Hello fellow parrot lovers!
A new and exciting journey has officially begun! Spring is here and I have recently set up my pair of mature pet cockatiels with their nest box and now you will be able to experience the miracle of life with me! I will be taking tons of pictures and videos so you can see what goes into the process of being a breeder and caring for both parent birds and babies!
Introductions are in order! This is my pair of cockatiels -- Peach and Boo. They have been together since before I got them in 2015 and I am still in touch with their original owner in Michigan.
Peach is a female cinnamon pearl cockatiel (age 5) and Boo is a male normal whiteface grey (age 6). They are both tame and are my only birds. They have had one clutch of babies before with me in May of 2016 and one clutch before I got them so this will be their third clutch total.
Here is their breeding cage setup!
They were set up in this cage with the nestbox on March 3rd. Normally you should mount a nestbox outside the cage but with the other pets in my household it is safer for it to be inside and there is enough room for them to still climb around and open wings fully.
It is very important to note that this pair is 1.) mature - sexual maturity in cockatiels is at least 2 year old, 2.) they are experienced with caring for babies and 3.) I am prepared as a responsible breeder to assist in raising chicks at any point in their development. Should eggs need incubating I am ready, should chicks hatched need pulled and handfed if the parents refuse or abandon them I am ready will all my supplies. What these supplies are I will add in another post.
Their first egg was laid on March 16, just under 2 weeks after setting them up with their nest box. I have only observed them mating once but here's a fun fact -- a hen can store sperm in her body and produce an entire clutch of eggs with just one mating.
Here they are tending to their nest. Their second egg was laid 48 hours later, on March 18.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSjSIZAbfPQ"]Here is the proud father, tending to his babies [/ame]
The pair will sit on the eggs on and off all day but will not sit on them overnight until the entire clutch is laid (2-8 eggs). As a novice breeder the first time I saw that they were not sitting on eggs overnight I was very concerned, but this is completely normal and the eggs will still be viable without being sit on for up to 7-10 days.
To be continued!
A new and exciting journey has officially begun! Spring is here and I have recently set up my pair of mature pet cockatiels with their nest box and now you will be able to experience the miracle of life with me! I will be taking tons of pictures and videos so you can see what goes into the process of being a breeder and caring for both parent birds and babies!
Introductions are in order! This is my pair of cockatiels -- Peach and Boo. They have been together since before I got them in 2015 and I am still in touch with their original owner in Michigan.
Peach is a female cinnamon pearl cockatiel (age 5) and Boo is a male normal whiteface grey (age 6). They are both tame and are my only birds. They have had one clutch of babies before with me in May of 2016 and one clutch before I got them so this will be their third clutch total.
Here is their breeding cage setup!
They were set up in this cage with the nestbox on March 3rd. Normally you should mount a nestbox outside the cage but with the other pets in my household it is safer for it to be inside and there is enough room for them to still climb around and open wings fully.
It is very important to note that this pair is 1.) mature - sexual maturity in cockatiels is at least 2 year old, 2.) they are experienced with caring for babies and 3.) I am prepared as a responsible breeder to assist in raising chicks at any point in their development. Should eggs need incubating I am ready, should chicks hatched need pulled and handfed if the parents refuse or abandon them I am ready will all my supplies. What these supplies are I will add in another post.
Their first egg was laid on March 16, just under 2 weeks after setting them up with their nest box. I have only observed them mating once but here's a fun fact -- a hen can store sperm in her body and produce an entire clutch of eggs with just one mating.
Here they are tending to their nest. Their second egg was laid 48 hours later, on March 18.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSjSIZAbfPQ"]Here is the proud father, tending to his babies [/ame]
The pair will sit on the eggs on and off all day but will not sit on them overnight until the entire clutch is laid (2-8 eggs). As a novice breeder the first time I saw that they were not sitting on eggs overnight I was very concerned, but this is completely normal and the eggs will still be viable without being sit on for up to 7-10 days.
To be continued!
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