# Breeding doubt



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Hello everyone.
Yesterday I brought home a cockatiel pair from a breeder friend.

Male - whiteface pied
Female - whiteface lutino










They started mating just after half an hour of me bringing them home( after nearly 5 hours of travelling ) . And till now they have mated nearly 10 times . 





















So this was little surprising to me . I dint expect them to settle down so fast.
The previous owner told that they are adult pair and till now they havent raised any cluth. So I am going to provide them nest box now.
Is this the signs of them ready to breed and raise cluth????
Also the breeder told that they were fighting for nestbox the day i brought them with his another pair.......


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Nope. Just because they mate, it doesn't necessarily mean they want to raise a clutch, they will mate just for the sake of it. You can put a nest-box up though and see how they go.


----------



## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

i normally put the box up 4 days after i see them mating every day


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thankyou for the responce.

Yesterday i gave them a nest box....... The pair showed interest in them spontaneously and they are sitting inside it in turns( sometimes both sit ).
Again today they mated.

The inside view of nestbox










The pair with their nest box.










The hen inside the nestbox.


----------



## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

from looking at your female she looks like she could be wf lutino cinnamon


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Good luck, hope you get eggs and bubs!


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thankyou solace.

@ Allen
How can we tell if its a cinnamon or a normal whiteface lutino?????


----------



## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

the tail looks a bit dark just like my lutino cinnamon


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

From past experiences, when I first started breeding I setup pairs the same day I got them. 100% of the time they went to nest. They laid. After that it was hit or miss if they would regularly incubate, and if they did, that they would take care of the babies. Most times they didn't. What I learned, and also others found the same thing is: yes they will go to nest, BUT it is more of a phychological survival need. Why, because their world has changed, which they do not know why, and instinct is to procreate for species survival.

Hopefully this is not the case with your pair. But, if so, once they become haphazard at sitting or caring for the babies, remove the box and leave it down for a minimum of 3 months, which allows them to settle in and get used to your routine and diet.

Given the mutations, your offspring will be normal whiteface. UNLESS either parent is carrying and splits to other colors. Your hens eyes appear to be a very pale pink, if so she may be split to pied or a whiteface lutino pied. If you get pied babies you'll know she is at least carrying the pied gene.


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thankyou Allen....... Yes the tail looks a bit dark ...........

@ srtiels
Thankyou for the suggestion ......... Yes i agree 100% with you. It might be their urge to continue their race.......... 
But they are very socialized and they settled a bit fast...... 
So i hope all is goin well..


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Today's update.......

The pair is spending considerable amount of time in the nest box.
This is what i have observed:-
- The cock goes in and makes some sounds .
- Then the hen moves in and sometimes comes out and spreads her wing near the entrance with slighly bending forward................
- when the hen is in the nestbox the cock usually taps the perch placed near the entrance of the nestbox.
- They again mated yesterday some 4-5 times.( and also preens each other )
- Yesterday i observed big poops but coudnt see actually who put it( i assume it must be the hen )
So hoping they lay and take good care of the eggs and possibly chicks.......


----------



## Clawsworth (Nov 9, 2009)

They look just like Nimbus's mom and dad! I hope they lay eggs and you get some cute 'tiels.


----------



## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

from the first time they mated it is normally 10 days before you see the first egg then it is normally every 2nd day after that mind you i had some that laid 2 in one day and 1 day apart but the normal is 2 days apart hatching is 18-21 days apart some of mine have hatched later some even at 16 days good luck you should take a look at this link just incase you need to hand feed


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thankyou for the responce Allen......
Just in case if the situation arises for handfeeding babies I am ready to do so as i have read a lot before and have the necessary equipments( brought them when i was breeding the budgies ).........


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Well today the cock spent a lot of time inside the nest box
There was huge droppings from the hen... . As i was browsing the hen spent some 20 mins or so in the nestbox and came out. When i turned back to see she was sitting at the entrance with her wings slightly apart. I felt something has just happened and i peeped inside the nestbox to find


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

I am all so excited ....... Its just 5 days since they have been in my house..... 
They are quite friendly with me too ......... 
I know that usually the first cluth dosent do too well...... but anyway its a start....
Also is there any chance that some chicks may hatch from the first cluth


----------



## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

well i would say they were mating before you got them


----------



## Rocky's Rose (Jun 24, 2008)

cobra said:


> I am all so excited ....... Its just 5 days since they have been in my house.....
> They are quite friendly with me too .........
> I know that usually the first cluth dosent do too well...... but anyway its a start....
> Also is there any chance that some chicks may hatch from the first cluth


Last April my pair had their first clutch and 3/5 chicks hatched and the other two eggs were DIS. Only two chicks survived though because the male killed the first chick.
They're set up again and there are two eggs so far with one egg that I'm positive is fertile. The other one is too early to tell. My female is doing all the work though because the male became really violent towards her.
There is a good chance that some chicks will hatch from your clutch as long as the conditions are good. Good luck.


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thankyou for the reply.
The cock has been a very good dad........ He is on the incubation duty now..... And the pair has no clashes between them ( I have read quite a number of posts mentioning that cock being aggressive during the breeding time )

I have another observation - why do they bury the eggs under the shavings ????


----------



## Rocky's Rose (Jun 24, 2008)

cobra said:


> I have another observation - why do they bury the eggs under the shavings ????



They may bury them to keep them warm when they are not sitting on them or sometimes if the egg is rotten or a dud they will bury it. If an egg is due to hatch I've read that they will also bury it in order to cool it down while the chick is forcing its way out. I'm not an expert though so I'm not postive if this is all true. Its just my own observations.


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thankyou for the responce......
ITs not they bury it completely . when they are not sitting they bury them paritially when they return to nest they incubate it.....
Also after how many eggs ( or is it after all eggs are laid ) they start incubating 24X7???


----------



## Rocky's Rose (Jun 24, 2008)

Well this clutch my female,Rosie, started incubating right away, but last time she started incubating the eggs when the thiird on was laid. They normally tend to start incubating them when most of the eggs are laid I think so there isn't as much as a size difference between chicks when they are all hatched. With mine though there is a problem this time around because the hen normally lays every 2 days, but mine this time laid the first egg on the 15th and the second on the 19th and she started incubating right when the first egg was laid so when they hatch the first chick will be nearly 5 days old by the time the second one hatches so the smaller one will have to try more to get food.


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thankyou thats a relief 

Well yesterday she should have laid one( according to alternate day theory ). but she did not lay yesterday...... So she might lay with a delayed period or it might be a single egg cluth.......


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Today I found the second egg in the nestbox............So she might have laid it yesterday latenight or early today morning....... So the first egg was laid on 21st night and second on 25th night or 26th morning. I thought of starting a breeding journal so if they incubate well will start a breeding journal......


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

From morning they are incubating continously... but in the evening one of my friend came and disturbed them . so they came out for nearly 1.5-2 hrs and then they went back..... egg wasnt disturbed....... and also here tempreture is around 25 degree celcius.... 
does this affect the incubation process?????


----------



## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

i find most of mine lay around midnight -1 am


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Yesterday 3rd egg arrived ..... Both are incubating well...........
I havent candled the eggs as this is the first time i am breeding tiels and I dont want to do it wrong...... Hope atleast 1 hatches......


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

I havent candled the eggs as this is the first time i am breeding tiels and I dont want to do it wrong...... 
-------------------------------

Ok...you can visually look, without candling to tell if the eggs are good or not once the birds start to incubate. Use the pix you have above as a guide. At a glance looking into the nestbox hole, neither egg appears to be fertile, because they are not a hard white color. The slightly pinkish cast is the look of an infertile, or an egg that has not been incubated yet.

Below are several illus. Click on each for a larger veiw. In the unlabeled pix can you tel at a glance which eggs are fertile, which are not, and which one is piping, ready to hatch?


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thank you srtiels.......... it was really helpful.......... 
At what day from the incubation does this method holds good


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

At about 3-5 days you should start to see a change in the shell color. A fertile egg will get a dense white look to it.

And the below Illus shows what is going on the first few days after incubation has started.


----------



## Joe_1974 (Feb 28, 2009)

Hi Nagaraj

I just noticed you are from India too. Where did you buy your birds from? I was wondering why it took you were traveling for 5 hours (to bring the birds home). I have 6 cockatiels and have 2 pairs already mating. But none of them seem interested in exploring the nests I have provided. 

Good luck with your 

Joseph


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Hello Joe...........
Well I am put up in a city called mysore ( karnataka state ) . I brought these birds from a fren of mine whose put up in bangalore. The travel time by bus is nearly 3 hrs 45 mins...... and then again the travel time to ma house counts ....... so its approx 5 hrs  hope you got an idea ..........

Well i did say I am lucky having got this pair as i am unable to find a normal pied hen for ma other male tiel.....
And regarding your pair I am not an expert, just entering into breeding tiels. so here there are many wonderful frens who can help you out. All the best


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

They totally laid 4 eggs...... they were incubating 24 hrs a day........ Yesterday night at about 3 30 am they had a night fright and din go to nest for about 5 hrs........ so will the eggs dont hatch at all now?????


----------



## seaofdreams (Dec 29, 2009)

It depends on how cold the eggs got in that time and how developed the embryos are (if they are fertile) If they were still relatively warm, they might still be okay. The only way to know for sure is to just leave them and see how they go.


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

k thanks....... Here the tempretures are like 22 degree celcius in the night or so


----------



## Joe_1974 (Feb 28, 2009)

Nagaraj - What kind of stuff do you use for the nest bed? I'm finding it hard looking for pine shavings here in India.

Joseph


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

I use neem wood shavings......... Its available in plenty here..... and Its resistant to infestation as well


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Well yesterday one chicked hatched.........( 20 day of incubation for the first 2 eggs ) .....
The parents doin a good job feeding the chick..........


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Congratulations on the new chick. Does the eye look dark or pink?


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

The eye looks like a pinkish one ( its just like its skin ). Does that mean its a Ino??????


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Yes, it's a lutino. Both your parent birds are whiteface so all their chicks should be whiteface too. Which means that you have a whiteface lutino chick. You can tell for sure by the down color - whiteface chicks have white down and all other chicks have yellow down.

It looks like one of the birds in your signature is a whiteface lutino. Is that the mother or the father? If it's the mother, this chick could be either male or female and your father bird is split to lutino. If the all-white bird is the father, this chick is female.


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

thankyou tielfan for ur reply . yup the male is a split ino and the female is a ino ( both whiteface)

Yesterday the second chick hatched but it was dead it a few hours . they have burried it under the shavings. now i am not able to find it where they have burried it.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

If the chick died this is ususally what they do with it, if the body isn't noticed or taken out right away.


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

gosh........ so i think there is no need to worry about infection if i dont find the chick to take it out right......


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Yes, if the chick is small the parents will just flatten it so that it rapidly dehydrates, which quickly reduces any risks of decomposing and bacteria problems. it wo=inds up looking like a peice of bedding with a little fuzz on it.


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

The chick which was born on 15th feb....( 9 days as of today )


__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


----------



## Spongebob (Feb 16, 2010)

where are you based?

will the chick be for sale when he is old enough?


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

@ spongebob...... 
I am located in a state called karnataka in INDIA.....
I am retaining this chick ...


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

cobra said:


> The chick which was born on 15th feb....( 9 days as of today )
> 
> 
> __
> ...


How cute!! congratulations.


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thankyou solace


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

2weeks old










Enjoying the scritches from my hand


----------



## Kai (Jan 28, 2008)

What an adorable bub. I've never bred birds but I didn't realize baby cockatiels were so big at 2 weeks old. Very cute.


----------



## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

I love the look of baby birds, they look so odd and alien like! hehe very cute  you can tell he/she is going to be a loving pet when he/she grows up!


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Hi Nagaraj

You have done a great job and your chick looks just adorable, I cant help to think your chick looks so tame are you hand raising now?

Also did you have any luck with the other eggs?

Jenny


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thankyou kai, Ezzie , Jenny........

@Jenny
No i am not handraising them as i dont have any experience in doing so.....
Totally 2 eggs hatched but only one chick survived...


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

3 weeks old........ I am handfeeding it twice a day ( assiting )


----------



## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

its amazing they can go from pin feathers, to almost fully feathered in a week or so. Hes looking real good  whiteface lutino?


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

Thankyou Ezzie, Yup hes a whiteface lutino.......


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

He/She is absolutely gorgeous.

Jenny


----------



## cheekyboy (Jul 14, 2009)

How fascinating watching this little fellow grow! Would you describe him as being very tame at this stage with you feeding twice daily? Was there a difference in temperament between when you werent feeding? 

Just curious!


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Oh that baby is so cute! how quick s/he has grown too. 

You brought back so many memories.. I hand-raised/hand-fed 3 Cockatiels from 3 weeks old, the same age your baby is at the moment and it was the best thing I've ever done, they're the cutest at this age IMO.


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

5 weeks old



















Completely tame ............. Likes to preen my eyebrows and nibble my glasses.......

Sleeping on its back on my hand


----------



## cobra (May 11, 2008)

@cheeky boy......

I handfed it only once a day for only some 4-5 days......... 
I find it freindly with me and i cant tell the relative degree of tameness as this is my first tamed tiel............ you can see the above pics.


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Look how big s/he is now - that's unbelievable! and so tame, what an adorable baby.


----------

