Hatching eggs

[Busheybird]

Hi, I am new to this site and I have come looking to find how I can get fertile parrot eggs. I have tons of experience with bird and now want to raise one. I first want to try with a small bird like a cockatiel. I know how much of a responsibility it is and how hard handfeding and weaning is as I have done it before but not on a hatchling. So should I just ask a breeder if they will sell me fertile eggs or how should I go about this. Also Ido have an incubator and all the equipment because I have hatched And raise chickens before.


Thanks! Jacob

 

[sodakat]

Hi. Poultry chicks are precocial and parrot chicks are atricial. You cannot use an incubator as a brooder and parrot chicks who are not kept warm by a hen must live in a brooder for a long time. Brooders are fairly expensive so consider that cost before you decide to embark on this adventure.

Hand feeding hatchlings, IMO, is something that should be done in an emergency rather than because you want to have this experience.

I freely admit I am pro parent-raised chicks but I accept that it is popular to produce hand fed chicks because that is what the public wants.

I have 6 week old (Eclectus) chicks still in the nest being fed by their mother, and an older hen sitting on her first ever viable egg. I pray she knows to feed that chick when/if the egg hatches but am prepared in case she does not. I cannot imagine selling an egg to someone who feels like incubating an egg and feeding the chick instead of leaving it with the hen.

Maybe you will find someone willing to sell you an egg. I don't know. Maybe you should consider buying weaned birds and giving them a home. You can have a wonderful friendship with a bird without handfeeding it yourself.

 

[MonicaMc]

Anyone willing to sell fertile parrot eggs over the internet is most often a scammer. There's no guarantee that the egg would arrive to you safely, anyway!

If you want to hand raise, I would highly suggest starting with a two week chick instead. A chick that has been with its parents for those first two weeks. It helps with immunities and doesn't require feeding every two hours *around the clock*.

If you don't have hands on experience raising parrot chicks, I would suggest finding a breeder who will mentor you, and after helping to raise several chicks, then buying a young chick from the breeder, as long as you have the appropriate supplies on hand.