Abstract
The Red-romped Parakeet is a fine
choice for the bird breeder who
would like to move up from raising
budgies. There are a few reasons for
this opinion. First of all they are beautiful
birds. The male and female can
easily be distinguished from one
another, so pairing is quite easy. The
male Red-rump is green and blue on
the head and wings, with a yellow
chest, and of course the distinctive
red on the rump. The female is much
duller in color, being an olive green
with no red on the rump.
They are quiet and can be raised
easily in the city without any trouble
from neighbors. They are easy to
raise and make good foster parents
for other birds in their category.
Their cost is reasonable, being about
$50.00 each from a breeder.
Here are a few tips to finding the
best breeding stock possible. It is
important to buy your birds in early
autumn so that your stock can be
properly acclimated to their new surrounding
and, of course, to their new
mates. Buy your birds from a reliable
breeder. Finding a reliable breeder
can be helped greatly through your
local bird clubs or a veterinarian who
specializes in birds. It's a good idea to
look at the condition of the cages of
the breeders from whom you consider
buying your stock. They should
be clean! You should buy mature
birds of about 9 to 10 months old.
Another very important tip is to
make sure your birds are of unrelated
stock.
The birds should be healthy. The
eyes of a healthy bird are clear and
their feathers should be shiny with
no signs of plucking. A broken tail
feather or clipped wings are perfectly
fine. These will not affect the breeding
capability of the birds. There
should not be any signs of a runny
nose or of uneven breathing that
might be signs of a cold or congestion.
The beak of both the male and
the female should show no sign of
overgrowth and should be straight.
This is important for the feeding of
the brood as both parents will feed
the young. The beak should also be
free from any scales. -If the breast
bone sticks out, this can also be an
indication of a sick bird.
Now that you have found your new
birds, you are ready to take them
home. I feel that it's a good idea to
quarantine any new birds which I
bring home for a short time. If there
is any sickness in these birds, you
don't want it to spread to your present
stock.
Their cage should be about 3' wide
by 6 ' high by 6 ' long with a wired
flight , pfus draft and rain-free sleeping
and nesting area. Except in
extremely cold areas, these birds can
normally be wintered outside without
the need for special heating.