# Need Breeding Advice- Box is Up, HELP!!



## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Ok so I put the box up they've been chewing on the box & definitley done the mating call (I googled it & it's defintiley what they've done ( a few days in a row they woke me up to this noise last Tuesday??? And she's been doing it on & off since then & so has he.... they've been chipping at the box I laid a few layers of paper towels in the box should I put something else in what should I do- should I just sit back & wait I haven't seen them doing *IT* LOL this will be my first CLUTCH LOL any advice please HElP! btw he sits perched right under the hole she sits right below him perched LOL! what *SIGNS* should I be looking for etc?? Any advice please!


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

paper towel isnt a very good nesting material, your best bet is a good amount of Aspen wood shavings or pine wood shavings, you know the kind they sell as small animal bedding, avoid Cedar shavings though as they are too smelly for tiels. 

You boy is showing interest in the nest box and he has been singing to her and she has been doing the mating stance( I assume thats what you mean as the mating call) so thats good and once you add the nesting material in the male will usually go in and make a hole in the shavings for the eggs and then the female will check it out and lay her eggs when ready. I guess youll never know for sure if they are mating unless you see them but they could be doing it when your not looking( though youd probably hear them lol) or not home.

Keep an eye out for an egg bum on your female, her vent area will bulge with the egg inside and then there is also the egg poop which is a big messy smelly poop they make when getting near to laying an egg, theres a pic of a cockatiel egg poop here, http://www.talkparrots.com/showthread.php?t=2386. Good luck!


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

I do have the Aspen wood shavings or pine wood shavings not sure which one but I do have 1 of them so I just texted my husband LOL! My male has been going nuts doing the mating call then going back & forth & hanging upside down on the cage its insane LOL they started this last Tuesday ?? I'll put the shavings in today or tonight  thanks any other advice??


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Get them used to you peeking in the nest now so they don't freak out when you do later when the babies hatch. Knock on the box so they know you're there and then peak. Condition them to this so they don't get frightened.


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Ok I will do that  thanks! I got them as adults a few weeks back so they aren't very tame  but the male I can handle some  I will work on that & see how it goes


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Btw I love the names roxy culver- I have a pebbles, bam bam, (latino male adult grey female) adult- Athena pied split fallow female & Aires grey male My female male pair who i'm speaking of now- & babies 3 month old white faced female Aphrodite & baby male 3 months- baby pearl male  named kronos


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

O those names are awesome! Pebbles was one of those "we were waiting to get a pearl girl so we could name her that" kind of names because my mom wouldn't name her pearl Pebbles lol. Good luck on breeding I can't wait til spring so I can put my boxes up!


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Do tiels usually bried now? The breeder I bought Aires & Athena from said that these 2 would breed now if given a box & I would have a clutch by Christmas- my female is beautiful shes pied split fallow with lots of white in her & the male is gray with LOTS of white in him so I'm curious as to what I'll get Leslie the lady I got them from said if any of the babies have red eyes they are from the fallow line? Does that make sense have you heard of fallow.... Sorry for so many questions LOL this is my first clutch funny thing is I started out with 1 LOL! now I have 6  I have 2 EXTRA large cages for the pair of adult tiels (i'm 5ft 1 1/2) and they stand about that high plus the top of the cage has a gym on top LOL so cute) a 3rd same size coming in the mail for the babies for nwo they're in a cage about 3ft alittle higher cage but have PLENTY of toys & wing spand LOL! think my husband may eventually divorce me ok just kidding oh did I mention I also have triplet boys 2 1/2 plus 2 girls 8 & 11!


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Cockatiels in the wild breed in spring and summer, but in our houses we have the ability to control the environment so yes they can breed now. Longer daylight hours can stimulate them to breed whereas longer night hours can stimulate them to stop breeding  can you get pics of your breeding pair because what babies you could get depends on what splits they carry and their mutations. You won't get any fallow babies unless your male is split fallow also but yes fallow chicks will have red eyes( but so do lutino chicks).

Good luck with breeding I love hearing about everybodys breeding experiences, I'm still debating whether or not to go down that road right now  but I have awhile still to decide as my male is only 9 months old.


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

I hope these pics work tell me if you see the pics- Male female Female is the 1 with the beautiful high crest  I have more pics if this works i'll post more


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

*Pictures of my breeding pair Athena & Aires*

here they are hope the pics come out Athena & Aires


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Wow she has a gorgeous crest!!!!

Your male is split to whiteface, based on the line of white at the edge of his face mask, if your female is split too you could get whiteface chicks( they will have white down instead of yellow. 
If your male is split to pied ( can be seen as different coloured toenails, or yellow/white blotches on the back of his head) then they could have pied chicks. There are also sex linked mutations if the male is split to pearl, lutino, or cinnamon they can have female chicks of those mutations.
He looks like he might be split to pearl, his back feathers will look sort of two toned if he is.
Genetics is confusing lol


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Uh oh your female, the pied has a solid gray tail feather, I hate to say it but I think she is a boy


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Hmmm...I've been told with Pieds tail feathers don't show sex... the breeder I got her told me shes been doing this for 15 years confident she's female... I even brought her to get clipped with my male & the owner of the pet store who didn't know she was a female said what a beautiful female she was (he raises tiels)- the male is SO much bigger...


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Is this not true


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Pieds are difficult because males can often keep their barred tails longer than other mutation males. Was she DNA sexed? It's just that the gray tail feather sticking out of her right should have the female yellow tail barring but it is solid. 

Size isn't based on gender though my female is way bigger than my male.


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

I don't believe so, now so this may sound funny to males WONT lay eggs right?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

yes that is a male. the barred tailfeathers are often kept, but solid feathers are not in females. you have two male birds.


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

See shouldn't the breeder I got her or *HIM* from should've known this??


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

So can someone answer my question 2 males WONT lay eggs right?? LOL- why have they been donig the mating song?? Weird right?


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

My husband is going to kill me when I tell him we need a 2 female companions LOL! OH I can see it now!


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

I even called her & said are you sure she's a she she said YES.. oh boy LOL!


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

I know I sound stupid but 2 males wont lay eggs right!!??!!


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

I'm going to have him/her sexed!


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## carrielee76 (Nov 19, 2011)

I'm not an expert on tiels, but I can say that 2 males of any species dont lay eggs...at least as far as I know..lol. If that is a male tiel and everyone here is saying so, then I find it crazy that the breeder didn't know this. They must not have been at this very long or just are not sure how to tell genders. That is also one of my issues.. knowing if Sultan is male or female. Has not been showing signs of male behavior but the yellow tail feathers from what I can see are solid buttery yellow (he wont let me get close enough to actually look for bars) and he has yellow on some of the feathers down his back. So, likewise I might go get Sultan sexed or order me a test kit if my vet is too expensive.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Well 2 tiels of the same gender can bond like 2 tiels of opposite genders so they can go through all the mating rituals and just not produce...so i would do a dna test to check before going out and spending a couple hundred on new birds that might not bond to your already bonded males(?).

Also, the breeder may have sexed the bird based on it's parents. According to genetics, you can predict the outcome of the genders based on the color mutations produced. Really, it's a lot of stuff i don't understand too well but i know it works. It's possible the breeder didn't realize one of the parents were split to something so their predictions could've been false.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

yeah no way that bird is a female. male  breeders can be wrong...


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Ive heard you can send in to have your bird sexed.has anyone.used any company they can recomend? Thanks


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

I havent personally had mine DNA sexed but I know this company has been referenced as being a good company, http://www.avianbiotech.com/Index.htm. You have to either pluck some chest feathers or clip a nail short to get some blood to send into them, they send you a free collection kit and then I think its $20 for the actual sexing.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Yup  avianbiotech is what i'll be using in a few months. I've heard some great reviews on it; quick results as well. There was someone on here who had used both healthgene and avianbiotech and said both were reliable companies but avianbiotech was quicker since healthgene is stationed in canada.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

The pied is also split to cinnamon (red pupils), which is a male trait.


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

*Sexing my Female/Male? Lol*

Thanks everyone I ordered the kit I wasnt sure which one to get so I ordered the blood vial and the feather testing it says It takes 3-5 business days to come so.it should arrive next week hoping to have results soon she or he lol cost me $150 so I do want to know for sure and if shes a he then ill look for a female for him lol


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

he is a he. as srtiels pointed out, split to cinnamon, which only males can be split to cinnamon. and hes got a solid grey tailfeather. does he whistle like the other bird?


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

They.only.thing I.hear them.do.together is the matting call theyve woken me up multiple times in the past week doing this hmmm


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Guess the test will be the only way to.really know right?


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Oh athena eyes arent red mustve been the camera she or he is suoposed to be be pied split fallow and when I.purchased her with aires it was supposed to be a pair male female lol oops ill find out soon I.suppose I.had.my other female.pebbles adult. And she always pweched with.thwm but I.her back with bam.bam my male adult latino ive got.6 tiels total 2 are.3.months m/f then the older 4.the one pair arwe proroven as pebbles has had a clutch.bam.bam.is a male too now the queation.athena.ugh


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

By mating call do you mean singing? Were they both singing? Boys sing to attract a female and then when the female wants to mate she will get into a low position, lean forward, sort of flutter her wings a bit and make a soft chirping noise, that's the female mating "call".

Srtiels means athenas eyes flashed red from the camera, if a bird is split to cinnamon ( I'm not sure about fallow though) their pupils will look red in pictures.

Also it might be a good idea to DNA sex your 3 month old pair if you are planning to breed them specifically in the future, unless you want to wait until they moult, at 3 months old( unless one is showing male behaviour already I.e. Beak banging, heart wings, whistling) there is no way to tell physically if they are male and female yet. If your not planning to breed them then nevermind


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

no both were doing the sining mating thing- (I googled it-and found a video LOL of 2 male/female doing the mating song) and serioulsy that is what Athena & Aires have been doing.. Hmmm the exact sound...On You Tube Hope you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R1eBiWuogE (thats the Link) And that is what these 2 birds have been DOING NON STOP! any ideas???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R1eBiWuogE


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

So the above post and the link is what I mean when I say they've been doing the mating song? They stay perched next to eachother when they do it too it's funny & they don't shut up! LOL they do it OVER & OVER & OVER again ideas??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R1eBiWuogE


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Can someone watch the video as this is what my 2 are doing... especially in the morning... any ideas??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R1eBiWuogE


They sound exactly like that! I had never heard that before!


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Oh I just ordered 2 more kits for the babies


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

if that is all they are doing, they are males... please can you not post the same thing over and over again?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Definitely two males if they are both making those noises. They can bond and mate and such but there will be no eggs. Because of the solid tail feather, the pied is definitely a male. May still be split fallow though, but I don't know anything about that.


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Sorry :blush:


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

hey no big deal, just letting you know  no harm done


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Hey you guys have been so helpful! I woudn't have know my female was a male so once the DNA testing comes back I will be posting it LOL! You should've seen my husbands face either way he will make beautiful babies- I just wish that #1 the breeder had handles them better (Aries) the 1 gray bites but not as hard as ATHENA!!! oh she drew blood on me when we took her to get her wings clipped  Aires hisses at me  now once the DNA results come back I need to work on my husband to find Athena a new name & a new female LOL- because he's to beautiful to not have little babies


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

If this was a big breeder they may not have had time to handfeed every baby so some may not be as tame as others. Using the training advice in the training forum will help you be able to tame them.


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Yeah I got 2 adults (was supposed to be the male female Athena Aires) and baby from her which as we all know tiels aren't cheap & I had to do ALOT of sucking up from my hubby LOL! when I told my husband about Athena being a male his face went about white as a ghost LOL! he said call leslie (the breeder LOL) umm what is she gonna do mistakes happen silly! she kept them in a aviary? I believe is what she called them she has alot of tiels my husband told me 6 is my limit & any babies we have would have to go to new homes LOL she told me I could set up my garage LOL! Pebbles my female gray is so sweety Bam bam my latino is skiddish & will try to bite once I get him on my chest he calms down- the babies are so sweet so they're easy to work with


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Is it ok.to put all my aduts together?? They.seem.to.want to be together cage is really large guarateed.1.female 2 males.&.1 almost 99% sure male breedimg box is mountwd to side of cage all are getting along cage stands taller then me im.5ft.1 1/12 has a gym.on top they have plenty of perches and toys I have 2nd same size cage I moved babies into today athena kept doing the whisteling over to pebbles and bam.bam I figured maybe they wanted to be together??


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i would remove the box though as you may have some fighting over that

if athena is "whistling" at the others, he is most definately a boy by behaviour as well lol


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Let us know what the tests say!


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

my husband bolted the box and just had major neck surgery Im so not the bolts and nuts kinda girl lol he put it up with bolts lol hoping he'll be feeling somewhat himself next week for now all nirds are getting along caught pebbles getting angry at bam bam she has been perched with Athena since the move this morning but no activity at all in the box so maybe they'll just leave it alone for now or atleast not fight


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

you can block off the entrance of you put something in front of it  as long as they cant go in.


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Oh I did that last night card board lol I firgured something had to work but question not trying to sound stupid why would they start to fight?


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

The 2 males.aires ans assuming Athena is a male now hadnt been fighting bam bam is a male pebbles is for.sure a female


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

maybe now that there's a female present the 3 of them are bickering over her. im going to assume shes too young to breed right now, but you can always pair her later with the male she likes. or buy 2 more females and have them in a larger cage.


they also may not like being in the big cage at all times together. maybe remove them after a bit to slowly introduce them a bit. sorta like visiting


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Pebbles has had babies from previous owner all seem to be getting along today pebbles hissed today at bam bam a few times


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I had three males and one female at one point. The couple were happy, my two solitary males were not. The one kept trying to steal the female away even though she wanted nothing to do with him. I had to get two more girls to even out the odds.


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Ya im going to get 2 more females to even the odds shhhh dont tell.my.husband yet lol once Athena is confirmed to be male instead of the female we bought her to be LOL


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Haha, I had to convince my hubby pretty hard! I told him that the two single boys would be lonely and that Fuzzy would keep fighting if we didn't get them girls.


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

Once The DNA results come back for Atetha Im making my case lol Ill be getting 2 girls  im confident Ive got the cage room etc lol


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