tiels

[tonyo]

hi everyone! Do tiels do well mixing with other tiels during breeding season? I mixed 2 breeding pairs in a big enough aviary, but the rivalry is quite strong im afraid they might kill the babies as soon as they hatch. Can anyone enlighten me on this? I have 3 nest boxes the first time I mixed them together, the male of the first pair was dominating everyone. Now there has been an exchange roles. The new male is now the dominant one.
Anthony

[kim1]

Hi, didn't work for me, I had problems with feather plucked hens, and cracked eggs, so I put them in individual breeding cages

[tonyo]

Its not so much the hens but the males have been showing dominance. the dominant male sometimes looks like he's trying to impress the other female. while he is also mateing with the other one.

[Catbird]

I've had tiels both in a colony situation and as single pairs. I haven't had a problem either way, but it all depends on the personality of your birds. Some will be more agressive than others and won't tollerate other birds around the nest.

I also find that the smaller the aviary the more stressfull it is on the birds and the more likely you are going to have agressive problems.

[Smiley]

I breed mine as well in colony...Yes you do get some do get some dominant ..They are best to be on there own...Have you got your boxes next to each other as well..i have mine in three different area's..the more boxes you can put up the better...


Natalie

[AussieBirds]

I have just re-housed my Tiels in a colony situation so far so good. I think the general rule of thumb is the bigger the aviary the better, I am in the middle of a breeding season with Red Rumps and everyone tells me you cant breed them in a colony situation, well im here to tell you yes you can and quite succesfully.

John

[fischer]

Hi John and Everyone, Iv'e seen Red Rumps colony bred too, John, and breeding quite well.

I think it really depends on the nature of the lead male, if he's not vicious to the other males, the rest of the colony follows his lead, and plenty of room, of course. Iv'e also seen Red Rumps sharing aviary space quite happily with all sorts of other birds.

I'm not so fortunate John, I was doing a shuffle a couple of weeks ago and put my one pair of Pieds in with a pair of Cloncurries, before I was out the door the male Red Rump was trying to kill both Cloncurries, needless to say they are back were they started. .

Cheers...Tony

[hillcresttiels]

Please note the following is only an opinion that works well with me and as a breeder of Cockatiels i must conform to producing genetics, health and sex guarantees!

In the off-season i have males and females in seperate aviaries apart fom a couple of devoted paires that i would never seperate,however having said that comes breeding season in a colony situation and hens are just about to lay males that were best of mates during the winter are now playing Kamikaze with each other over nesting rights and territory this soon settles over a few days,with each male from youngest to oldest taking turns depending on when his mate is ready to lay,my main concern is when a first clutch has fledged and males that are in Kamikaze mode over the second round of egg laying dive bomb unsuspecting young fledglings that have strayed into another breeding pairs territory the stress is a bit harsh for these young fellows and sometimes sore legs and feet is the end result. Ever since i decided to individualize my breeders in seperate quarters my results have incresed dramatically with no fighting and males jumping ship and doing the dirty on his mate, too many times did dominant males worry about protecting their nesting site and play up with single eager hens and forget about incubation. The same males have now the peace to breed ininterupted with excellent results and less nervousness, the size of aviary is a good factor but as i have seen so many times with Tiels 5 pairs 7-8 nestboxes and every pair wants the same box, especially when a hen is ready to lay her 2nd clutch chicks are still in the box plenty of spare boxes around but no.. they have to bother another less dominaring pairs site with chicks in it and why because of the humidity factor in that particular box! I'm not in any way indicating that this is best but just what works with me after many years of breeding with these superb creatures that we have been fortunate enough to share in our lives cheers Frank

[chrischell]

Hi Frank, I have only been breeding c/tiels for 2 years. Colony style & experience the things u mention.
I have decided to do exactly what u have done.
Up here in Townsville it gets very hot from now till March, so I close down for that period. So in the next couple of months there will be a lot of renovating being carried out in my avairies, (my hubby will be a very busy man lol ;D) and I look forward to NOT having the bickering about nest boxes etc next year when I start breeding again & they will be much happier little chappies.
Maybe I can also experiment with a bit of partner swapping, do u reccomend that? (birds that is)
thanks
Shelly

[hillcresttiels]

Hi Shelly i use suspended aviaries for breeding purposes and i beleive the original concept come from Qld because of the warm-hot conditions I also find them advantageous for keeping Tiels disease and worm free if designed correctly. I'm glad you clarified the partner swapping thing and yes i do a bit of shifting round with breeders this is only achievable if Cocks and Hens are seperated during the off season.With the impact of creating new line or to enhance lines we have to be cruel to be kind,a good theory a month prior to breeding season is to close your eyes, paint all your Tiels black in your mind then make decisions reagrding pairings also keeping in mind the genetics of the bird cheers Frank