# Brother/sister dynamics?



## kaitlinpaige (Jan 13, 2014)

So I am getting a tiel in a couple of weeks. I assume he is a boy because of his personality, but I am not certain because he has yet to molt. He also has 2 other brothers or sisters. While I was only planning on taking 1, now I am debating on taking one other of his brothers/sisters. I was wondering if I take two does anyone know if they are likely to be happy living together in the same cage, and if they will bond with each other and not me? Also if I do take 2, will they become a pair if one is a boy and one is a girl, or if they are both boys will they fight?


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## tgmm (Jan 3, 2014)

I have four cockatiels and two are brother and sister that I bought as babies. They were bonded when I first bought them and preen each other and must always be together. They sleep cuddled next to each other. They love being in the same cage. They also bonded to me in less than a week and since then I spoiled them. They are both always wanting to be on me. They want to be with me all the time. I think siblings love being together. They get jealous if I give my other two cockatiels attention and all four have to be on me at once. The two siblings do not like the other two that I had first. The male is super sweet to his sister, but fights with my original two non-related tiels.


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## kaitlinpaige (Jan 13, 2014)

Thanks for sharing! Do you know the sexes of your sibling tiels? I'm not sure if their sex would make their relationship different or not. My aunt is the one I am getting the babies from. Her tiels had a clutch of 3. I was only planning on taking one, and she was going to keep the other two, but now I am debating taking two and she would keep the other one. So, whether I take one or two, one bird will be by itself. I don't think the babies are super bonded because the one I am planning on taking is VERY adventurous and is always getting out of the cage exploring on his own. I guess I am more worried about them not bonding to me if I did take two. It makes me feel better that your sibling teals have a great relationship with you and themselves! Lucky you


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## Scribbles (Jun 28, 2012)

We are in the same boat as you! A breeder has just had a clutch of 3 and we are debating whether to get 1 or 2. I think we will most likely get 2 boys if there are 2 boys. They will be getting dna-ed in 3 weeks. They are 5,6 and 7 days old so it will be a while before we get ours. I've asked around about whether to get 1 or 2 and asked about bonding etc. Someone made a wonderful remark and it was they they will be bonded to each other and bonded to us. Every bird is different and who know what will happen, but we are also looking forward to visiting the birdies when they are about 4-5 weeks old and seeing if any of them want to specifically choose us. Our other cockatiels have passed away so we will be starting new with just him/them. 

What do the birds look like? Ours will be white faced pearl pieds which apparently, in their case (according to the breeder), are mostly white with some grey pearling on the wings. It's all very exciting.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

One word of caution....a brother/sister pair is more likely to breed to each other. So you really need to be strict on the hormone control if they do end up being opposite genders.


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## kaitlinpaige (Jan 13, 2014)

Scribbles- I'm glad we are both having this issue! On one hand, I only want to take one because I feel like I will have a great bond with him. On the other hand, I do really like the other one I'm considering taking, and I know he would be happy with me- but two birds means an extra mouth to feed and to keep up with too :/ I just don't know!


The one I am for sure taking is the visibly pied one with a yellow crest. The other one, his name is PeeWee, is the one I'm considering taking, with a grey face and crest.




























Also PeeWee's head looks a little funny because his mom has plucked him since he was born. She also bit most of his toes off and so his feet are nubby. He was the last born and I believe he has stunted growth.  poor little guy. He's such a sweety though. He loves to cuddle right up under your chin.


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## kaitlinpaige (Jan 13, 2014)

Roxy- Yeah, I am nervous of that happening... Is there a way to tell before their first molt if they are male or female without DNA sexing? Also I don't know anything about hormone control so maybe two isn't the best idea.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Aw, they are sooo cute!! If I were you, I would only take one. I would take the youngest one because, well, poor little guy . He could use a lot of love and attention, and you sound like a good person to do that  The pied one is beautiful though.
I don't like the idea of keeping bird siblings together unless I know for sure they are the same gender, two females or two males, for example. A male/female pair that is related will inevitably result in them mating one day, even if they don't breed, it's still not good for them, being related.
Anyway, you can take one of them for now, and then later down the road if your little guy needs a buddy, you can get him/her a friend at a different breeder.


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## kaitlinpaige (Jan 13, 2014)

eduardo- That's what I was thinking. Just take one for now and maybe down the road bring PeeWee to live with me or get one from a breeder. The thing is, the bird I am getting, is actually from my aunt. She took in a cockatiel that needed a home, knowing nothing about birds previously, and then decided to get the bird a friend. Well, low and behold, one was male, and one female. They had a clutch of three, and as soon as they were laid I told her I wanted one. She is planning on keeping the other two. So, even though he has some problems, she is VERY loving toward them all, especially PeeWee. I know deep down she doesn't want to give up PeeWee because he is her favorite, BUT since I am her niece, she was OK with parting with him if I wanted him because she knows he'd have a good home. I think it is best for me to only take one for now. I can always visit PeeWee if I am missing him


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## Scribbles (Jun 28, 2012)

Is where you're getting them from not prepared to dna them for you so that you concerns about their breeding can be sorted? They certainly look like a darling couple of sweeties! The persons we are getting our bird/birdies never used to dna and went mostly on what she thought their gender was from their behavior, but she was sure a particular bird was a boy because it whistled and was quite vocal so she was convinced he was a boy. But opps it turned out it was a girl. She didn't say how she knew but I suspect the bird laid an egg. But the new owner didn't care. So she has decided to dna all birds from now on because she said she felt so stupid. Which is good for us!


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## kaitlinpaige (Jan 13, 2014)

The person I am getting mine from is my aunt. I explained the situation in my previous post  She was inexperienced and had taken in a tiel because it was put on the street in a cage. She then got it a friend and they ended up being male and female. I am taking one, and she will keep the other two, so she doesn't really care to get them sexed becsaue she doesn't care what sex they are, nor do I. I suppose it is a good idea to find out the sex of the two she is keeping so if she houses them together they don't mate if they are male and female.

Ps. I would LOVE to see pics of yours when you get it/them


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## Scribbles (Jun 28, 2012)

It seems when I was typing my post about whether you could get them dna-ed you were writing a post in answer to someone about the fact that you were getting your bird/s from your Aunt. It was all in the timing lol. I'm hoping at the 2 weeks mark I might get a pic from the breeder to go with the ones she sent me when they were just a couple of hours old. 2 of our previous birds came from pet stores so we never knew the birth date for the birds. This time we will know exactly when they were born. One was born on Australia Day which was the 26th and it was the last of the 3 that was born. It will be interesting if that little birdie is a boy or not.


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## vitaminmandi (Jan 22, 2014)

I've been scrolling through this thread lurking the pictures and the great advice and I must say that baby cockatiels are the goofiest looking animals. I think they're SO adorable. The yellow-crested one and PeeWee are just too much. They're so cute.


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## kaitlinpaige (Jan 13, 2014)

Hahaha �� thanks! Yes, very goofy looking but heart melting at the same time  Before they are fully feathered they look pretty strange, all covered in pin feathers. Luckily, I am getting my little one from my aunt who only lives 15 mins away from me so I've been able to watch them grow and interact with them since day 1. 


Scribbles, yeah I figured you just hadn't seen my previous post yet. Talk about bad timing lol! And hopefully the breeder will keep you updated with loads of pics so you can see them grow and develop. It's such a great experience. And feel free to pass on those pics to here  I love baby pics!


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Kaitlin, I think you have a good plan! The pied tiel is adorable, I love the markings. What are you going to call him/her?


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## kaitlinpaige (Jan 13, 2014)

I really like the name Oliver (Ollie for short), however I also like Romeo and Peanut. I think I am going to have to wait until I actually bring him home and see how he acts. When I've visited him, he is adventurous, playful, very tame, knows how to step up, and let's me snuggle and pet him all over. He's got such a great little personality! Such a big personality demands a great name


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