# Future breeding?



## carusoe13 (Feb 16, 2010)

Alright, so before i ask anything here is the situation:

I have a beautiful and apparently very healthy four year old female cockatiel, and a 13 year old male cockatiel. 
My female has laid 13 eggs over the past month-so, questions.
She has laid 2-4 eggs in the past during this season, but this time she just keeps going, i'm not getting any problems so far, but i am worried.

firstly, is she too young to try and breed? (next mating season not now) should i try it out with the 13 year old, or spend some time looking for a new male?
They are not housed together, and i moved their cages a few feet away from each other, but should i remove her completely? or him?
my concerns are is that the male is first of all 13 years old, and he does pluck. some days are better than others but i worry about what mating could do, if he would spazz out if i did let them, or if i just let it go? 
Also, age difference-i 'm not sure if that affects it but i didn't think it would be a great idea. 
Like i said, my female is very healthy and is still laying eggs, i have taken and left eggs in the cage in an attempt to get her too stop but so far she is still periodically laying, which has me worried. i am keeping her diet supplied with the nutrients she needs and i have a bird friend nearby for emergencies.
I never really wanted too breed because i would fear for lack of time, but my mother is willing to help but i want to focus on the birds right now.
What would you do?
please help, but with constructive advice, not criticism.
Thank you!
~liz


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

If YOU dont want to breed them then I would look into hormone reduction techniques to try and stop her laying, http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330.

This is a good post to read to figure out if you are ready to breed cockatiels or not, http://talkcockatiels.com/showpost.php?p=309062&postcount=2

Four years old is not too young to breed and if your birds are bonded and you have done the research and want to breed them then you could try with the male, he might still be fertile, males tend to be fertile longer than females I believe.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The hormone control thread might be all that you need. If you decide that you want to breed anyway, the first question to ask is whether your male seems to be attracted to your female. If he isn't already trying to woo her, or if she doesn't seem interested in him, you're probably better off with a new male.

An older male with no previous experience won't necessarily know what to do. I have a 13 year old male (Vlad) who is sexually incompetent. He has two hens in love with him (Mims and Snowy) but he can't figure out what to do with either one of them. He likes Mims and sings to her, but the closest he's ever come to mating with her was stepping up on her back and then standing there looking puzzled until her legs collapsed. Two years ago I stole two fertile eggs from Buster and Shodu and gave them to Vlad, Mims, and Snowy. The two hens did a wonderful job raising the babies together, while Vlad tried to get the hens to feed him like a baby. They wouldn't do it, so he started eating food dribbles off the babies' beaks. I suspect that Vlad was taken from his parents at a very young age for handfeeding, and never learned all his bird skills as a result.


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