# Need help on breeding cockatiels!!! PLZ help!!!



## huson (Feb 23, 2009)

I recently bought a pair of unrelated cockatiels from a breeder.
According to the breeder, the male is a gray lutino split and the female is a lutino-pearl cross-mutation. The cockatiels are more than 1 year old~~~

My questions are:

What can I do to encourage them to breed?
-I placed a nestbox already, but they are not interested, so how long does it takes for them to get used to the nestbox?
-my problem is that my cage does not have an opening for the nestbox, so I hung it at one of the openings for the food bowl. Does nestbox really need to be place at the highest area in the cage?

How long will it takes for them to be bond together?

Can I still take them out for taming/training while I am trying to encourage them to breed?

What kind of behaviour does a pair of bonded cockatiels show?

Thank you very much for reading!!! Hope someone can help me.


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## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

I'll be happy to answer all of your questions if you can answer a few of mine. Why are you intrested in breeding? It's a big decision and can be costly.


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## eMoRy'S fLaPjAcK...! (Feb 23, 2009)

same here, i dont know much about breeding, but think its awesome about the split genes make this baby, && so on but theres so much responisbility in doing this, that some ppl dont realize till there half way in, asking for help. i would want to wait till i knew everything before i even considered breeding...like these simple questions about the nest box, etc.........100% sure! dont want to be a prude, but just honest...



its so easy to say, yes im a breeder....., && have to ask real breeders @ the end, thats all.
i, too would like to be a breeder, but now without knowing my stuff, and having everything cover, just in case something were to happen

plz dont take this to heart.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

I never hang a nestbox 'till my birds seem to have a liking for each other. Even tho I have many many birds I breed very little. You have to consider if you have time. If you are prepared for unforeseen circumstances. It can take them months to bond. Meanwhile you should be focusing on improving their diets and making sure they get lots of playtime to strengthen them selves. Conditioning should be your only concern right now. The female should be 18 months before breeding anyway.


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## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

i,m not sure if the others noticed but your male is grey split to lutino and your female is lutino pearl so you have both that have the lutino gene when you do breed them any lutino chicks will have more of a baldness on the head


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I would take the nest box down as they need time to settle in to their new home. This way you can bond with them aswell. Breeding is a huge responsibility and you are going to need alot of supplies like a cage that can fit a box, handfeeding supplies (and training) a brooder just in case the parents don't feed or reject any babies, I would even have money for an avian vet in case the hen becomes egg bound. Watching baby birds hatch and grow is really neat but I myself would not feel comfortable trying to breed my birds.


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## huson (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi, thanx for the reply everyone

I am interested in animals since I was a kid. I'm in the program of zoology at University of Toronto and taking a avian biology right now. 

I understand it can be expensive for breeding cockatiel and time consuming. But money and time is not a problem because my whole family is all into it. We decided to take shifts for weaning the babies if we get any. 

I already research a bit online about breeding cockatiel and read some books.
This website is pretty good: http://www.cockatielcottage.net/

Everyone have different ways to deal with breeding. Some people wants to know everything before breeding cockatiels, but there is no such thing. It is because there will many unexpected ups and downs when breeding animals. 

I tend to learn as I experience things.

My cockatiels are bonded to my already, they have been with me for a months and they were hand-fed cockatiels. So they bonded to my family easily~~~

I will encourage them to breed~~~


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## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

Best of luck with them and keep us posted.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Cockatiels are a good place to start. They are generally good breeders and good parents. They produce on average 4 young per clutch. You will see them preening each other as they become bonded. Territorial displays may follow. They will spread their wings out as they hang upsidedown in front of the object of their desire. They are displaying to the world that they consider whatever they are displaying near belongs to them. This is often done by hens in front of the nest box.


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## huson (Feb 23, 2009)

Thnx for the help everyone!!!

I am wondering do I need put anything like a perch infront of the nest box so that it is easier for them to access?


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## Cheryl (Dec 27, 2008)

You don't need one. If you have a hole on the cage and place the nest box opening there, your birds can climb on the cage wiring.


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## eMoRy'S fLaPjAcK...! (Feb 23, 2009)

good luck!


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