# Breeding cockatiels



## hghosheh (Oct 20, 2014)

Hey guys,
I want to my cockatiels to mate. I have already posted another thread on this matter and fixed everything I did wrong. I attached the nesting box outside the cage. placed the cage beside a window where there is direct sunlight. After sunset I place light bulb on top of them (not too close) to give them 2 or 3 extra hours of light and heat. I feed them high quality seed and millet mix with broccoli, zucchini, shredded carrots, sweet peppers, bananas and apples. I place a cuttlebone inside the cage. I put pinewood shavings about 2.5 inches deep inside the nesting box. I add multivitamins to the water.
Is there anything else I need to do ? how much will it take them to mate or want to mate ? Is there anything I am doing wrong ?
Thank you


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

Hi 
As I am sure you know breeding is a huge responsibility. There are some questions I wonder if you have answered for yourself yet, just some things you need to have answers for before your babies come.

Are my cockatiels good specimens that are worthy of reproducing? In other words, do they improve the bloodlines or do they muddy them? Also, are they mutations that should be bred together, or will pairing these two lead to muddy or otherwise unattractive looking birds?

How will I make SURE my breeding of cockatiels will not lead to more unwanted birds suffering (I use a strict contract and do not sell, I lease for life. That way I retain ownership of the bird, and if the new family cannot or does not want to keep it, the bird comes back to me.)? 

Have you researched hand feeding, both how to do it and the mental and emotional repercussions of choosing to remove a bird from his parents? Have you researched the dangers of what can happen if you do it wrong? Have you decided if you will hand feed, and if not how you will keep the birds tame? I am personally an advocate of co-parenting. This is the method I use, where the chicks are left with the parents, but handled by me daily from about two and a half weeks old, more often as they grow. However, there are times when the life of a baby may be in danger and hand feeding may be the only way to save it. I highly suggest you do everything in your power to get your hands on the book PARROTS: HAND FEEDING AND NURSERY MANAGEMENT by Howard Voren and Rick Jordan, before eggs come. While I disagree deeply with Voren and believe he runs a parrot mill, his book is the authority on hand feeding, and he basically pioneered it in the USA.

Are my birds healthy, and how do I know? I highly suggest a visit to a vet, an avian vet if at all possible, and get at least some basic blood work done. Also, how long have you had these birds? I always get blood tests for avian diseases in conjunction with quarantine practices.

How will you deal I with fledging? While clipping in General is a heated topic and I won't get into it, clipping before the bird has FULLY learned to fly (this is quite the skill set especially in cockatiels!) causes major mental deficits to be formed and can cause horrible behavioral issues. Please read this article by Dr. Steve Hartman on the issue. http://theparrotuniversity.com/flight
Be sure to read the whole thing. Come up with a plan for how you and your home will safely deal with having a clutch of cockatiels learning to fly in your home. 

Determine what requirements you have for the new families of your babies. For example, my babies only go to single bird homes if one adult is a stay at home or work at home individual. Parrots are flock animals and in hone wild, being alone means death. 

Make sure you have enough cage space. Your cage is fine for two cockatiels, but not for 5, and that's if they only raise three babies! One of my pair is sitting on 9 eggs right now, can you imagine 11 birds in the cage your pair is in?

Other than that, let's talk about how to get them to mate. You need to find out what the breeding season is in your area. Ideally, they would get enough natural light to not need additional light from inside the home, and some birds may not be convinced by that anyway. I would remove the box until the breeding season is there, and then replace it. In my experience birds react faster at the start of the season if the box is not placed in until the season has started.

Also, be sure there is nothing around them that is going to frighten or disturb them. Either now, or when you put the box up in the beginning of the season, whichever you decide to do, make sure you open the box once a day at least. At first this will bother them, but that is the point. A once a day check is the bare minimum you will need to do once there are chicks, and you need the birds to be used to it by then.

I do not suggest multivitamins int the water, but I know some people do. I personally feel it makes the water go sour quicker, and there is minimal research into it. As long as you are feeding a good diet, that should not be necessary.

Also, while going into breeding season, I always feed a little boiled egg until babies are weaned. Also, you would be wise to begin sprouting your seeds rather than feeding them dry. Still feed a FEW dry, but the majority would be far more nutritious if sprouted. My birds get a base diet of sprouts, added veggies, and a FEW dry seeds sprinkled in. Also, make sure that the fruit portion of their food is very small. Fruit is very high in sugar and can lead to the onset of fatty liver disease, so feed sparingly.

I am sure there is more I have not yet thought of, I hope you will keep us all updated


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

> sprouting your seeds rather than feeding them dry.


do we sprout the same dry seed mix that they eat dry? Thanks a lot in advance!


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

That is what I do. Do continue to feed some dry seed, but I like to sprout a good amount of it as they would be eating the seeds off the plant in the wild, and much of it would be live food rather than dry. I use Volkmans cockatiel seed, but other things can be sprouted as well.


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

SilverSage said:


> PARROTS: HAND FEEDING AND NURSERY MANAGEMENT by Howard Voren and Rick Jordan


70 bucks ?!? can't afford it at this time  
DO you know of any other possibilities to read it?


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

I got my copy off of amazon for $10, so keep looking for it used. Also, I mean this with all respect, but if you cannot afford $70 to potentially save the lives of your chicks, then you cannot afford to RESPONSIBLY breed birds at this time. Part of responsible breeding is having the funds to take birds, potentially even a whole clutch, to an avian vet should e need arise. In my area it costs around $100 for one bird just for the initial exam. That means I need to have several thousand dollars in my emergency fund in case something goes wrong. $70 is more than I paid for the book, but if it had been that much it would still have been worth it. If I had bought that book before my first hand feeding attempt at least two birds would be alive today who are not, even though I read everything I could find on the internet. I didn't know the signs of yeast in the throat, specifically, and cockatiels are particularly prone to yeast issues. Like I said, I mean this with all respect, but responsible breeding is quite expensive and if you are not prepared to spend the money needed for the helpless babies you are about to bring into the world, please do not breed your cockatiels.


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

It may be available through your public library, or a university library, particularly one which a zoology program. Perhaps you can buy it on kindle? I would mostly focus on amazon and eBay, and other classified sites.


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

Don't get me wrong about 70 dollars. If there were a life threatening situation, I would spend much more without doubt. But my birdies are doing really well at this time (see picture update in my thread), and I just got some supplies for them for a good amount of money. I just think that a book issued in 1992 could cost a little less. I will keep looking.


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

It has some outdated info, and I agree it should cost less, but mine did so perhaps you are just looking in the wrong place? The basics are vital. I actually oppose hand feeding unless necessary for the survival of the chick, but it is important to know in case things do co bad, and has a lot of good info that any bird breeder would benefit from. Good luck in your search.


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

Yours was probably a paperback which now says "limited publishing" (means not available). Hardcovers are $70 for a used book and the price is uniform. The new one would be over 100. I would offer to rent it from you if you were not that far


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

Mine is hard cover in great condition... Have your tried north amazon and eBay? Kindle? Have you tried the libraries? Where are you located? It could be that that effects the price...


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Honestly, I have bred my birds and I don't think it would be nesesary to buy that book. 

Here is a website made by one of the most expirenced cockatiel owner in the world! She actually has an account to many forums (including this one) http://www.internationalcockatielresource.com/ There is all the information you can possibly need to breed cockatiels.

Do you have a breeder in your area who can show you how to feed baby birds? You can ask them to show you. If not, you can watch YouTube videos on how. Here is an article: http://www.cockatiel.org/articles/handfeeding.html


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Breeding isn't necessarily a simple process. Srtiel's website is definitely a big help; but I disagree. For somebody just starting any books on the subject of keeping, feeding, or recognizing the illnesses of parrots can be helpful.

I suggest "The Parrot in Health and Illness" and "The Complete Book of Cockatiels" both very informative helpful books (albeit a little old). Good condition copies can be bought off amazon for only a few dollars.

Figuring out diets, examining for illnesses, recognizing problems in the nest. Its all together and needs to be studied extensively. Diet is the biggest issue effecting hatch success rates aside from the usual dynamic of courting and mating.


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

Yes, I watched hand feeding at the bird store in my area but I think it looked simple because of expertise of the person who did it. I don't mind reading books at all. I've been reading srtiels site as well.

I checked amazon, ebay, barns and noble, and public library. I think the biggest problem is this book is old and wasn't published that much. I live in Kansas.


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

It is possible to breed without this book, of course, but in all my internet research I found this book to contain info I didn't find other places. The OP is clearly new to breeding, so I suggested the most useful source of knowledge I had found. Please note that it is a book on hand feeding a practice that I do not even agree with unless necessary for the survival of chicks, and in that case I do not believe in breeding that pair again unless you have reason to believe they will not behave that way a second time.

Anyway, the more good info you can get the better obviously. The book I mentioned was written by e am who pioneered hand feeding in the USA, and who did so for purely monetary reasons. His research was based on what keep the most chicks alive for him to male money off of, so I would like to state again that I believe him to be a bird mill. He just has some really good info.


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## slugabed (Jul 27, 2014)

I just want to echo what SilverSage has said in this thread. Breeding is a heavy responsibility, and those are some very good points raised.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I am just curious...why do you want to breed?


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

moonchild said:


> I am just curious...why do you want to breed?


are you asking the topic starter? 
I never could even imagine I would deal with chicks in my life. I had two boys that my husband adopted as they were unwanted, then we lost one of them in May when he happened to fly away. He (white face) was a great companion bird while the remaining bird was kind of boring and never interacted with us. It was a lot of frustration to have just him left, and we got him a companion on Craigslist. The owner said it was a pied boy. Several months later I saw them mating. Then the new bird made a nest wherever "he" found suitable (and it wasn't in the cage). Then I rushed to get them a nest box. I didn't even believed their 7 eggs were going to hatch  But, they have been great parents so far. Our bird that I called "boring" is probably just not a human tiel but rather a bird tiel. 
What we going to do after this, I don't even know. I don't see myself separating them just because this situation would be more work if they decide to have more kids, especially if they are bonded. I know there is a lot of work ahead with this clutch. Actually, right now we are not doing much, just feeding the parents. We will see.


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

Is it possible at all that babies are fed by the parents all the way thru 8 weeks or more ? What is usually a statistics - how often at what age parents abandon their chicks? I've noticed that even though our parents sleep in the cage with the nest box, the hen gets out of the box after some time of feeding and sleeps the rest of the night outside the nest box opening


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