ForpusAviary.com

Breeding & Cage Design

Although breeding parrotlets is fairly simple when compared to some of the other parrots, they do present their own set of challenges. Mainly parrotlets are notorious for their aggression toward their own kind and even other parrots that can be many times their size such as macaws. Cocks have been known to attack and even kill young male chicks as they reach the age to fledge from the nest box. It is thought that this is because they view them as potential competition. A little good animal husbandry and good cage and aviary design will avoid many of these problems.

Cage set up:

I breed my parrotlets in 18” X 18” X 30” cages with a divider in the middle that can be removed, these cages are placed on rolling racks and cable tied into place in stacks of three. (You can purchase the cages and the racks from the President Trading Company in California 909-673-0886.) From there, I attach a light (GE aquarium or under the counter lights from Home Depot) above each cage with cable ties making sure that all of the cords are out of reach of the birds. These lights are plugged into a surge protector cable tied to the back of the rack. Since parrotlets breed best when they can hear but not see each other, I then attach a piece of sheet metal to the left end of each cage with cable ties. Sheet metal can be purchased from Home Depot in 36” squares (I divide each square into four pieces). I use different sized dowel rods for perches and I attach them from the back of the cage using a hanger bolt, two washers and a nut. I only allow the perches to extend to about three inches from the front of the cage. This keeps the birds from being able to dirty their food dishes and makes operating the doors of the cages easier. All that needs to be done now is to attach the nest box to the front upper left side of the cage by cutting a hole in the wire. In this location the nest hole will be next to the metal partition divides cages and will create a safe zone for the pair where they can’t be seen. I use a large size budgie nest box with a sliding inspection door located on the right side of the box. This makes for easy inspections that don’t stress the birds too much by opening the top of the box because you can use the slide to just peak inside the box ever so slightly.

Front View of Cages

Back View of Cages

Feed & Water:

Water is the number one ingredient for life and it should be provided in a clean and abundant supply at all times. Edstrom Industries, Inc. produces what I feel is the best watering system on the market for birds right now. I use their Vari-Flo Valve 3/16” system on all of my cages hooked directly into the water supply at my house. They also have a gravity flow system that works just as well. Remember that if you have divided cages you will need to place a valve on each side of each cage in case the divider is being used and you have birds on both sides. This system provides a constant supply of fresh water for the birds because they get water directly from the valves and they have no way to mess up their water supply. All you need to do is check the valves from time to time to make sure that the water is flowing and flush out the system every now and then.

My seed/pellet mixture is provided in a gravity feeder with a seed catcher and is attached to the front of each cage through the feed door on the right with a cable tie. These gravity feeders provide a constant supply of clean fresh seed to my birds and drastically cut down on the mess the birds make by throwing seed. Each morning for one hour I also provide my birds with mixed vegetables (frozen and bought at the store) dusted with vitamins along with fresh fruit and egg food. Just like your own diet variety is the best nutrition.

Room set up:

My breeding room has florescent lights overhead that are controlled by simple house-hold timers and are on for 16 hours a day during the breeding season. The lights on the cages are on a separate timer that goes off 30 minutes before the overhead lights to prepare the birds for nightfall. I always have a 20 watt nightlight on for the birds in case they are spooked at night by something. For heat in the winter I use an electric oil-filled radiator that you can find at most home stores. It is hooked to a thermostat used for greenhouses that I found online at ACF Greenhouses. This setup keeps my bird room at above 70 degrees in the winter without fail.