs. Starting this practice after the fact or disturbing birds that are not used to you looking in the box can cause problems. Many pairs will leave the box never to return or they will break or even through out the eggs. Get your birds used to you looking in the breeder box early. Another tip that helps trigger the breeding process is longer days. Keep the lights on in your bird room longer. My lights are on a timer. They turn on at 8am and turn off at 10pm each day. At night I use a backlight ( a regular black party light ) as a night light. This allows the birds to see at night and also gives them a very small amount of UV rays needed for health issues.