# Showing and breeding



## zukesss (Mar 23, 2009)

Hii i no i just started with my first cockatiel butt mabe in a couple of years i would like to start too breed and show them:d is there any breeders out thier that can give advise on how to choose and raise perfect stock also on how to trainn birds to show ... Also any any tips that i should know about raising a show quality cockatiel ( i think all cockatiels are show quality ) , also if u can list some of thespecifics that make a show bird strive !!!! Please and thank you i probly wont start untill i no this 100 %


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I would say you would have to start out with a couple of unrelated show birds and then breed them. Of course breeding is a huge responsibility and can be expensive. Here is a link I found http://www.cockatiels.org/exhibitors/ncs-cockatiel-visual-standard.htm


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If you're serious about wanting to breed show birds then it would be a good idea to join the National Cockatiel Society - there's a link to it in the previous post. Members can post on the NCS Yahoo group and get advice from experienced show breeders.


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## zukesss (Mar 23, 2009)

i am looking into it butt i want to be 100 % i dont want to start somthing than figure out its too much work or i do somthing wrong ... im really considering it though ... the national cockatiel society what is it exactly ??? i know its a dumb question butt im cluless sorry :blush: if i did breed birds would it be bad if i sell some of the babies to a local petshop ??? thank you


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## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

I would not sell to a petshop in a million years. Acctually, I could never really sell any babies so in order to avoid our house from becoming a giant two story aviary, I just don't put myself in that situation. Showing is tough and harsh, you'll meet alot of people who just plain tell you off for even inquiring before asking questions and alot of them will tell you off. Show birds have to be PERFECT, crest size, etc. Cockatiel society has more info and if you do a search under show cockatiel requirments it'll tell you the list.


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## zukesss (Mar 23, 2009)

i was thinking and i also wouldent sell to a petshop no matter what , i dont was thinking ... thanks aly for telling the truth i tallked to the breeder we got spike from and he told me the same thing ... idunno what i wanna do would it be bad just to breed them for the hobby and enjoyment of the birds i wont make birds breed for the money or if they dont want to .. just for the enjoyment to watch them delevelop and find them great homes i do have aot of space wwe have 2 spare bedrooms and our basement is fixed and we have a room down thier butt most likly would use the spare bedroom ... if i do start breeding do i have to register as a breeder or somthing im totally new at this and thank you for the advise !!!


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

You don't have to register as a breeder. But before you go breeding your 'tiels if you decide to there's a lot of work that can be involved especially if the chicks need to be taken away from the parents to be hand fed which I'm telling you now, takes up A LOT of time!

I'm not by all means trying to tell you that you shouldn't breed but there's so many things that can go wrong and people breed because they think it's so fun when it is 100% possible problems will arise and then you're stuck and end up regretting it..



> Breeding cockatiels is often very simple but sometimes it just doesn't succeed. Some things gone wrong are preventable or correctable, others are not. To begin with you may have no eggs at all. This may mean that you have set up 2 males or 2 females instead of one of each, that the conditions aren't triggering breeding, that the birds are too young, the birds are too old, the birds are eating their eggs as they are laid, that the birds aren't healthy, that they have been over bred, or that your hen is actually incapable of laying eggs due to physical problems. On a rare occasion, maybe your birds just don't want to have a family but still enjoy the act of breeding.
> 
> The eggs you get may be "clear" -- infertile. This may mean that your male is an amateur who doesn't know what to do, your hen is aggressive and won't allow him to mate, they don't like each other, you have 2 hens set up (especially if there are a lot of eggs and they are laid daily), the perches are loose so they can't make good contact while mating, The birds might be too young, the birds may be too old, the birds may not be healthy, the birds could have been over bred, your cock may be infertile, you may need to clip the males toenails because they are hurting the female which causes her to try to avoid him, the feathers around the vent of one or both birds may be making it impossible for the male to carry out his responsibilities, or your hen may be infertile.
> 
> ...


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## zukesss (Mar 23, 2009)

no no no keep giving me the advise i dont care if u tell me i cant or i can i just want to know how to do it and all the other info thank you


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## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

zukesss said:


> no no no keep giving me the advise i dont care if u tell me i cant or i can i just want to know how to do it and all the other info thank you


I respect you for the fact that you came here first and are asking questions and willing to take it all in to make a good decision for you and your birds. Like Solace posted, it's an incredible amount of work and so many things can go wrong. It's not for the light hearted at all. With that said, it can also be enjoyable to watch the chicks come to life. It's something that you have to really have the time and money for or you'll end up a hoarder or a bird mill keeper. It's just not the way to go. 

Also, I would not keep them in the basement as they need light and natural sunlight to produce vitamin d. Without vitamin d they can't process their calcium properly and you'll end up with unhealthy birds and possible eggbound hens. Another option would be to install artificial lights that provide the same rays as the sun and that way you can control it as the outside.


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## zukesss (Mar 23, 2009)

yea as i said i would only raise them in one of the spare bedrooms on the 2nd floor also iv been thinking of it myself that i would if i do decide to breed it would be with 2 or 3 pairs max thank you !!!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Before you produce any babies you have to make plans for what you're going to do with them. If you keep them, you'll end up with a lot of brothers and sisters who will want to make babies with each other when they grow up. That isn't a good thing, so you'll have to work to keep them from doing it. If you want to sell them or give them away you'll have to find new homes, which takes time, and you can't be completely sure that the new home will be as good as you want it to be.

I joined the National Cockatiel Society a couple of months ago because that was my best chance to find experts who could answer my questions about Squeebis's odd spots and stripes. The society promotes cockatiels in general but is especially focused on show breeding. The people on the NCS forum were friendly and helpful. They did a great job of trying to answer my genetics question, but I haven't had much to say over there since that particular discussion was finished. I'm not a show breeder so it's not really my kind of group.


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## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

tielfan said:


> I joined the National Cockatiel Society a couple of months ago



I was a member a while ago, when the forum was free. I haven't registered again...Happy with this forum. I was also on cockatielcottage.net but I never go on- for such an informative site they have some bad info going around and I just couldn't keep up.


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