Parakeet gestation is only about 18 days so you can see baby chicks shortly after mating takes place! If you want to breed your parakeets, keep in mind that you will need to buy some special materials. You will need a wooden nest box 8 ½” tall X 6 ½” wide and 6 ½”deep – make sure it has a small opening of about 1 ½”. Make sure the cage is big enough for the birds and the box. Make sure you keep the temperature in the room above 70 degrees and don’t mate birds that are under 1 years old.
Once you have a mating pair, make sure the box is secured to the cage – don’t place it too high in case the babies fall out – you don’t want them to get hurt! You don’t need special nesting materials, but you can buy material at the store and it certainly can’t hurt. The female will lay eggs a couple of days after mating, and the parakeet gestation period is about 18 days where the female will sit on the nest and the male will feed her. Make sure there is plenty of water and high quality seed as well as vitamins for the birds at this time.
Although the parakeet gestation period is very short, you must be patient not to disturb the eggs or newly hatched babies as the mother may become very protective. The newborns are ugly little featherless creatures with gigantic eyes that are closed shut. Luckily, they soon turn into beautiful little featured creatures and are ready to leave the nest about 1 month after birth.