Lineolated Parakeet (Linnie) Information

Questions to Ask Your Lineolated Parakeet Breeder

Written by Trish (triciakootz), with edits by Shandi (skthurley)

I bought 2 lineolated parakeets from a breeder who touted the phrase “hand-fed”. He claimed that they were very tame. They were NOT tame at all, in fact, they were terrified of human hands and very stressed by any human approach.

I learned from this experience to ask a lot more questions of a breeder to try and find out how their babies are handled (or not handled in many cases). It is important to get a baby bird that is not only hand-fed but hand-raised. There is a difference between the two. A reputable breeder will do both. From my contacts with many breeders, “hand-fed” often means that the babies are just taken out of a container/cage & quickly fed by a human but do not get any socialization or other handling. There are a number of breeders on the web who advertise “hand-fed” but when questioned, admit that they only take the babies out for crop feeding (very fast method) and then put them right back in their container. To have the best start at building a relationship with your bird, it is important that the baby was hand-raised and well-socialized, in addition to being hand-fed.

Be sure to ask questions such as:

How many species are you breeding?

How many breeder pairs do you have?

How long have you been breeding lineolated parakeets, specifically?

How many times a year do your breeding pairs have clutches?

How long are your fully feathered babies out of their cage each day?

Do your babies get daily time out of their cage on a playstand?

Do your babies get socialization with people other than the hand-feeder?

Are you babies allowed to fledge and learn how to fly fully (allowed time out of their cage for flying around a large area, learning to land, etc.)?

What sort of noises, sounds, and items are the baby birds socialized to?

A good parrot breeder deliberately spends time with their babies other than just feeding time. They make sure that their babies get plenty of time out of the cage and are exposed to different situations around the house.

Lineolated Parakeets have the potential to be extremely docile, sweet and loving pet birds, but if they aren’t properly cared for and socialized as chicks, they may turn for the worst.

If you actually talk to each lineolated parakeet breeder you are considering and ask strategic questions you will get a good feel for how much socializing they do with their babies. It is worth the time to get references (such as on the Linnie forum). Be patient – you may have to wait for a baby from a really good breeder but you will be forever glad you did you homework and chose a breeder who does it right!

Original thread found here

Category: General, Lineolated Parakeet Breeding & Raising