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Post by princess on Sept 18, 2005 16:11:57 GMT 10
Hi - pardon my naivety! We have two cockatiels, a male and a female, and we are interested in knowing a bit more about breeding them...how old do they have to be etc?  I finally got a new one, and then we had another one given to us by the pet shop cos it had been attacked by a dog by it's previous owner, poor thing! Anyhow, any offers of suggestion would be great! Ta ;D |
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Post by hillcresttiels on Sept 18, 2005 16:22:15 GMT 10
Hi princess firstly your tiels need to be healthy and in good fitness to start breeding, 2ndly they need to be a minimum of 12mths old and even then I prefer a little older! 3rdly you need to establish that they are a pair and if handreared its quite possible that they have no maternal skills! and lastly if the answers to the above are good then have you sufficent space to house the new family which could grow by another possible 3-7 birds? All that covered breeding Tiels can be a very rewarding hobby :Dgood luck
Frank
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Post by princess on Sept 18, 2005 16:26:49 GMT 10
Thanks Frank - one was DEFINITELY hand-reared, the other was, but went through a bad experience and we ended up with her! Does this mean if they have no 'maternal' instinct there is no hope of breeding them? We went to a pet shop today and they were saying even if they aren't old enough, they put a breeding box in for them to get used to it - is that a silly idea? It's just what we have been thinking about...but ideally, we are thinking about next year...just trying to be informed first!  |
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Post by hillcresttiels on Sept 18, 2005 16:36:32 GMT 10
Hi princess its great you are back with your beloved pets after your loss. It,s definately not a good idea to put a box in with a young pair as Tiels as young as 6mths will lay and this can have a long lasting effect especially on the hen and can be fatal(egg binding) If they are Handreared there is no definate answer they wont make good parents Have a look at some of the books getting around such as A Guide To Cockatils And Their Mutations and have a read of some of the articles being written on the web particularly Australian sites as they are more identifiable to our conditions! The ANCS web site might be a good start here is a link www.cockatielsociety.org.au/articles/index.htm cheers Frank |
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Post by lovemytiels on Sept 19, 2005 5:41:02 GMT 10
Hi Princess, great to hear that you have a new tiel. Even though your tiels may be h/reared, I would just like to say that for me my h/reared tiels are the best breeders & parents. I know not every one has success with using h/reared tiels for breeders, but mine don't loose their maternal instinct & the best thing is that I can check the nest box & the eggs & they are just great & still like their head scratches & successfully raise their young, so there is hope for you. Best of luck for you. Cheers Anna
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