# I'm back but with a pet peeve



## leeisme (Feb 4, 2011)

Hi all! Been busy with family and the birds and vacation and all but I have returned. Since my last visit there have been over 3000 new posts so I have been gone for a bit. My pet peeve is this... Why do people who have a pair with absolutely NO breeding knowledge or experience breed their birds? Just because cockatiels are easy to breed doesn't mean they should. I have been reading some posts and felt I had to vent. Sorry.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Its OK, we understand. I think its just that people see the babies that others have had and think that its simple and are trying to do it without reading the info we have. But a lot of them are asking questions which is better than them just going and doing it and having problems later.


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## Debbie05 (Feb 9, 2010)

Well we all started somewhere. I do agree though you should read a lot more and visit a good breeder or avairy vet if you want to start breeding. People should know a lot more before getting into it. There is more to know that what typ of bedding to use.


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## kelpinator (Aug 8, 2011)

leeisme said:


> My pet peeve is this... Why do people who have a pair with absolutely NO breeding knowledge or experience breed their birds?


I'm a first-time breeder, and I am wondering - how is one meant to have breeding experience without actually breeding their birds? I am here to try and learn as much as I can - which is what it says right at the top of this forum. I am grateful that there are more experienced breeders out there who are happy to share their wisdom, I can't speak for any other first-timer but I have spent many hours here lurking, reading through all the old posts, just to get a "feel" of what to do. I also have a very kind and helpful vet just five minutes drive away if things become problematic.

I am taking this breeding deadly seriously - there are now five new lives in my home, and I will do whatever I can for them and their parents. I know there might be a small number of people who go into bird breeding frivolously, or "just for fun" but please be assured, not all first-time breeders are like that. Some of us just want to learn, do the best thing for our beloved birds and chicks, and gratefully appreciate any help or advice we get from more experienced breeders.


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## Set (Mar 14, 2011)

kelpinator said:


> I'm a first-time breeder, and I am wondering - how is one meant to have breeding experience without actually breeding their birds? I am here to try and learn as much as I can - which is what it says right at the top of this forum. I am grateful that there are more experienced breeders out there who are happy to share their wisdom, I can't speak for any other first-timer but I have spent many hours here lurking, reading through all the old posts, just to get a "feel" of what to do. I also have a very kind and helpful vet just five minutes drive away if things become problematic.
> 
> I am taking this breeding deadly seriously - there are now five new lives in my home, and I will do whatever I can for them and their parents. I know there might be a small number of people who go into bird breeding frivolously, or "just for fun" but please be assured, not all first-time breeders are like that. Some of us just want to learn, do the best thing for our beloved birds and chicks, and gratefully appreciate any help or advice we get from more experienced breeders.


Couldn't have said it better myself.
I plan to breed my birds. I've been reading - and will continue reading for the year+ it takes to get my female and have everyone old enough and healthy enough to breed. The thing is, all I can do is read. There are no breeders on the island. The breeder I've been talking to and will most likely get my female from is on the mainland; and as much as I'd like to, I can't take a ferry and multiple buses just to see her birds.

I guess this post sort of feels like an attack, because I've posted multiple threads regarding breeding my birds, and I'm a first time breeder.


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## geenz (Apr 4, 2011)

kelpinator said:


> I'm a first-time breeder, and I am wondering - how is one meant to have breeding experience without actually breeding their birds? I am here to try and learn as much as I can - which is what it says right at the top of this forum. I am grateful that there are more experienced breeders out there who are happy to share their wisdom, I can't speak for any other first-timer but I have spent many hours here lurking, reading through all the old posts, just to get a "feel" of what to do. I also have a very kind and helpful vet just five minutes drive away if things become problematic.
> 
> I am taking this breeding deadly seriously - there are now five new lives in my home, and I will do whatever I can for them and their parents. I know there might be a small number of people who go into bird breeding frivolously, or "just for fun" but please be assured, not all first-time breeders are like that. Some of us just want to learn, do the best thing for our beloved birds and chicks, and gratefully appreciate any help or advice we get from more experienced breeders.



I feel the same! I've been researching for months, going over and over everything I've read, asking a lot of questions. I'm so worried that something could go wrong that I feel that I need to know as much as I can in case something DOES go wrong (which of course I'm hoping nothing does! ). Sometimes I feel like I'm asking silly questions, but I would rather ask and be seen as stupid than to not ask and risk the health of my birds or their babies over it. I have owned tiels for about 7 years now and I feel that I am ready to take the step into breeding so I don't feel that this is a spur of the moment decision based on monetary gain, as I know how much time, money and effort goes into preparation and learning about all aspects of breeding. As debbie said, we all gotta start somewhere


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## 4birdsNC (Dec 4, 2010)

I do not believe Lee was singling any one person out, but there have been some instances of people jamming a bunch of new birds together and expecting it to be instantaneous. I kinda backed into breeding mine last year... they just decided to do it! So I had to scramble and get advice from the members here... I have since research Tiels and the breeding of them, their genetics, and hand feeding. There is nothing wrong with breeding them, but breeding irresponsibly is bad for the parents and the chicks. Several members have asked questions that their research left unanswered and they were intelligent questions... they are not the ones Lee is complaining about in my opinion. I will still give the best advice I can, and if I don't know the answer, I will try to point you to some one who does.


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## smegmas36 (Jan 18, 2011)

leeisme said:


> Hi all! Been busy with family and the birds and vacation and all but I have returned. Since my last visit there have been over 3000 new posts so I have been gone for a bit. My pet peeve is this... Why do people who have a pair with absolutely NO breeding knowledge or experience breed their birds? Just because cockatiels are easy to breed doesn't mean they should. I have been reading some posts and felt I had to vent. Sorry.


Were you peeved at yourself when you started breeding or were you born knowledgable and experienced? I agree with an earlier response. This site is here to help the inexperienced. Such as myself and others. The fact that we're even here shows that we care enough to learn. Imagine how many birds suffered before sites and books were available for people to learn. And yes they/we are learning from other people's mistakes. Mistakes that costs the lives of these beautiful birds.
Don't get peeved at people asking questions. Get peeved at those that don't, cause somewhere out there are young birds needlessly suffering. Think you cut your vacation short. Your attacking the wrong people.


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## leeisme (Feb 4, 2011)

Ok obviously I rubbed some people the wrong way. Thank fou 4BirdsNC. You understood exactly what I meant.


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## 4birdsNC (Dec 4, 2010)

No problem Lee. I understood because I have cringed sometimes when I read a post.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

I understood what you ment too 

What totally annoyed me was somebody who had their 2 tiels less than a month and wanted how long it will take for them to bond and breed.

There is nothing wrong in breeding your tiels belongs they are in good health and you really know what to expect and what to look for, any change and any dangers.

It might look easy enough but as i have done it myself i didn't find it easy at all
getting the right temp and the humid levels of the eggs.
Worst experience for me was to assist moose out of the shell as he was trapped,saved his life * i tell him every day lol*, then lucky looked really horrible while feeding the chicks, her grey color looked really dark and she couldn't be bothered to do anything.


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## leeisme (Feb 4, 2011)

lperry82 said:


> I understood what you ment too
> What totally annoyed me was somebody who had their 2 tiels less than a month and wanted how long it will take for them to bond and breed.


You got it exactly.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*This site is here to help the inexperienced. Such as myself and others. The fact that we're even here shows that we care enough to learn. Imagine how many birds suffered before sites and books were available for people to learn. And yes they/we are learning from other people's mistakes. Mistakes that costs the lives of these beautiful birds.
Don't get peeved at people asking questions. Get peeved at those that don't, cause somewhere out there are young birds needlessly suffering. Think you cut your vacation short. Your attacking the wrong people.*

Well said, *but* I can fully understand leeisme posting and have felt the same way.

I would like to point out that this forum is a great source of info and of help to those who are seeking info to breed responcibily *but* those people are few compared to those that don't bother to get on the internet and research. 

It is the large majority of inexperienced people that know jack about mutations, how to properly pair, and handfeed/wean their babies, and produce those small birds that do not improve the species as a whole. It is their birds that wind up in the buyers hand that are unweaned or sold unweaned that the concerned buyer *does* get on the internet to find out what is wrong and what to do to help their bird.


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## leeisme (Feb 4, 2011)

Thanks SR!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

personally lee is not attacking anyone. theyre just stating a well justified opinion. there's been a lot of people on here asking about what to do about their breeding birds and what not. not all are bad. the ones who ask questions before or do reading about it before are not doing anything wrong, in fact i give you a pat on the back for doing the research BEFOREHAND.
i read and asked questions before breeding. i had everything i needed ahead of time in case of emergency, i understood the risks involved... my breeding attempt failed at my own mistake. so there's always more to learn. lucky my mistake didnt harm my birds, but others are not so lucky and have lost babies, eggs, and parents from mistakes that easily could have been prevented.

like people buying breeding pairs that are currently sitting. that is high risk of losing eggs, babies and even possibly the hen to egg related complications from the stress of the move.

one member did this and i had warned her beforehand and so did a mod. and she flat out told us that shes done it before with no problems and went ahead and did it. you dont know if one time will be like the next.

another well respected breeder on here has been doing everything right and shes got the experience and know-how but shes lost every baby shes had this year. she didnt know why so she finally sent a chick's body in for a necropsy. i doubt any of the new breeders have the money for that and they may just shrug off a death in the nest without stopping to wonder:
"why did the one baby die?"
"are the siblings at risk?"
"Are the parents at risk?"
"what will i do if one is sick and i have to handfeed and bring the baby to the vet?"

Some other questions to ask BEFORE breeding:
am i planning on staying home for the next 3-4 months to monitor the babies health and progress from egg to weaning?
if all the babies and parents get sick what will i do
what if the hen becomes eggbound
do i know the mutations of my birds and if they are compatible
do i know if i have a bonded pair
do i know where these babies are going to go when they are ready for homes
what is the demand of cockatiels in my area
do i know the dietary need of the parents breeding
is my cage big enough to breed in
how do i stop them from breeding after
do i know how many clutches of eggs my birds can have a year

and theres many many more questions to ask

i congrat the people who have asked and done the research lee is not complaining about you


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I agree, this is not an attack on those that are doing the research beforehand, its simply a complaint about those that want to do it and do it now. Tiels will breed on their own time when they are good and ready. When they feel like it. Throwing them together just causes more problems. A bondage pair will not take care of the babies the way a bonded pair will and you may even have parents that abandon the babies if they are in a bondage relationship, so the question is, are you ready for that? And then there's vet visits if something does go wrong and medicine is SUPER expensive. So those who are planning and asking questions are definitely NOT the ones being complained about at all and none of us have any problems helping anyone out at all, because its for the betterment of the birds that we don't stop helping. Remember, we're here for our birds, they're what's important in all of this.


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## smegmas36 (Jan 18, 2011)

Well my point is that some things just don't need to be said. I'm a newbie and when I read some of these posts I get a pretty good idea what some of these people are up to. I'm sure the senior members can get an even clearer picture than me. You know who has a true love for their pets and those that are seeing dollar signs.

I have searched the net for a good honest and friendly site. This was far the best as several times Google referred to this site when I typed in a question. Yes before I joined I asked questions on Google. I lurked on this site for quite a while learning what I needed to learn before I purchased our first bird. Even then I was reluctant to join membership as I wanted to see how members treated newbies. When I was convinced this site had the friendliest and knowledgable members I joined.

I understand what peeves leeisme, I feel the same way. But such threads like this is enough to scare away newbies. Those with good and bad intentions for their birds. That's not what you want because to deny assistance to even the worse offender denies the assistance to birds that person has in their possession. You may be helping this person succeed but more importantly and hopefully you are saving those birds from allot of suffering. Educate, answer their questions and warn them of the hazzards and consequences of their actions. That is all you can do and pray that person takes heed as they have learned just enough to understand what they are actually doing.

My early threads were in regards to a pair of WF that I purchased from a not so friendly breeder. I had thoughts of breeding them but then thought otherwise as I was getting slight hints from members that it may not be a good idea. No one told me not to, but somehow these members educated my thick noggin that like mutations don't breed well. Those two WF are now an essential part of our family, as pets.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> That's not what you want because to deny assistance to even the worse offender denies the assistance to birds that person has in their possession. You may be helping this person succeed but more importantly and hopefully you are saving those birds from allot of suffering. Educate, answer their questions and warn them of the hazzards and consequences of their actions. That is all you can do and pray that person takes heed as they have learned just enough to understand what they are actually doing.
> 
> My early threads were in regards to a pair of WF that I purchased from a not so friendly breeder. I had thoughts of breeding them but then thought otherwise as I was getting slight hints from members that it may not be a good idea. No one told me not to, but somehow these members educated my thick noggin that like mutations don't breed well. Those two WF are now an essential part of our family, as pets.


Haha, that was my point exactly! This is about the birds, for the birds. They are what's important. So even if the occasional thread does get worrisome its for the birds that we continue to answer questions and try to help as best we can. And its great when someone learns something new and actually takes the advice given to them. I guess the biggest issue I've seen is some people asking a question but not liking or listening to the answer given to them. This forum is here to help, not to support what they think they already know you know? But I'm so glad we were able to help you!


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