# Will he be not tame anymore?



## Jen144 (Nov 24, 2008)

I am thinking of breeding my cockatiel when he is old enough. (in 12 months or so) I'm taming him, and I'm just wondering if having them bond with another cockatiel will make them both (whenever I get a female, if I do decide to breed him) 'untame' after the babies have fledged? 
Or should I let him bond to me and buy an older pair to breed?


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

There's a fair few people (Bea is one) who have bred their tamed Cockatiels, and they're still tame even with them having babies.

I'm assuming since you said you're taming him, you're going to wait until you're bonded with him and he's tame to get a female?


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## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

i bred stretch and he is still such a lovey dovey he demands his scritches all the time


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

It really is just false that breeding will make a bird un-tame. There may get territorial about the area around their nest box during the laying and brooding times but that's natural and mostly hormonal. They will return to their sweet selves when they are out of that cycle. I have one pair that gets even more tame during this period. I am greeted with great excitement since I am the bean lady. Every time I enter the room they fly to me.


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

I want to add, having experience with this, that letting him bond to another bird won't make him untame. Bailee was as tame as always even when he was bonded to Cookie. Breeding however will possibly change him a bit. Of course he'll be territorial around the nest box (what else can you expect) but i've found that Bailee won't accept head scratches anymore. The first time i bred him i was able to get him back into liking them, but not this second time. It's a little sad, but he's still tame, still loves sitting on me, and loves licking me (stupid Bailee).


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

A bird that is well-tamed will usually stay tame if you get more birds, and cockatiels are pretty good about staying tame even while they're breeding. Buster and Shodu stayed tame while they were breeding, although I naturally had to respect their instinct to protect the nest.


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

I only have one "tame" adult teil, she's not as tame as most peoples , she'll step up, ride around with ya, but scratches on the head/neck are on her terms and only her terms, if she doesnt want touched she lets you know 

I bred her, she was still tame all during the breeding process - she didn't get mean over the nest box or babies, she let us do what we needed to do (dad on the other hand is a different story), and after she was done and their babies fledged she is still as sweet as ever and still demands time with us, on her time 

as for my not so tame birds(including my budgies) it actually chilled all them out, once they got used to us checking the nest box, there was no more trying to bite us, or anything they'd get up and move let us do what we needed to do and when we were done they'd go sit back on the eggs/babies - no arguments out of them 

we still can't handle them but it was progress to stick our hand in a nest box and not get bit 

of course we always tap on the box before opening so they know we're there. and they don't get startled.


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## Jen144 (Nov 24, 2008)

Okay thanks. When he is old enough to breed is in 12 months, so I hope he will be tame and bonded to me by then. I'll get a tame female and let her bond to me as well before introducing the two.
I've bred one of my budgies (she was the wildest girl ever, and she was about 2 years old and never been handled) and since I've been checking the nestbox every day, she never bites at all, lets me pick her up, and enjoys whistling to me when I come near. If I do what I did with her, and put my hand in the nest slowly and pausing whenever they freak every day, what are the chances that I could get the female cockatiel to be as calm as my budgie?
I would hope that they would stay tame, my only worry was that if they bonded to eachother they would be defensive when I came near..but if what happened to my budgie works with them, that would be perfect..


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