Gorgeous Pair of Scarlet Chested Parakeets - Should I go for it?

[Mom's Animal Preserve]

I was in my local family-owned pet store last weekend and they had a gorgeous pair of Scarlet Chested Parakeets. I had never seen them before and I couldn't take my eyes off of them! There was a male and a female and their male offspring in the cage. The little guy is fully weaned, so mom and dad can leave him if I decide to buy them. My hubby is perfectly okay with me getting adding some more feathered babies to my house, so I just have a few questions for those of you that have them already.

Can they be hand tamed?
What type of food do you feed them - pellets? seed? fruits? a mix?
Are they actually parrots but called parakeets because of their size (like my IRN and Quaker)?
How big do they get?
Can their wings be clipped or should they remain fully flighted?

Any other thoughts you may have are appreciated too. Thanks!

[Tom Lawless]

NO!!! You have enough animals...just kidding.

I'd never seen or even heard of a scarlet chested parakeet so I googled them. They are beautiful. I can easily see why you were so captivated by them. I'd be the last to seriously tell you not to get them but I don't know a lot about them so I am basing my comment on their beauty alone. I'll looking to hear what you decide although I'm betting your preparing for their arrival as we speak.

[kbheaton]

They're beautiful birds, but beware of overwhelming yourself. When you must spend all your time caring for your pets and there's no time left to enjoy them, everybody suffers.

"Parrots" are usually hookbilled birds with short, square tails; hookbilled birds with long slender tails are often called "parakeets." This appears to be more of a local distinction than a scientific one.

Some general info about Scarlet-chesteds:
Lexicon of Parrots

Best,

Kathy Heaton
Houston TX

[The Boy With The Birds]

Scarlet chested parrots are one of the favourite parrots along with kakarikis
i am not surprised u are captivated by there beauty, as they are truly stunning birds, i have a few pairs of them i have a sea green pair, one blue pair and a normal pair. all three pairs are housed in an aviary 5m long, along with bourkes parrots, japanese quail and pairs of gouldian, zebra, longtail, cuban, double bar, ruddy, orange breasted, red bishops, star finches, weavers and waxbills.


Can they be hand tamed?
Scarlet chested parrots are from the group neaphema. Neaphemas, arent exactely the best genera for handling pets. They can be readily tame when observed, but may panic when your hand is put in the aviary/cage so they dont exactely make the greatest tame birds

What type of food do you feed them - pellets? seed? fruits? a mix?
Well my scarlet chested parrots are fed on a good quaility finch seed mix, i add to that a small amount of sunflower and safflower seeds, which is increased in the winter. Every day i give them treated, fresh water, greenfeed (chickweed, spinach, endive) (make shore chickweed is washed), fruits such as pomegranate, orange and apple, vegies like broccoli (if greenfeed is not supplied) soaked seeds, and once a week, a wet piece of wholemeal bread, if you please, during the breeding season egg and biscuit could replace soaked/sprouted seeds. I also make shore the birds have an everlasting supplement of shell grit and cuttle bone.
That is what my birds are fed, but the seed can be replaced by pellets, it depends what you like.



Are they actually parrots but called parakeets because of their size (like my IRN and Quaker)?

There is know real sugnificent difference between a parakeet and a parrot, but many people like to refer to all australian parrots as parrakeets.

How big do they get?

Well what ever the size you saw them as is full grown. So that means they should be roughly a bit smaller, or the same size as a budgie. They dont grow any bigger.

Can their wings be clipped or should they remain fully flighted?
well, in my opinion, no. Scarlet chests maybe the size of a budgie but are completely different. If the wings are clipped it would result in the bird getting stressed.
Really i wouldnt recomend this species as a handling pet, just as a "looking" pet.

So there you go. I would recomend to get as bigger cage as possibe if they are not in an aviary. As they are australian parakeets and love to fly, and they are not as domesticated as other species in aviculture today. If it is a compatible pair, and you would like them to breed, stick in a box. As i wouldnt be surprised if they do go down to nest.

Scarlet chesteds are beautifle birds, not noisy, not big, not flighty, non-destructive, attractive, easy to breed, easy to keep happy (if cage is to the right size), so really the only down side is they are not handling birds.
If u would like to find out more i will reprint a friends article who breeds many of these birds, and other birds like GCC, suns, rare lories, lorikeets, softbills, rainforest pigeons, Australian finches etc.

hope some of this helps

Zac,

[Mom's Animal Preserve]

Thanks for the great info! You are right, I am definitely captivated by how beautiful they are. I'm okay if they don't want to be handled, I'm happy to just enjoy listening to them and looking at them. The only real problem I'm having right now is locating a big flight cage somewhere near me so that I can bring them home. We have a couple of stores about an hour drive from me that sell cages, but that's it. It's slim pickins here as far as bird stores. If I want the 'keets, I'll have to buy something online and wait for it to get here or order something through the store that is selling them. That store has lots of large parrot cages in stock, but I don't recall seeing flight cages. Maybe they keep some in the back. I will definitely ask.

As for the quantity of animals that we have, yes, we do have a lot, but there are four two-legged creatures in my house and we all have our babies. My daughters like the birds, but spend their time with the puppies and the kitties. Once the birdies are covered up, my hubby and I are in with the puppies and kitties too. As I write this, I have two puppies like book ends next to me and three kitties across the back of my couch. My daughter is on the love seat with three kitties near her and my other daughter has a few with her in her bedroom. My birdie babies all get lots of attention from both my hubby and I. He LOVES spending time with them in the evenings and at various times throughout the day on the weekends. On Sundays, he takes them in turns into the shower and when they've finished bathing, he blows them dry. I can unequivocally assure you all that no creature in my house is missing out on hugs, kisses and lots of attention.

[Mom's Animal Preserve]

I DID IT! I went and picked up the new babies today! I was only planning on taking the mom and dad, but I felt awful leaving their baby behind. After we took mom and dad out of the cage, the baby (a boy) kept looking around and pacing. He looked so lost, I couldn't leave him alone there without his mommy and daddy, so we took him too! Even better, the girl working in the store gave me a $50 discount for taking all three of them. She felt just like I did, that I shouldn't leave the baby behind. I promptly took my $50 and bought toys, perches and food. My new babies are all set up in their new cage and are already napping.

Photos to come soon. I want to give them some time to settle in before I start blinding everyone with the camera flash.

If you're not familiar with what these little guys look like, check out my avatar. They are exactly like this - bright and beautiful.

Oh, and their names are Norma Jean, Memphis and Mumble (we're big Happy Feet fans here).

[The Boy With The Birds]

Congrats on the knew fids. I am shore you will enjoy scarlets as much as i do, as they are, truly stunning birds. i wish you well with them.

Are you going to breed the pair?

Zac,

[Mom's Animal Preserve]

Thanks! They seem to be right at home in their new cage. We can't stop looking at them, they really are beautiful. Norma Jean and Memphis are a proven pair, so we've thought about breeding them, but I've never had breeding birds before, so I've got a lot of reading/learning to do first.

[The Boy With The Birds]

breeding the scarlet chested isnt very hard. As, i believe it isnt hard to breed any bird species if the settings are right.
All the requirements may be is a grass parrot box, a balanced and generous diet, a cage which is not to small, as know cage for a bird is to big. And thats about all, really.
On the bottum of the nest fine, non-toic wood chips or shavings is sutible. 5-6 eggs are laid, if the hen believes the settings are right to raise 5-6 chicks she will. Incubation lasts 19 days, and the hen is fed by the cock. The chicks hatch naked and blind (as with all parrots). When the chicks have hatched supply the parents with extra nutrient food such as egg & biscuit fresh or packet (fresh preffered), rearing formula's, vitamin csupplements eg. Depends what you want to go into the babies to make them grow as big, and well-coloured as possible :)

besides it is pretty straght forward, i know the breeding season in Australia, but not in America.


Zac,

[schnebbles]

I am new here - just got a male last weekend. He's not in the best shape (as far as his feathers). He was previously owned by my aunt who had a pair, said the female was really mean to him. Anyhow, long story short, I have him.

I get him out every day and while he's not anxious to sit on my finger, he will sit on my shoulder with no problem.

I emailed someone else here (sorry, forget her name) and she told me she puts alfalfa down in the bottom of the cage and puts their veggies & seeds down there so they can forage as in the wild. I got some alfalfa yesterday and tried it and he really seems to enjoy it. I thought that was a great idea.

I'm already looking into a bigger cage for him and possibly a female.

Good luck with your 3!