Hi and advise for first time breeder

[Duckie]

Happy New year!

Well, its been a long time since I posted. From recovering from surgery, to my distance course studies, and babysitting my neighbours little boy, I have been pretty busy.

If everyone remembers, I am the one who adopted Maya and Memphis from Kirby! The pair are doing great!!!! It has been about 8 months now!

They have gone through a molt, which when Maya started, it freaked me out cause I didn't know what was going on:eek: But I talked to Kirby at the time and he explained what was going on. Now I feel like an old pro :D

Memphis is so beautiful to listen too! The different songs he sings are amazing. He will be 2 on Jan 12th. Maya already turned 2 in October.

I am going to read through the postings here, but we want to prepare to breed them in a few months. Is there anything I should specifically know before we go ahead. I have actually caught them in the "act" a few times here and there...LOL...it was the funniest thing! My son came to me one day and said..."Mommy, Memphis is standing on Maya's back and making funny noises. What's he doing?" "They are just playing!", was my responce! LOL

We read that they need to be healthy and fit. So we wanted to make sure their wings were back...which they are and they are graceful flyers! Maya will actually land on my hand while in flight :)

Should I be breeding them sooner than later, because I read somewhere that you don't want the female to have her first clutch too much past 2 yrs old. Well she turned 2 in October. If this is true, maybe I should put up the nest box now?

What advise do you all have for me? Thanks in advance! I want to do what is best for Maya and Memphis!

PS I have some pics that I will have to download :D

Duckie

[sweetrsue]

You could put up a box now if they are in breeding mode with over 12 hours of light a day. If the female has had plenty of calcium so that she can lay eggs safely. One thing you should be aware of is that they should not be allowed more than 2 clutches per year. I was very surprised to find that a friend of mine was unaware of that and had just left the box up. Luckily they had only laid twice and I was able to set him straight before it was too late. Laying too much puts a hen at risk for egg binding which could kill her. Also if your going to be breeding you should be prepared to hand feed chicks. Especially with first time parents. They may not instinctively feed their babues properly or keep them warm enough to digest their food. You should have at the very least a heating pad that can be put under a small aquarium. I use a Kritter keeper. A small plastic habitat meant for reptiles or frogs. With a couple inches of shavings in the bottom. Pine is what I use in the brooder as well as the nest box. Most breeders do. It kills bacteria and keeps the babies warm. I find the lowest setting is enough to keep the temp where that babies are. I usually pull mine at the age of 2 to 3 weeks. Kaytee exact handfeeding formula works very well and should be mixed to the consistancy of thin ketchup. It should also be fed at between 104 and 106 degrees. any cooler and it could lead to sour crop (the food doesn't digest properly and sours in the crop). The same thing could occur if the babies aren't warm enough. The brooder temps are as follows: Age of Chick 1-5 days 94 - 96, 6-9 days 93 - 95, 10-14 days 91 - 93, 15-21 days 86 - 90, 22-28 days 81 - 85, 29-35 days 76 - 80, 36 days to weaning 70 - 75.
I know I have devoted much of this post to hand feeding but the worse thing you could do is have something go wrong and find yourself unprepared to deal with it. It might be something that won't wait.

[Duckie]

Thanks for the reply:D Just a couple questions! As I am new to this, I am not sure what a couple words mean...:confused:

Brooder? Is this the Kritter Keeper?
Crop? I am guessing this is part of their stomach

The ages you have listed in bold, and the temps...are they temps to keep the Kritter Keeper at, during the specific ages of the babies? So the babies should be pulled from the nest box at 2-3 weeks, and kept in the Kritter Keeper and hand fed...just confirming.

Sorry for all the questions...I just want to make sure I do it right :)

Thanks so much!

Duckie

[sweetrsue]

Yes The Brooder is the kritter keeper. The crop hangs below their beak at chest level and the food is absorbed from there. Yes you got the chart right. I included the temps for all ages in the event you have to pull them prior to the normal 2-3 week range.
1394 the crop is pretty obvious here

1395 here's one a little smaller
they should be allowed to empty once on a 24 hour period. That usually occurs overnight

[Duckie]

Great! Thank you!

[Terri Peters]

Good Luck Duckie,

Someday I may wish to give breeding a try but not for a long while and probably not soon enough for Holly to be a mom. Heck, I can't get my own two boys (19 & 22) out of the "nest", I don't need to fill another one right now...LOL

Keep us updated :)

Terri ~

[allen]

i,m glad you asked questions first here is a sticky that shows you how to set up a brooder and what you need for hand feeding

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=6140

[sweetrsue]

Just another note. The bent spoon is widely considered the safest way to feed a 3 week old. With a syringe is too easy to get food in their lungs. With a spoon they take it at their own pace and it's a more natural way for them to feed. Also statistically spoon fed babies wean faster...Bonus!

[Duckie]

All this info is great...Thank you all!

How will I know if the parents are not feeding or taking care of them properly? WHat are the signs? Wouldn't waiting 2-3 weeks be to long if they are not getting fed?

Sorry for all the questions...:confused:

Duckie

[allen]

if you don,t see the crop full then that is the first sighn but when you see pin feathers start watch to see is the parents pull them out that is called plucking also look to see if the chick has sighns of blood on it all this is not common it is just signs to watch for most i find are good parents

[Cockatielmom08]

Thanks for the information on breeding Cockatiels. I have one so far, she is four months old now. I am no where near breeding age but the info is nice to have for the future. When does their first molt happen, I think someone said @ six months, is this correct?

I haven't had time to look up any info on the internet or books lately, as I have started a new job....It has been hectic learning the system they have at work......I work in an Optometry office and we have three Doctors in our office. I am in Patient Services, I welcome the patients and have them fill out their paperwork. I also get their insurance info ready...But we have some girls that like to run around the office instead of them staying at their desk, so I end up checkin in and checkin out...which is really hectic to do. We normally see @ 50 to sixty patience a day. They tell us to treat everyone like gold, but when the others don't do their job it is hard to make everyone happy.

[allen]

female breeding age should be around 18 months the first molt is normally around 6 months