# Mating and clutch situation



## cherilyn.love (Apr 12, 2017)

I currently have 3 males, 5 females, and then Zunni who is only 3 1/2 months old in my aviary. Ellie was first to lay and she is bonded with Ash. Then Baby laid an egg but I was unsure who she mated with until I saw her and Ash trade sitting duty in the nest box. I just now caught Ash mating with Freckles! I have seen Freckles going in and out of a next box but no eggs yet. Baby did the same thing before she laid her very first egg. This will be Baby and Freckles first time raising a clutch. So now I have 3 females who's baby's will have the same father? What will I do....how she going to manage? And why aren't my other males hopping on the ready females! Ash moves fast when it comes to getting action! Lol.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If the parents can't keep up with the demand for food, you will have to assist feed to make sure the chicks get enough.

It's best to not put up nestboxes before the birds have formed stable pair bonds.


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

This seems to be common in colony breeding situations. You will need to keep a careful eye on several things.
-are the chicks getting enough food? If not you need to be ready to assist feed or even pull for hand feeding.

-are the HENSgetting enough food? Are they either leaving the nest to eat and drink, or are they being fed by other birds? 

-how is daddy holding up? If the other males step in to help feed, incubate, etc (which they very well might) them you shouldn't have to worry, but it can be hard on one daddy to care for 3 families at once.

I suggest mounting food and water both very near the nest boxes in order to help everyone have easy access to them and save energy.

In the future as mentioned above, I would be more careful about when you put up boxes. I would also remove any excess females before adding boxes, and maybe take "super-dad" out for a while to give the other males a chance to snag a lady.


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## cherilyn.love (Apr 12, 2017)

That's good advice SilverSage. I might have to build a second aviary and have him segregated. My current aviary is 18x8x6 and my husband and I are talking about making it bigger this year. Ash and Ellie are bonded since last spring. Ash is my promiscuous male while Baby (born spring of 2016) is my promiscuous female. A majority of my birds are refugees. People don't want their cockatiels or parakeets and I give them a forever home and I try to accommodate them as best I can and allow them to do what ever is natural for them. This is my relaxation, my hobby, and my passion. My intentions aren't to make money. If two birds fall in love and make some babies then I am happy that I can watch, help, and to know that I can give them the opportunity. This is year 3 for me and maybe it's time I dig a little deeper. Ash is the alpha in the aviary. I just got a refugee male (Martin) who is 2 years old. He's been in for 3 weeks now and had to clip him because he was charging my females. Not sure why but since I took his flight he has become more docile. He preens and feeds with Freckles. Maybe he will take over with her if she goes to lay? He does go in and out of the nest box with her but I haven't witnessed him actually copulating with any of the females. 
On that note one of my girls is 9 years old that was surrendered in February. She has absolutely no interest in any males. She is a people bird. Another girl Lily is a rescue and I was told she was 3 months old when I got her. I say rescue because she was in a small parakeet cage with about 20 other teils and her back toes were bitten off because of the lack of roosting space. First 9 month I had her she slept claws and beak clung to the bars of the cage. She is in year 4 and still has unsuccessful mated. She has tried though but because she doesn't have back toes she falls before mating is complete. Chip who is 10 has shown no interest in breeding. I guess I need to find some proven breeders if I want to make breeding a thing. 

On a completely different note...if I have 100 cockatiels in Texas how do you think they would survive by themselves in the wild? Dreaming a little here. If I put up a food and water station where they could come and go do you think that they would make it?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

A bird that's only been with you for three weeks is probably feeling much too unsettled to start breeding. Birds need to feel comfortable and safe in their environment in order to breed. Breeding in an unsafe place is a waste of time and effort in the wild, and they still follow their wild instincts. Ditto for the hen that you've only had for a couple of months. 

If you tried to have a free-living flock of 100 birds, the most likely outcome of that would be a bunch of dead birds. The hawks and other predators will find them and take advantage, and birds that weren't born in the wild tend to have a hard time surviving in the wild.


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

Please DO NOT release your birds!

Most likely outcome; 100 dead cockatiels.

Even worse outcome; a bunch of cockatiels breeding and hurting your local ecosystem and eventually suffering the same fate as other invasive species; being shot, trapped, and poisoned. Please don't do it.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm in Texas....please do NOT release any birds to the "wild." Tiels that are bred in captivity are not wild and would not do well. We have predators here that they do not have in their native habitat.


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## cherilyn.love (Apr 12, 2017)

Okay okay. I just feel sorry for them being caged. My aviary gets bigger and bigger but it doesn't seem like enough. Every once in a while one gets out and they shoot out like a rocket, take to the sky and enjoy a few laps around the house before coming back. 


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## ninfatiel (Jul 22, 2016)

When I was a child,my Grandma's neighbors use to have a free-flying flock of budgies (around 70 of them) all worked well for years they would come and go as they please, but one day none came back, they went looking and found them all dead,most likely they ate or drank smth poisonous. It is hard enough to loose one bird,but to loose all of them...free flying isnt a option for human-raised bird..


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