I have successfully bred 4 clutches of keets...and want to post something that could answer some Q's that some people have about breeding keets, and possibly help out some people that are considering breeding..... But before you start taking lives into YOUR hands make sure you can answer [b]YES to ALL of these questions[/b]: [i]-Do you have a home for the keets in advance? What are you going to do with all those lil ones!? -Are you responsible enough to care for so many keets lives? -Are you or someone in your house home 24/7??? If not, you need someone there ALL the time. You have to watch over the mother and babies all of the time, and watch for emergencies or complications. -Do you have a cage large enough for up to around 9 or so babies?? -Do you have money put aside for any emergencies? Make sure u have a emergency vets # in reach incase of any complications.[/i] You will be risking the parents lives, and the babies lives by starting this process. (the mother could kill the babies, or the father, the mother could get egg bound, and MANY other complications that can occur!) ****************** Keets are sexually mature around 8 mos. or so.... [b]How to breed ur keets:[/b] ~What u'll need:~ -2 keets of opposite sex, at least 8 mos. old. Both in breeding mode. Female will have a brown crusty cere, with maybe a little bit of white or tan. Male will have a Deep blue, dark cere. -a breeding/nesting box with a little indent on the inside floor of it -a LARGE cage, enough to hold at max 9 keets (could have around 7 babies, u never know), complete with enough food and water for that many. But the cage size will depend on how many you're keeping. But I really think with all the babies and the parents (even if you're not keeping ANY) you should have a cage big enough for 4 or more. ^^^^^ (see below-way below-for details on cage sizes!) -a quiet room to put the cage in -a POWDER calcium supplement to mix into their food (only powder! liquid to mix into water will grow in the dish, and will harm your keets) -a bedding of some sort (i have always used wood shavings and timmothy--a sort of a soft green hay type thing. I found with experimenting that that's what they like the best.) NOTE: I personally wouldn't use those beddings that are 'specially made' for breeding, and pre-made nesting material...i prefer the good ol'natural stuff...it's up to you. [b]Incubaters, Brooders, suringes and formula[/b] Unless you are doing multiple clutches, you probably won't need any of these things for 1 clutch. But it's always good to look around, and find the best prices, and keep those in mind incase you may need them. An Incubater will keep the eggs warm until they hatch (some turn the eggs for you-for more $ of course-and are a few hundered $$) A brooder is what you keep the hatchlings in when you're not feeding them (You will need this if the eggs in the incubater hatch, or the mom rejects a/the baby(s).) The suringes and formula you will need if you are handfeeding the babies. [b]Handfeeding[/b] I have never handfed any of my babies. I think they bond with me, and turn out just the same as if they were handfed. Also, handfeeding requires the brooder, and all the supplies you will need to feed them, patience and lots of time! If you decide to handfeed your babies, you cannot just feed them a day or so, decide it's a hastle, then put them back. The mom will not tolerate that, and you will HAVE to handfeed them to ensure their survival. You can mount the nesting box either on the outside of the cage, or on the inside, but whichever place u put it, place it high up as possible, keets feel more secure high up, and like it better. [b] ~Getting started:~ [/b] To start the breeding process, place the nesting box into/on cage w/ nesting materials inside. When the female starts to explore the inside, move things around, spend a LOT of time in there, and form a nest(this is called nesting), then you can add and mix the calcium powder supplement to their food when nesting starts. The female will start to get more aggressive now. Now watch for breeding (i don't think i need to explain that lol)--(You most likely will NOT see them mate, but u may!) After they breed, she'll lay the first egg in 1-2 days...she'll continue to lay eggs up to around 7 or 8 (max-around), but the average clutch is 4-6 eggs. At this time, don't bother the mother so much, and only peek into the box when she's not in it. When each egg is laid, mark #s on them w/ PENCIL...and make a chart showing statistics of the eggs (date laid, what # egg it is, fertile or not, etc. ) When the eggs are 7 days, you can candle them to see if the egg is fertile or not... [b] ~To candle:~[/b] Hold egg up to a VERY bright light source (like a flashlight) and look at egg: *If the egg has clearly visible veins, and a little dark spot, then it IS fertile. *If it's just clear, and possibly a air bubble towards the top, then it's NOT fertile. Candle like every week or so to check on the growing keet babies. ***The eggs will take around 4 wks or so to hatch (around 28 days)...but don't be discouraged if they hatch after 28 days! my keet Lemon hatched a week late.*** after they're hatched, you can start handling the new babies...but be careful!!!!! with the utmost care. only hold 1 baby at a time, and low to the ground, and only when mom is off the nest...but before you start holding em...take the mommy out of the cage to a diff. area (like a play tree or something) only hold the babies only for a few mins at a time, they have to stay warm by mom! When you handle the babies, it gets them used to the light, and the outside world. The sooner they are used to the light, the sooner they'll come out of the nesting box. [b]If the mom or babies have ANY troubles (egg binding, abandoning, not feeding, etc.) CALL YOUR NEAREST VET RIGHT AWAY, I am not a vet and won't be responsible for your keets lives.[/b] The babies will come out of the nest at around 5 wks. or so...after all the keets are out of the nesting box, then you can remove it. If you don't remove the nesting box soon enough, the mom may kill any babies left in the nesting box, because she will/may want to start a new clutch and make room. (it's normal for them to peek out of the box or hang out of it for a few days, they're just looking out and adjusting to the light. After all the babies are out, remove the nesting box RIGHT AWAY. The parents will start to try another clutch right away, and may harm or kill anything (babies!) in their way. make sure you have enough food and water for all of the keets. It's normal for the babies to stay on the bottom of the cage for a few days or so...when they are all eating on their OWN, and are fully capable of everything such as: -flying -eating on own -drinking on own -climbing bars -and other obstacles in life/the cage at around 8 wks. old or so they may go to new homes when they are capable of the above things. [b]***If you keep 1 or more baby...make sure you have a cage big enough for all of the keets in it.*** Minimum dimensions of cages: (thanks to Alyssa) MIN. Size for [b]ONE[/b] - 18x18x18" Volume=5,832" sq. MIN. Size for [b]TWO[/b] - 18x18x30" Volume=9720" sq. MIN. Size for [b]THREE[/b] - 18x18x54" Volume=17,496" sq. MIN. Size for [b]FOUR[/b] - 18x18x72" Volume=23,328" sq. MIN. Size for [b]FIVE[/b] - 18x18x90" Volume=29,160" sq. MIN. Size for [b]SIX[/b] - 18x18x108" Volume=34,992" sq. you don't have to have the same dimensions as those, just make sure the volume inside is at or above what is required. To find Volume: just multiply the Length x Width x Height. very easy. [/b] [b]A chart about growing keets and what to expect.[/b] Day 1: Eyes closed, egg size. Hairless. Faint squeak. Day 3: A little bigger than egg. Bit louder squeak. Tiny movement. Day 5: Bigger than quarter. Eyes open just a slit. More movement. Loud chirp. Day 7: White ‘down’ hairs begin to appear on body, barely head and wings.. Eyes open big. Standing sort of. Crawling. Day 9: More down feathers/hairs on body, wings, and head. Eyes fully open. Sharp nails. Standing pretty well. Moves pretty fast. Day 11: Bigger pin feathers. Day 13: Even more pin feathers, first perching on finger. ( 2 wks. 1 day old) Day 15: Pin feathers barely showing color. Specks of feathers on legs visible, also head. Long claws. Day 17: Longer tail feathers/pin feathers, no bare skin visible, striped feathers on head, tiny feathers on legs, no feathers on main body yet, only downy fur. Great climber and walker. Day 19: more feathers. (3 wks. Old) Day 21: Even more feathers, pretty colored. Day 23: Sings a lot, more feathers. Day 25: Lots of feathers, down barely visible, only patches under wings. CUTE! Day 27: Sings very well, and often! Runs fast. Sharp nails! Ouch! Can move almost ANYWHERE! ( 4 wks 1 day) Day 29: Can now fly!!! yay! Almost ready to leave the nest and become a “real” keet! Getting more color everyday. [i]Thank you for being responsible enough to educate yourself on breeding keets, and taking ur time to read this long post. But, educate yourself even further, such as on complications and what to do while driving to the vet if you are put in that place or MANY other things...use books or the internet...or the best source...Avian Vet![/i] GOOD LUCK!!! ****[b]IF you have ANY questions...or need help with the breeding process...just post on here...I'll get to your question the day of or in a day or 2..[/b]**** :D

This is probably a REEEAAALLY stupid question, but for those of us who do not breed, and don't want their birds to breed...(like me...) heh heh...here goes:

Is it possible for a male cockatiel to breed with a female keet?

I want to know so that I can make the decision as to whether or not to eventually let my Izzie and Charley become cagemates. :-) If anyone knows the answer to that one, I would really appreciate the shared knowledge. ;-)

I seriously don't believe that it could happen..., they CAN be best friends for life and try to mount one another... but for MIXED babies... I doubt it.

0=]

It'd be cute though!

I could imagine what the puppish'd be like!

Izziley!

ROFL!!! And what would it be called a Cockakeet? Or a Paratiel? Or perhaps a Cockabudgie? Or a Budgatiel?

HAHahahahahaha! (I am LOL and Charley and Izzie are looking at me like I've lost my marbles!)

So what you're basically saying is that they could be "friends with benefits" (for lack of a better way of putting it) but not make babies? I just don't want Charley laying eggs because I've read that it will cause females to not live as long.

I don't think they could have mixed breeds like that...but I could be wrong!
Good luck!
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Mango & Skye hope you see this as you had questions on breeding your birds Lemon&Lime has some good info here

bump...who did that LOL....
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No, they can not breed.

Parakeets and cockatiels are not just different breeds, they are different species.

Its also not recommended you keep them in the same cage. The parakeet could really beat up on the cockatiel.

Good advice by the way.

LemonandLime... did you breed Lime?

I aCtUalLy bred LEMON.

I'm responding to this post to put it higher up so people will see it. I see a lot of indescriminate breeding because it is "fun" and people are not prepared.