# are they compatible genetically?



## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

i know some mutations shouldn't be bred together.
i'm not planning on breeding Ollie and Bjorn - if they lay eggs of their own accord one day, i might let them keep them.
just wondering if their mutations are compatible though?- if they're not, i just want to know so i can make sure they don't lay at all  i don't want weak babies.

Ollie is a cinnamon pearl split pied. 
Bjorn is a pastelface\whiteface pied split pearl.


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## Tarra (Dec 6, 2008)

You can breed a pearl and a pied so i don't see why not.  
I'm not to sure how all the splits work but they're split to each other so i think it would be okay. I think they'd have really cute babies. 
But i'm still doing my own research on this so i can breed one of my boys  someone more knowledgable will respond to this i'm sure plus i'm curious because eclipse is a DYC pastel face. And i know he can't breed with a white face but he would be fine with a tiel like Ollie i know and he is also pied. But you only can see it mainly on his back and a little around the neck. 
Sorry for rambling


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

that's what i was thinking. pairing a visual with a split is fine. and pairing pastelface/whiteface with orange cheek should be fine too. genetics are so confusing. i don't think Bjorn is old enough to mate anyway. he's only 4 mths. how old is a cockatiel when it becomes sexually mature? thanks


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

they are fine


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Ollie and Bjorn would actually be perfect to breed together. All the babies would be split to PF (if Ollie isn't split to WF) and with Ollie's BIG cheek patch that would make for some nice babies with nice cheek patches, which is very desirable.



> eclipse is a DYC pastel face.


If this is actually the case, I wouldn't breed him. Cheek patch colors (except for PF/WF) should never be bred together. It messes with the color and makes it look weird. To me, Eclipse looks like a normal PF no DYC involved.


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## Tarra (Dec 6, 2008)

Hmm thats what the breeder said and his birth certificate says. I know his cheeks are very gold


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> i don't think Bjorn is old enough to mate anyway. he's only 4 mths. how old is a cockatiel when it becomes sexually mature?


Males shouldn't breed until they're at least a year old (18 months for hens) but they can get the raging teenage hormones and start trying long before that. I've had 5 month old babies mating with each other, and I've heard of them doing it as young as 3 months. With hens there are health risks with breeding too young, similar to a 12 year old girl having a baby. With both sexes, there's a risk that they're not mature enough to take good care of the eggs and/or babies and you'll have losses due to parent neglect.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> I know his cheeks are very gold


If they're very gold he's most likely JUST a DYC with no PF.


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## Tarra (Dec 6, 2008)

Really? But his head is really light yellow nearly white also 
Here's a good head picture


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

to me he looks more like a pastelface. what were his parents? did you get to see them?


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## Tarra (Dec 6, 2008)

No unlike Echo he was totally untamed when i got him. The breeder was selling off all his birds, so i never saw the parents. I assume they had been sold. Do all PF's have a yellowish cheek patch? I hadn't really thought about it but i've never seen one with red cheeks.


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

we figured Bjorn is pastelface and his cheeks are quite yellow. partly because he is split whiteface - it de-intensified the colour. 
thanks for the answers guys  i just wanted to know for safety. hopefully Bjorn won't try to mate. i go away in the month of August so i don't want him getting up to anything  which comes first, mating then nestbox? or nestbox, then mating?
also is there an ideal time of year for birds to mate/not mate? summer in australia is quite hot so i guess you wouldn't want eggs in summer? sorry i'm just checking things out.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> Do all PF's have a yellowish cheek patch? I hadn't really thought about it but i've never seen one with red cheeks.


When it is said that a bird is pastelface, it means the cheek color. No PF has orange cheeks. They're a very light beige color. DYC cheek patches are yellow (WF will give them an orange tint which is bad breeding.) 
 This is my Poopyhead, he is a PF cinnamon pearl pied. The cheek patch is very soft. WF shouldn't affect the way a PF cheek patch looks (that I know of.)



> hich comes first, mating then nestbox? or nestbox, then mating?


In a bonded pair, mating comes first. Its only once you see them mate that you add a box. In a bondage pair, the box is usually added first, which stimulates the birds to breed even if they didn't want to to begin with. Tiels breed in spring/summer as far as I know, I know the hormones here rise around that time and start to cool off in the fall/winter.


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

good to know  thanks. i'll just leave 'em then, and if they're bonded they'll mate of their own accord. if they're not then they won't  i'll only give them a nestbox if they're keen and Bjorn is of a reputable age


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