Home » Plants & Animals » Small Hookbills » Breeding Parrotlets

Breeding Parrotlets

© Mary Wilson

People on the Parlet list, an e-mail list for parrotlets, calls these little birds the potato chip birds, thanks to a bumper sticker sold by The Parrotlet Ranch that boasts that you can never have just one parrotlet. That fact came home to me the day I purchased LittleHawk, my first parrotlet. His antics amazed me. His cuddliness charmed me, and although it took some time, I eventually had a breeding pair, then two, then three.

As previously discussed, parrotlets are not as easy to breed as budgies, but what requirements they do have are met with some thought and foresight. (In requirements, I'm talking here about pacific parrotlets. I also use the pacific method for my spectacles.)

HOUSING

Breeding parrotlets need a cage at least 18x18x24. My pairs are housed in cokatiel cages, as well as two compartment breeding cages with the divider removed. Within the cage, provide plenty of sturdy perches. Wobbly perches can cause infertile eggs, which is something that every breeder wants to avoid. Also provide some toys. Although they like looking at each other, parrotlets are highly playful creatures. LittleHawk often swings on his toys, trying to impress his mate.

FOOD

Breeding birds require more calcium and protein than do pet birds. Always have a cuttlebone in the cage. A hen can devour cuttlebones at a fantastic rate. Also, you'll want to provide a good healthy fruit and vegetable mixture, birdy breads, egg food, or other natural foods such as rice and eggs that your birds may eat. The key is variety. Lots of different vitamin-rich foods are better than one food all the time. Like humans, birds can become bored with their diet.

You will want to continue giving birds their staple food. Most breeders mix pellets and seeds together, although some choose one or the other. With all birds, creativity is key when it comes to feeding. For birds who do not like pellets, then new ways will have to be found to feed them. Many breeders grind the pellets in a coffee grinder kept solely for bird use (coffee is harmful to birds, therefore, using an all purpose grinder many subject your bird to coffee particles), then sprinkle them on birdy bread, use as a vitamin powder in recipes, or sprinkle on fruits and vegetables. Oftentimes, a finicky pair will eat the new food if presented differently.

The copyright of the article Breeding Parrotlets in Small Hookbills is owned by Mary Wilson. Permission to republish Breeding Parrotlets in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.