Basic Parenting Gone Bad

Well, you had fertile eggs and now you have babies. You are excited but then find that the parents are not feeding one of their babies. Why would perfectly healthy birds not feed their young? I will propose several reasons why this would happen.

I find the number one reason for parents not feeding babies is nest predation. Now, you may be saying: "I don't have predators in my nestbox!". Well, the number one predator in the nestbox may be looking back at you in the mirror. That long snakey hand going in there to check on the babies MAY be perceived as an immediate threat. When faced with a treat, there is a fight or flight response. So, either the parents will leave the nest box and come back to check on the "damage" OR the parents will leave and not come back in. Even pet birds that have gone to nest now consider you the "temporary" enemy. So, limiting time with your hand in the nestbox is crucial to development of the chicks.

Water and food. Sounds easy enough. Give the parents lots of water and food. But, parents often drink and eat more than they normally do and you must keep the buffet going all the time. This helps when parents are feeding alot of babies. I oftentimes will see parents desert the two younger babies because the two older babies are doing so well. The parents want to proliferate their genes to future generations and are just interested in getting some of their offspring to flourish. As an aviculturist, you have to make a decision: let nature take its course OR pull the older babies so that the younger babies may have a chance to survive. The decision is up to you. Breeding birds is not like breeding domestic animals. Sometimes despite your best efforts, the pair may continue not to feed the youngest babies.

Before babies are even born, I would suggest the first time breeder get knowledgeable with handfeeding techniques. As you continue to breed, only time and experience will help you learn how each pair is going to act with their babies. Some allow disturbances without a problem. Some are very hostile and need to be let alone. Some are great feeders, some will only feed the first two and may even kill subsequent babies. This is not a "bad pair". This is how this pair chooses to raise babies to adulthood. Unlike breeders, parents often choose quality over quantity of offspring. Learning how your pairs will react to certain circumstances is always learned by trial and error and no article can teach you this.

Good luck on the babies. When in doubt, make sure you have a knowledgeable breeder to help you through the rough times.

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Setting up Pairs

And Baby Makes Three!

Cockatiels are notorious prolific breeders so successful breedings can even be possible for the novice breeder. When given the proper diet, caging, and lighting, most cockatiels will readily breed. So what happens when the babies come?

Oftentimes many first time breeders are amazed that their eggs even hatched and are ill prepared to take care of youngsters. In the nest, cockatiels should readily take care of their babies without human interaction. In fact I have noticed that those folks who are always talking about fostering babies or having to pull early are the same folks who are always checking on the status of their babies. Just like I discussed in the earlier chapters, we should leave the majority of work to the "experts" (our cockatiels). When babies are thrown out, normally the parents are very instinctual and have culled their babies for some reason (whether it be environmentally or genetically). I have often picked up dead babies out of the next to see swollen abdomens or other deformities. Having too many babies also can cause the parents to neglect the younger babies. In the cockatiels mind, they want to put their resources into what they think will survive. They are thinking of survival of fit birds, not how many they can produce. It is the goal of the aviculturist to produce multiple offspring and thus we begin to care for the babies left behind by the parents. Although I don't condemn this practice (I often do this myself) I often find that the parents do know best and pulled chicks can sometimes be very weak. My best chicks are those that the parents choose to feed.

What happens when the parents choose not to feed? I'll discuss that next time.

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Setting Up Pairs Part 2
Setting Up Pairs Part 3

Inbreeding and Linebreeding

Note to reader: I do not recommend inbreeding or linebreeding to any novice or experienced breeder who is unsure of the lines they are breeding. Knowledge of genetical inheritance patterns is a must.

Inbreeding and linebreeding are practices used in bird breeding for over a hundred years. I have read early 20th century literature covering the subject on canaries. This is nothing new to aviculture. Let's first start out by defining what I believe is the difference between inbreeding and linebreeding. Inbreeding is often referred to as the breeding of relatives that are closely related. Examples are: brother to sister, mother to son, and father to daughter. Linebreeding is breeding established lines of birds that genetically carry some of the same genes and were previously inbred. Lines of birds are often named after the initial breeder of the lines. A popular line in cockatiels today is a line developed by Kathy Short in Washington state called "Tory half and half". She mated half siblings with a common outstanding sire and produced many grandchampion children, grandchildren and the line. This line is so potent that even grandchildren who are outcrossed to unrelated birds exhibit many of the same traits as their linebred parent.

Why Linebreed?

When trying to set desirable traits, you must sometimes linebreed. Why? Because when we continue to outcross birds, we get more and more variability and less predictability in their appearance. To increase the predictability we linebreed two birds that are related in some shape (aunt to nephew, grandmother to grandson, etc) and share the same appearance outwardly. Linebreeding works when we produce babies that have the same desirable traits as their parents possess. So, why is this best left to those who are versed in their pedigrees and lineage? Certain birds, when linebred, can also pass on undesirable traits that may be hidden in their DNA. This can be a small defect such as a small crest or a large defect such as a genetic disease. If we know the background of the birds available (at least 3-4 generations) then we can more carefully pair birds. For instance, you would not linebreed two birds who seem to keep weight on no matter how much exercise they get. This may be a genetic propensity for obeseness and could be carried on to future generations.

If you are to engage in linebreeding, you must do certain things

1. Keep detailed records on all your flock
2. Necropsy all suspicious deaths (all deaths in the aviary is the best)
3. Buy birds only from breeders who can tell you their pedigree and what it means

Linebreeding is practiced to enhance the appearance of cockatiels for exhibition. Careful lineage is learned throughout a breeders exhibition years before ever attempting a linebreeding situation. I oftentimes will call breeders who have been working on cockatiels for over 15 years and linebreeding to ask them their opinions on lines of birds and what predictable outcomes I can expect. Linebreeding for a certain color mutation should not be done. Its easier just to purchase another bird of that mutation. If a new mutation has cropped up in your aviary, I would suggest contacting one of the cockatiel organizations (like NCS or ACS) to see if they can point you in a reliable direction.

Setting Up Pairs Part 3

The first mistake I see that new breeders make is that they cannot harness the excitement of when a hen lays her first egg. They mark the egg, check it once or twice a day, and even check it fertility another couple of times. This is, in my opinion, the number one cause for dead in shell eggs. I know its exciting, but pairs must be left to do what they do. Its our natural instinct to want to intervene and make sure all is well in the nestbox. These intrusions often lead to pairs putting very small holes in their eggs that are a harvesting ground for bacteria. The constant nestbox checking also can lead to nervous parents. I check pairs only when I notice the hen staying in the nestbox for an extended period of time. I check for an egg and note the date it was laid. A week into laying, I will check the nestbox to see if the hen has completed laying eggs. If I can get a fertility check, that is fine. But, whether or not they are fertile is nothing you can control. Checking the eggs for fertility will satisfy the breeders curiosity but will not help the pair at all. I then will check on the hen on week two to make sure the hen is not laying too many eggs and possibly compromising her health.

At the end of week two, I begin offering eggfood and other nutritional items that the parents will feed their chicks. Although this is not a nutritional article, I will tell you that I feed eggfood mixed with a breeding supplement. Then, I also offer some non-sweetened "cheerio-type" cereal. Peas, carrots, greens and other veggies are also good sources of soft food. Then, on the third week, I will start to hear babies being fed! This is when the excitement begins!

In the next article: Inbreeding and Linebreeding

Setting Up Pairs Part 2

Getting Pairs to Bond

The best way to get pairs to bond is to flock your non-breeding birds in a community flight. When you do this, you will create a "natural selection" process. You will notice some birds will sit next to a bird of the opposite sex continuously and without a squabble. Naturally bonded pairs will often eat at the same time and wait for each other until both are finished. Its quite a site to see! These are often the pairs that I will look at to set up together.

A word of warning: Just because two birds naturally bond, doesn't mean they should be paired. I will look at naturally bonded cockatiels and look at what they have to offer as a pair. Will they improve my aviary with their offspring? Do both of them share a trait that I do not want in future generations? Do they fullfill the goal of my breeding program? If the answer is "no" to any of these, I do not pair up. I simply leave the hen in the community flight and put the male in a "cock flight" so that he is no longer in the picture. It should not be a goal of any breeder to simply make more cockatiels. Even temperment, conformation to a standard, and other variables should be considered first.

What happens when I have a pair that I want to breed that is not naturally bonded?

Well, that happens more often than not. I cage breed all my pairs. This means, I do not breed as a colony. Instead, individual pairs get set up in individual cages. If you are taking a hen out of a colony resting situation, it is very important not to set her up with a male and immediately put up a breeding box. To insure that the male you are setting her up with to breed is actually the sire of the babies, I will close off the nest box for a period of at least 2 weeks. During these 2 weeks, I make sure the pair is not fighting and that they are starting to bond. Bonding can be seen by the pair sitting together, preening each other, eating together, etc. Sometimes, after 2 weeks, even if I don't see bonding occuring, I will give them access to a nestbox for an extended period during the day just to see if the pair is interested. I believe this can stimulate the hormones of one or both of the birds and can stimulate a bond.

If bonding doesn't occur after a month or two, I will return both to the aviary. If bonding has occured but the hen doesn't lay, I will wait longer and make sure the hen is healthy and is on a good diet. I add Vitamin E on occasion and supplement their seed and pellets with scrambled eggs or egg food to make sure the hen is in tip top health. Sprouting is a great way to put your birds in good health!

Next: Nesting Behaviors. What to do and not to do while the pair is nesting...

Setting Up Pairs

Parings

In a perfect world all birds would be drawn to each other by the powers that be. But, in the real world, our birds make decisions about their mates based on whom they think they should pass their DNA along with. Cockatiels are one of the species of birds that actually form weak bonds with their mates. This is probably due to their nomadic nature in the wild. The ability to have one mate and then another is not only good for the flock, its also necessary in the environmnent they once knew.

Now, I know I'll be getting emails that say: "my cockatiels really love each other". It is true that in my flock, certain birds choose to hang around and be with certain other birds. Some pairings that produce babies can be broken down and let loose in the flight and never sit next to each other. This is a weak bond. Other pairings will stay with each other and go back to the same bird even when they are paired up outside the flight with another. These birds are strongly bonded. I have found that these birds often have the least problems raising their babies. Not only are they strongly bonded to their mate, but oftentimes, these bonds are continued on to their babies. I have seen bad mothers turn into wonderful mothers when I let the mother choose her mate. In weak bonded birds I see less fertile eggs and poorer parenting on average.

In the next section I will discuss how pair up birds so that bonds are formed and you minimize any problems.

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Establishing Your Breeding Aviary Part 2

CAGES

Your cage selection for your breeding aviary will either increase your productivity or worsen it. Piled up cages provide little light for those on the bottom. Cages that are too small can stress out birds and cause aggression problems. Too large of a breeding cage and your pairs may bond slower. So, what is a good median point? Well, I use 24" cubed cages and they seem to work wonderfully! I don't buy the "store bought" cages but rather a good constructed cage made of galvanized wire. Corners Limited is a good source of information and ideas. I also use cages made by Quality Cage. I don't sell these cages, I have just used them with no known problems. Smaller cages (18" cubes) can be used but I find that the 24" cages work well and are big enough to give the pair some exercise but small enough to get them bonded. I have larger flights (up to 8 ft) that I use when I break down pairs. I find that the flights help them recover from breeding. Anyone who fights is not allowed to enter a colony flight of cockatiels. There are a few cockatiels that I have that require attention to make sure they are not fighting other cockatiels or hogging food dishes. This can cause alot of stress in the colony and the less stress, the better health you will have. The better the health, the better able and willing your cockatiels will be to breed.

For best cage placement, a detailed plan should be drawn out before purchasing your cages. You will save time and money. I would plan on three flights at least. I have an all male flight, a community/mixed flight, and two yearling flights for birds that are less than a year old.

Next: Learn about Paring up your cockatiels and how to choose your breeding pairs.

1. Establishing your breeding aviary Part #1

Establishing your breeding Aviary

Light:

The light in your aviary must not just be bright. Full spectrum lighting is important to the health of your cockatiel and it promotes good breeding habits. I use full spectrum tube lighting supplemented by full spectrum coils. In the most ideal situations, light should be brought up gradually during the non-breeding season (normally in December/January) so that number of light hours increases from about 10 hours of light to around 12-13 at optimal breeding. This will cause most birds to reach a good condition in feather and health at around the same time and thus you can maximize your output for fertile eggs.

This isn't a fail proof method and other factors still exist (diet being one of them) that can cause birds to lay infertile eggs. Sometimes nature decides for you.

Incompatibility

Incompatibility is, what I have found, to be the number one producer of infertile eggs. A fairly picky hen will go to nest with a particular cock but refuse to have him mate her. Then there is the "coveting of thy neighbor" where either sex is more interested in the bird in the cage next to them or across the avairy. There are two suggestions for this dilemma. The easiest is a "wife swap" where you swap the birds and let them have the mate of their choosing. The other possible solution is to remove the bird that is distracting the pair from mating. Sometimes you must not only remove the bird from sight but also from ear-shot.

Next we will discuss cage size and location

Table of Contents

Below you will find a table of contents. This table will be added to on a weekly basis as you read along with the posts.

Table of Contents

Establishing you Breeding Aviary Part 2

Setting Up Pairs

Setting Up Pairs Part 2

Setting Up Pairs Part 3

Inbreeding and Linebreeding

And Baby Makes 3

Basic Parenting Gone Bad

Early Chick Mortality

Welcome

Welcome to the wonderful word of breeding cockatiels.

I will be starting a Table of Contents soon and each week I'll be defining the process of breeding cockatiels and some of the possible pitfalls that you may run into. Feel free to post your comments. Nothing about breeding birds is set in stone and my experiences maybe much different then yours. I usually say: Its not when something will happen, but WHAT will happen. If we all share information, we will all be able to better prepare ourselves for the road ahead.

If you have any comments on topics, feel free to comment below

Table of Contents