April 15, 2022
Quaker parrots
I have a pair of Quakers. First set of eggs she threw out. Has 2 eggs now and she is not sitting on them. Should I take them out and put them under a heat lamp
Question:
Answer:
Hi Betty,
No, that won’t work. They would need a special incubator made for parrot eggs, and even if they hatch, it’s really hard to keep the chicks alive handfeeding them from day 1. You could end up spending a lot of money for nothing. It’s best to let the pair learn. First clutches almost always fail. The parents don’t automatically know what to do. Most end up learning from their mistakes. Some birds will never make good breeders. Rule of thumb is let them try maybe 3 times and if they still fail to incubate the eggs and care for the chicks, then it’s best to not let them breed again.
It’s very important to remove the nest box and rest the pair from breeding after every clutch, whether the eggs hatch or not. Laying eggs is very hard on the hen. It uses up a lot of her protein and calcium, and then there is the strain on her body as the egg makes it way though her reproductive tract and then finally is laid. In the wild, a pair would only breed and raise one clutch of chicks per year. Then the season changes signaling the end of breeding season. In captivity, it is your responsibility to prevent them from breeding over and over because they do not get the environmental triggers. You should limit them to 2 clutches per year, providing the hen remains healthy after each clutch.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
