# Coby and Angel's breeding journal



## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Well I hadn't planned on letting the two breed, but it looks like they don't seem to care what I think! I am aware that because Angel has a small bald spot on the back of her head that she isn't exactly breeding material and that her offspring may be born with a bald spot, but I don't plan on continuously breeding this pair. Just this one time to let them get it out of their system and then I will separate the two. I also don't plan on using any bald offspring for breeding. Any bald babies that I get from this pair will be sold strictly as pets to people I know won't be interested in breeding, since I know a bunch of people at work and in my family that are looking to adopt a pet cockatiel. 

I had planned on getting a nice lutino split to whiteface hen to put with Coby instead, but it looks like that plan has been put on hold for the moment. I came home from work last night to find the two birds shredding up paper on the bottom of their cage in the corner and kind of acting "broody." The pair has been mating A LOT but I didn't think they would breed without a nest box. It appears I was wrong! lol

I put a nest box up for them just because I don't want them to lay on the bottom of the cage and I don't want to separate them now that there is a possibility that eggs may be on the way! Anyway, when I got home tonight both of them were in the box and I heard them mating inside so I think that making babies is definitely on their minds! lol

I will be keeping you all posted!


Oh and btw, here is their breeding results from the mutations calculator. 

Mother:Whiteface Lutino
Father:Whiteface Split To Pied {X2: Lutino}

male offspring:
25% Whiteface Split To Pied {X2: Lutino}
25% Whiteface Lutino Split To Pied
25% Whiteface Split To {X2: Lutino}
25% Whiteface Lutino

female offspring:
25% Whiteface Split To Pied
25% Whiteface Lutino Split To Pied
25% Whiteface
25% Whiteface Lutino


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Angel has been spending more and more time in the nest box, and sometimes Coby goes in there with her. When she is inside, it sounds like she is arranging the bedding and preparing her nest so hopefully I will see an egg pretty soon!


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## SweetSimmy (Sep 1, 2008)

YAY another Pair! 
goodluck with the babies


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Angel has been in the nest box all morning, so I am expecting egg # 1 by this afternoon! She has put on a few grams since she has been here so it is comical to watch her try to squeeze in and out of the nest box entrance! Poor little girl! lol

Next time around I am going to make the entrance slightly larger to accomodate her shapely self!! All the thing does is EAT!! She never stops EATING!!! I'm thinking that her previous owner had her on a strict rationed diet, because when she got here she acted like she had never seen food before!! lol 

Anyways, yeah here I go rambling on and on! Egg #1 should be here shortly! lol


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

And there it is! Egg #1!!


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## jeffm1967 (May 21, 2010)

Congrats on your egg


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Found egg #2 this morning! Mom and dad began incubating after the first egg, so I am expecting the babies to start hatching on or around June 7th!


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## jeffm1967 (May 21, 2010)

cant wait for pics


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Wow it didn’t take them long, lol

I know you are supposed to rest birds, I think you will have difficulty with this pair, lol

Good luck with the babies

Jenny


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Oh they have been resting since last spring (breeding wise), and they love their big flight cage I have them in. This place is like heaven compared to where they came from. The lady had them in a small cage because she just didn't have the room for all her birds. I'm assuming that their new and improved birdy condo is what threw them into breeding mode. That and they get fed the best food and get taken care of like royalty! lol

These birds have a mind of their own and when they get it in their little minds to breed, by george they breed! lol 

I would have liked to found a different mate for Coby, but I guess that'll just have to wait for now. Can't wait for my babies to get here though!!


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## JoshM56 (Mar 31, 2010)

Congrats on the new babies... looking forward to seeing pix when they hatch


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Thanks! Yeah I'm pretty excited about it!

Angel laid egg#3 the day before yesterday, but I forgot to mention it on here! lol

I am expecting egg #4 today and I'm pretty sure she is laying it now because Coby has been sitting on the eggs all morning and she just ran him out of the nest box! lol


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

If the babies do come out with no bald patches like the breeder advised you, do you think you will leave them together?

It seems a little sad to separate a pair that seem to be really happy together.

Jenny


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

If they have bald spot free babies then I will most definitely be breeding from the pair again. They are incredible parents and they are doing such a good job incubating the eggs together. I just took a peek when I got home and found egg #4. Coby was sitting on two and Angel was sitting on two! They are the sweetest little things in this world! Looks like I'm gonna have babies out the wazzoo!! Can't wait!! 

Oh!! Duke and Daisy's first baby hatched while I was gone! I posted a pic in their breeding journal! It is such a hungry little baby already!! I love it so much!!


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Just thought I'd share a picture of the happy couple! lol

They don't look too happy do they?? Coby is sitting on two eggs and Angel is sitting on two! 











Oh and I know Angel's tail looks kinda rough, but it actually looks better then it did when she got here! It was completely GONE!! So it still has some growing to do, but she is still lovely!


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

What good parents, I don’t suppose you would be to happy if someone walked into your bedroom while you was snuggled up to hubby, lol

You would probably tell them a few choice words too, lol

Have to go look in your other post now.

Jenny


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

You have a point! lol 

And yes they are very good parents! I love them to pieces! Can't wait til I have some little white downed fuzz balls in that nest box!!


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Egg #4 must have been the last one, because I have been checking the nest box regularly and no new egg. I think I'm kind of relieved that they are going to have a smaller clutch because I don't want to get overwhelmed by the babies. I'm going to be hand-feeding the babies from my gray pair as well as the babies from this pair so yeah, that's a lot of little mouths to feed! lol

Oh and I'm expecting egg #1 to hatch on June the 8th, not the 6th. I re-read that and it must have been a typo. Just a little over a week to go!! I am so excited. OMG I just realized that I haven't candled their eggs in a while. I will definitely do that and let you guys know how many are fertile when I get home from work tonight. Don't wanna be counting my cockatiels before they hatch!! lol


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

I Candled Coby and Angel's 4 eggs today and all of them are fertile and developing beautifully! Hopefully I will be seeing my first white downed baby on or around June 8th.


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## AlbyPepper (Apr 3, 2010)

How exciting. 4 baby cockatiels. Only a week to go! Can't wait to see some pics. Mum and Dad look like they're doing a great job!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Congrats!!! You are gonna have your hands full that's for sure!!!


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Oh yeah!! lol

I will definitely be hand feeding both clutches of babies at the same time so I will indeed have my hands full! I can't wait!!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

If we have a good clutch outta Cinnamon's (if she lays any) the Hubby wants me to hand feed one baby, I think for him lol. He likes the handfed ones the best. I like them all, so either way they're gonna get held whether they like it or not lol. But that's half the fun right? Now once they're two weeks old, how many times a day would you have to feed them?


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Once they are 2 weeks old they just have to be fed 4 times a day. I have a schedule that says to feed them at 7am, 12 noon, 5pm, and 11pm. Here is a site that I use often as a reference:

http://www.cockatiel.org/articles/handfeeding.html

Good luck with your pair!! Hope you get some babies soon!!


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Congratulations on another 4 babies on the way, mine are still at it, i did put a box up sunday night but no eggs, i was worried she might lay on the floor, anyway if there are no eggs tomorrow i might take it down, i dont want to encourage them, they dont need any help in that department, lol

Hubby says leave them alone and let them get on with it, (he thinks its a load of old rubbish they are too young, just people being ott) he is breeding finches and they have all built lovely nests but none of them are breeding, i said maybe their too young, lol, he said sure way to stop them breeding is to give them a nest box, lol

god i am making my hubby sound bad, he does care about his birds he said if they start going into their moults then he will remove their nest boxes, as this was stressful for them and not a time to be breeding them.

Jenny


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

_*Hubby says leave them alone and let them get on with it, (he thinks its a load of old rubbish they are too young, just people being ott)*_ 
-----------------------------------------

Your hubby is right. I have always started my pairs at 1 year of age, and they have always did fine.

Since the early 90's since I have been on many bird lists and forums the breeding ages have gotton older and older...which was from personal opinions from many that had a mind set to discourage people from breeding, to the scare tactics of health issues like egg-binding and prolapses. Most female health problems are from diet and proper lighting. Age has no impact on parenting ability. Most parenting skills are inherited.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

_*Here is a site that I use often as a reference:*_

--------------------------------

When handfeeding I have learned a couple of things. 

1...Have the formula at 104-105 degrees. 

2...Feed 10% of body weight. 

3...NEVER go over 9-10cc at a feeding, and *always* allow to empty between *each* feeding. 

In doing this this will eliminate 99% of the most common problems that a handfeeder would encounter...such as poor weight gain, slow/sour crop.


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Well I learn something new everyday!! I'm glad to hear I won't have to hold my breeder hens until they are 18 months old. It makes sense that people may want to discourage irresponsible breeders, but if someone has already made their mind up about breeding then why not be supportive and try to help instead of trying to scare them? 

Oh one quick question, when I go to pull my babies for hand-feeding can I pull the two oldest and then a few days later pull the two youngest or should I pull them all at one time?


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Yes you can pull the older ones first and then when the others get a little feathered out, pull them.

As to myself, I wait until they are 3 weeks old. I handle them every day until the time I pull them. 

At this age heat is not as critical. I also will feed 3X a day. 8cc morning, 6cc lunch, and 8cc at night. At this age the crop is smaller because the parents have already started to reduce the amount fed. I have found that growth weight is better with this amount being fed.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

_*Well I learn something new everyday!! I'm glad to hear I won't have to hold my breeder hens until they are 18 months old.*_
_*----------------------------------*_

So much breeding info _*gets 'parroted'*_ and passed along, with no first hand knowledge. In addition some well meaning person will add a month or two to the suggested breeding age. I have seen this done in the last decade or so.

Interestingly avian medical books lists tiels sexual maturity at 9 months.


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## jeffm1967 (May 21, 2010)

Same here when i bred tiels we always started at 1year and never had any issues with them. If you take care of them right (which from all i have read on the forums you do) they will be fine.


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Hi, Kfelton, I hope you don’t mind, but I would just like to say thank you to Srtiels for putting my mind at rest, about breeding age, I know it is your thread but seems stupid to try and say thank you on my thread where the information wasn’t posted, lol

I will certainly be checking that site out about hand rearing.

Jenny


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> Interestingly avian medical books lists tiels sexual maturity at 9 months.


I thought so because that's what all the books I had read said, although they did recommend to wait until a year to breed, but then I started looking around and everyone was saying 18 months and I was like "oh no!" but Cinnamon had already started and there wasn't a whole lot I could do to stop her now. This makes me feel a bunch better!!!


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Same here! I am so relieved to hear that I won't have to hold my breeder hens until they are 18 months to 2 years old. 

Oh quick update: I have given Coby and Angel 4 more eggs from my new bird peanut. She was caged with a male at my grandma's house but I don't think they're fertile. Guess it's worth a shot. I didn't want to just throw them out. They will be like at least a week behind the last egg that was laid in Coby and Angel's clutch so if the babies hatch I hope they can take care of them all.


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Well I'm expecting baby #1 to hatch on Tuesday!! The eggs that I have fostered to Coby and Angel don't appear to be fertile, but I'm going to give them a few more days. Expecting whiteface split to pieds and whiteface lutino babies of both genders!! Can't wait!!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Neither can I...more fuzzballs!!!


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Egg #1 has started to pip. It looks like it has been pipping for a little while because the pip mark is pretty good size. Looks like I'll be seeing my first fuzzy little white baby hopefully late tomorrow evening/night. YAY!!

The fostered eggs were showing no signs of development, so I threw them out.


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