Q: teils

Answered by Tviokh on 2/21/03, 1:28 pm

A: teils

Your hen is technically old enough for breeding, but why are you planning to breed?

Do you have particurlarly rare or well marked birds?
Are they from good genetic stock?
Or..are they pet store birds or birds from a backyard breeder? Those types of birds should not be bred, only because they are not good breeding stock due to iffy or unknown genetics, but because with a type of pet that's so already overpopulated in rescues, stores, or in homes with ignorant or uncaring owners, there is just simply no good reason to breed a pet quality bird.

I can also safely say that you do not know all you need to know, as even the most experienced breeders out there still don't know everything; breeding captive birds and learning about it is an ongoing process, and you can NEVER know too much.
However, it's very easy to know too little.

From my Bird FAQ:
I recommend that you do NOT breed.

Why?

Many reasons.

The biggest reasons:

1) Pet store quality birds are generally not good breeding stock. They tend to be 'mutts' so to speak, and breeding them only dilutes the mutations further.

2) If you bought them from the same store or breeder, there's about a 99%% chance that they are related and cannot be responsibly bred with each other. Inbreeding is cruel and irresponsible.

3) Unless you have show quality birds from good lines, there's no reason to breed them. Pet quality cockatiels (the kind in pet stores) are already overpopulating shelters, stores, and are literally a dime a dozen. Why add to that population? If you wish to have more birds, visit a shelter, a good breeder, or look in the paper for unwanted birds. There is no good reason to be breeding such a common animal; the only reasons to breed an animal that's already over populated in stores and shelters are selfish ones(i.e. ''I think it'd be fun/neat/interesting'', ''The birds 'want' it'', ''Babies are cute'', etc..).
Good breeders breed to improve the temprement, health, and markings/color/coat of an animal, not just because they can.

4) Do you know anything about genetics? The genetic history of the parent birds?
It's not responsible to just breed your birds because you want to, and to put out ''mutt'' or ''mixed'' mutations any more than it's responsible to cross breed dogs or cats and call yourself a ''breeder''. This is partially what makes a backyard breeder.

In addition, do you know how to handfeed is the parents abandon or abuse the chicks? Can you afford off hours, emergency vet care if one of your parents or chicks becomes ill? It can't ''wait until Monday'' or ''until tomorrow''; that line of thinking will land you with a batch of dead birds.
Do you know how to recognize early signs of crop trouble in chicks?
Do you know the genetics, splits and all, of your hen and cock?

There are even MORE reasons why not to breed pet store quality birds...and here they are:

From my Bird FAQ:
I honestly do NOT recommend breeding on a whim, because you think it would be ''neat'', or to make money; breeding is a HUGE responsibility and can become very expensive if something goes wrong with the chicks.

Some things to ask yourself before breeding:


Are you certain the birds aren't related? If you got the birds from the same store or the same breeder, there's a very good chance they are related. You should NOT breed related birds; inbreeding is cruel and irresponsible. In addition to that, inbred chicks tend to have more health problems, are less resistant to disease, and many have a significantly shortened lifespan.


Do you know how to handfeed? If the answer is no, do you have someone who can show you how? If the answer to THAT is no, what is your plan in the event that the chick's life will depend on you being able to handfeed? It's very easy to kill a chick by handfeeding if you don't know what you're doing. If the temperature of the formula is off, you can cause burns(if too hot) or can cause slow crop(if too cold or not mixed right); if you don't handfeed properly, the chick can apsirate(when food goes into the lungs) on the food and die a pretty painful death.


What is your plan if the parents abandon the nest, or don't feed the chicks? Handfeeding from day one requires that you feed the birds every 1-2 hours around the clock; this means no sleep for you, and taking the birds to work/school with you for a couple weeks.


If the parents do abandon, you WILL need to take the chicks with you to work or school because they WILL need to be fed every few hours for the first several weeks.


Are you able to recognize the early signs of sour crop, crop stasis, yeast infections, or bacterial infections? If not, you need to learn how to do this, as ''waiting to see'' if a chick is sick or not can cost the chick its life.


What will you do with the chicks if you can't keep them all? Selling to pet stores is, in my opinion, a terrible thing that no caring breeder would do. At a pet store anyone with money can buy your bird, and you have no idea what kind of home or person they will be sold to. In a pet store they may also be exposed to disease and may die well before ever making it to a new home.
The best breeders line up homes for their chicks mating even happens or eggs are laid.
Those who don't do that will carefully screen potential owners.
In my opinion, ''breeders'' who sell to anyone with money are akin to puppy mills or bird mills; in it only for the money. Be offended if you like, but a backyard breeder is a backyard breeder; those who get offended are probably the kind of people I'm talking about.


If you plan to keep the chicks, are you aware that clutch sizes can be up to 8 babies? Do you have the time, money, and space for all those extra birds?


What will you do if one of the parents starts attacking or plucking the chicks?


What are the temprements of your hen and cock? Overly aggressive birds should not be bred; that is a trait that should not be passed on.
Birds with a bald spot behind their crest should also not be bred, as this is a genetic flaw that isn't desirable and should not be passed on.


Vet care costs. Can you afford $500+ for emergency vet care if your hen, or any of the chicks need it? There are complications which can arise(such as egg binding; where the egg gets stuck inside the hen) that CANNOT wait for regular vet hours. This means if your hen should become eggbound on a Sunday evening, you CANNOT wait until Monday morning and will need to pay for emergency vet care.
Same goes for if one of the chicks becomes sick.


Do you have room for the extra cages you may need in the event that you can't find homes for all the chicks? Or in the event that one or both of the parents starts attacking or plucking the chicks?


WHY do you want to breed?
Bad reasons:
''I think it'd be fun/cool/neat.''
''Just because''
''The birds want/need it''
''The kids think it'd be neat/The kids begged me to let them.''
''To make money.''


Breeders rarely make a lot of money off breeding alone; in general a breeder is happy if the money from the sale of the chicks even comes close to being even with what it cost to raise them and keep all the birds healthy.


Have you had your hen and cock checked by an AVIAN vet(even if you have to drive 200 miles to get to one) to make sure they're in peak health? Unhealthy parents make for unhealthy chicks.


What kind of diet are you feeding your birds?
If you're feeding a seed only or mainly seed diet, your birds are likely not in top condition and should not be allowed to breed until you get them on a better diet.

I'm not telling you these things to be overly negative; these are very real concerns that have consequences that can result in the death of your birds and high vet bills for you.

I would not suggest you breed until you do a LOT of research. If at all possible, find a breeder in your area who is willing to teach you how to handfeed and care for chicks, recognize early signs of illness, and maybe allow you to help out with their chicks. Whether or not that's possible, it would be a very good idea to read through ALL the articles below.

Start with
http://www.cockatiel.org and read the articles they have.

Then move on to these articles:
http://www.feathercare.com/babies.htm
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww60e.htm
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww61e.htm
http://www.companionparrot.com/articles/abundance.html
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww4e.htm
http://www.cockatiels.org/articles/breeding/breeding.html


And read just about everything here:
http://www.birdsnways.com/birds/artbreed.htm


PLEASE take the time and effort to read everything I've posted here.

Breeding is a big responsibility and is not something that should be done on a whim or because you think it'd be ''neat'' or ''fun''.
You are dealing with lives; lives that depend on you to make it, and that is a very serious responsibility.