Parakeet: Feeding The Chicks
Newborn animals go through a phase of extreme dependence and vulnerability that tests the skills of their caregivers. Feeding parakeet chicks, for example, requires special attention.
In the case of parakeets, the mortality rate of chicks is very high, so we must take the utmost precautions, especially regarding their feeding.
Parakeet mating facts
The first step in properly meeting the needs of the chicks is to understand the mating and brooding habits of the parents.
It should be known that parakeets can mate at any time of the year and that mating lasts between three and four days. After that, the female will start building her nest, where she will spend some time.
If we notice that the female never leaves the nest, it means that she has already laid her eggs and has begun to hatch them. Preparation for this moment takes about 10 days.
Each pair lays an average of four or nine eggs. Since the female will not move from her spot until hatching, the male will feed and clean her. After 16-29 days, the chicks will be born.
Birth and feeding of the parakeet brood
The mother does not lay all the eggs at the same time. One by one, it lays and hatches them, so some will hatch before others, even with a day or two difference.
During the first few days of life, the chicks emit a kind of very high-pitched chirping to indicate to the mother that they are hungry. They will feed on a kind of porridge, which is nothing more than food made pulp and regurgitated by the mother.
For this reason, parental nutrition is very important for the well-being of the chicks. Among the foods richest in nutrients we find:
- Canary seed
- Oats
- Mile
- Waterfall
- Cuttlefish bone
- Soluble calcium can be a great supplement to avoid possible diseases.
- Seeds are an indispensable food for their diet.
The male also collaborates with the care of the nestlings, in fact it will enter and leave the nest continuously to feed the mother and the young. The father, therefore, needs equal or greater amounts of nutrients, as he has to take care of himself, while trying to keep his offspring alive as well. In these stressful circumstances, some violent attitudes can also arise.
Many cases have been documented in which the mother becomes aggressive and attacks the chicks. In this case, it is advisable to separate them from the parents and make them eat with the use of a syringe full of food specially designed for chicks.
Sometimes the male mounts the female again while she is in the nest, fertilizing her and leading her to reject the current offspring to focus on the new pregnancy. The solution once again is to separate the chicks and take care of them in another cage.
