# New to breeding and have a few questions.



## birdluv (Jul 31, 2007)

I have a topic over here in another thread about my tiels bonding to one another . This topic http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?p=209183#post209183

I figured l would start this in a new thread over here 
Here is there story;
Jubejube my female tiel is now 3 years old and my male tiel Sunny banana is 2.
Are the even old enough to breed?

My questions;
Okay here l go, First what is the best type of breeding cage and also where can l find a good breeding box in canada( l feel silly asking some of these questions  )

My Female tiel is a pied tiel and my male is a pearl pied. is this correct about the genetics and the possible outcome 
males: pied split to pearl 
females: pied pearls

What do you use for nesting materials? 

I have more questions but l will read more stuff on breeding and then ask some more


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Yes they are old enough to breed, they need to be at least a year old to breed. 

I dont know about the breeding cage, I know petsmart sells nestboxes but thats the only place I know sells them( there are probably other places but I dont know about them).Im not much help here since I havent bought a nest box yet.

As for genetics if there arent any hidden splits you are correct about the outcomes.

Aspen shavings are the best nesting material from what I have heard. Pine shavings are good too.


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## geenz (Apr 4, 2011)

Just gonna put it out there, if the tiel on the right in your sig picture is Sunny Banana and he's 2 years old, the pearls still being there would mean he's actually a girl.


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## Storm (Aug 29, 2011)

Cockatiels are ready to mate when they are over a year. Though it's advisable to wait a tad longer for the hen to be strong enough (otherwise she might end up with egg-laying problems). 

The genetics are indeed correct, but as xoxsarahxox said if they have splits the outcome is totally different 

On the pearl male part, normally they lose their pearls, in rare cases they keep it. So it can be 2 things, he's a rare male, or he's a female (which makes the breeding difficult). 
I hope he's a male though, a rare piece of art


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Because he's of a pied variation it would take him longer to lose his pearls. A decent breeding cage is one that's wider than longer. Ideally it would be nice if it had doors on the side that you can attach the box to.


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## birdluv (Jul 31, 2007)

roxy culver said:


> Because he's of a pied variation it would take him longer to lose his pearls. A decent breeding cage is one that's wider than longer. Ideally it would be nice if it had doors on the side that you can attach the box to.


yes,he has actually lost a few pearls since l have gotten him.


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## Dekey (Apr 21, 2011)

yes they are old enough, mine are going to breed in an aviary so they have a lot of room especially when the chicks fledge, as for genetics im kinda clueless but my tiels are both normal greys so i dont need to know much. good luck with your eggies and birdies


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

geenz said:


> Just gonna put it out there, if the tiel on the right in your sig picture is Sunny Banana and he's 2 years old, the pearls still being there would mean he's actually a girl.


Not necessarily true. Pearl pieds can retain their pearls longer than pearls. My Emperor is a year old male pearl pied that still has his pearls, He's molted twice since he hatched. Unfortunately, he is finally molting them out. 

I would make sure you do have a male though, females will breed with each other.

Edit: after reading your other thread, it's probable you do have two females.


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## birdluv (Jul 31, 2007)

I know that there are other females that are vocal but I'm thinking that he is a male. 
He is alot noisier then Jubejube, and does alot of the male behavior and nothing like my female Jubejube.
Here is a picture when l first got sunny.

















and this l took today


















If it ends up that he is actually a she, l do not mind and at least sunny suits both gender 


*Edit*
Oh l also forgot to mention. My female tiel has bars on her undertail feathers but Sunny has none.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Looking at the pictures I would say he is definitely a male starting to lose his pearls.


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

Thanks for the pictures, I agree, it does look like a male that has started losing his pearls.


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