# Breeder Misinformation - Now I have a problem!



## Lovemybirdies (Jan 16, 2013)

Now the truth is revealed ...

I bought Sammi from a local breeder to be a companion for my other tiel Kiwi. The breeder has a very small operation, with only one breeding pair of tiels. I got Sammi when he was 9 weeks old and she had said she was certain this bird was a he which is what I wanted. Obviously I trusted her with being an expert and knowing much more about this breed than I did. She has been breeding for many years. 

Long story short - Kiwi passed away and we decided to get another companion tiel for Sammi. As the breeders pair was having another clutch I thought it would be perfect to get another male as a companion. Well, you probably know where this is going ... as time went on, they got along wonderfully and are now pretty bonded ... but ... Sammi I have come to discover is not a male, but a female. She is only 9 months old, so I kept thinking she would moult and her male colours would emerge. She did moult about 6 - 7 weeks ago, but it wasn't a big moult - I guess from what I have seen on this forum from other members birds, I was expecting more feathers to be shed than what actually happened. Her brother Louie is definitely a male and is only 7 months old. I found this out of course by finding them mating, much to my horror! Now that they have done the deed, and eggs could be on the way, what can I do at this point in time? If eggs show up, I know to shake them and never let them hatch, however if they are in the middle of a breeding cycle, is the shorter days treatment going to work now, or should I leave them to finish what they started? I also had them housed in the same large cage, believing they were both males. I am assuming I will need to separate them? I also have not provided any type of nest box for them.

Another question, from what I have read online and here, I thought they were much too young to be sexually mature to want to mate, with both being under a year? Obviously mother nature has other ideas?

Anyhow any advice would be helpful. I love both these guys to bits, and just want what is best for both birds health and happiness.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Most tiels are sexually mature around 6 months of age. They're just not mentally mature at that age. If Sammi has gone through her first molt and still looks like a girl, she probably is. You don't have to offer a nest box and if you start the long nights now, there may not be eggs. There may not be eggs anyways, tiels do like to mate for fun. And yes, since they are siblings I would try to prevent it as much as possible. You don't have to put them in separate cages, my birds are all in one cage and I don't get eggs though I do get the occassional mating.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It takes a while for the hormone levels to rise to the point where egg laying begins, and if you intervene soon enough it's possible for hormone control techniques to work. There is a "point of no return" after which it's impossible to stop the egg laying, but at that point they'll be mating several times a day.

Some hens won't lay eggs unless they have a nestbox, and maybe you're lucky enough that Sammi is one of them. But don't push your luck, and do what you can to control the hormones. http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330

Squeebis and Teela are an incest pair, and they're passionately attached to each other. I don't try to keep them apart but I do try to keep a lid on their hormones. It doesn't always work, and Teela will lay eggs without a nest. When that happens I either replace the real eggs with fake eggs or I take the eggs away, depending on whether I think I can get her hormones back under control again.


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## Lovemybirdies (Jan 16, 2013)

Thank you for the helpful info. Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky ... there is an egg  

So I am guessing the course of action now that she has started to lay is to let her continue to lay until her clutch is done, shake the eggs so they are not viable, and let her sit on them until she loses interest. Once that is done, start the long nights then? I have a spare room that their cage can go into for the long nights treatment. I am hoping that will resolve their hormone issues for the short term.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Let her keep the eggs, but you can go ahead and start using hormone control techniques right away. They're less effective when the bird is already in full breeding mode, but if possible you want to make her lose interest in the eggs BEFORE the expected hatch date, so that she doesn't start a new clutch when the current eggs fail to hatch on schedule.


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## Lovemybirdies (Jan 16, 2013)

Thank you tielfan for clearing that up, I was always confused about the timing of starting long nights ... up to the spare bedroom it is!


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