can anybody tell me how to go about becoming a cockatiel breeder?

Answer 1

Why do you want to breed?

Money?
Cockatiels aren't rare, and they aren't expensive. You will lose money breeding.

It's far more complex than getting a male and female. Birds can be as picky as people when choosing a mate. They have complex social rules.

What are you gonna do with the babies? Pet stores won't take them. You have to sell directly to the public, which can be a problem. You have to have the tamest, healthiest babies for people to want them. Otherwise, they're going to Petsmart.

First thing you need to breed is to change your mind. It's really not worth it.

The second thing you need is a mentor. It's more difficult than it seems.

Answer 2

I have been a cockatiel breeder for 7 years now and if your wanting to get into breeding for the money, forget it, you really do not get ahead,
#1 you need mature cockatiels 12- 18 months old
#2 Cockatiels are diamorphic with a few exceptions, lutinos, pearls and albinos
#3 you will need a big enough cage for two birds and a nesting box.
#4 Pet stores will buy your birds but not for what they are actually worth. The bigger chains will not buy from a breeder as they buy in bulk. The smaller pet stores will buy from a local breeder, I know this because I work in one ,in the bird dept and we buy cockatiels all the time not just from me.
#5 I have cockatiels and breed them and I can put any male in a cage with a female to breed. some birds mate for life but cockatiels are community birds and thrive on human interaction as well as with their own flock.
If you are serious about doing this do your homework, read websites like the the National Cockatiel Society.org, talk to other breeders in your area, you can find them at bird shows etc.

Answer 3

Hmmm ... first you need one boy cockatiel and one girl cockatiel and a 'breeding cage' with a proper 'breeding box.' Feed and water them daily and DO NOT INTERACT WITH THEM ... EVER. If those cockatiels 'breed' and you get baby cockatiels, take them from the cage IMMEDIATELY and put them each (you may have two or three babies, or possibly only one) and you must 'feed it' with an eyedropper (good baby cockatiel food) and 'hold it' and teach it to 'sit on your finger' while it is still a 'baby' (before it gets it's adult feathers) which will take 10-12 weeks (and cockatiels, being small, must be fed at least every two hours!) ... then you must 'sell' that baby that YOU have raised by hand for twelve weeks and 'forget about it' (because it may DIE, since you can't 'check' on a buyer of birds the way you would someone who wanted to adopt a human child). And, with the money you make from that 'baby' you may 'go shopping' and see if you can't find some 'cheaper' male and female cockatiels (preferably already mated, since cockatiels mate for life) and you'll have two pairs of breeders ... and you will have 'more babies' ...
Okay, I am being a 'bit silly' but in truth it is very DIFFICULT to just 'become a bird breeder' without spending at least five years WORKING for someone who is already 'accomplished' at breeding birds. You'll learn EVERYTHING you need to know, from how to 'muck the cages out' (clean up their poop, in other words) to how to 'hand tame and train' the new babies. If you REALLY LOVE BIRDS, and you are 'determined' to do this, then go and 'volunteer' to work for a bird breeder ... you may have to be a 'volunteer' for at least a year or more, but you will be LEARNING (which will be 'free') and in about five years you will know enough about breeding the birds ... and hopefully you will also learn about things like advertising, sales, setting prices, and ILLNESS in your birds ... good luck ... if this is what you want to do, I think the world actually needs more good 'bird breeders' ...

Answer 4

wow, you've gotten really bad advice on this question.

First and foremost, a couple people mentioned that the money isn't there. This is true to an extent. I'll give you an example. Right now I am feeding 4 baby cockatiels. Their parents were new parents and plucked them clean they looked like little chickens. So, I had to pull (take them from the parents) them early. the youngest was 5 days old. I had to feed every 3 hours around the clock...thats right, around the clock (day and night) until the youngest chick was 7 days old. then I had to feed every 4 hours for about a week during the day (they can go through the night at this age), then every 4 hours, and now I am down to 3 feedings per day with them. They are between 25-34 days old. I've been feeding them for 30 days now. They still have another 2-3 weeks until they won't require any feedings. That's right, for the last month and a half I have had to plan my day around them. Mind you, I could not leave them in the nest and let the parents feed because the parents were new and plucking them. They would have eventually killed them. The clutch of 4 are pearl pieds. Not a rare mutation. They usually sell for about $50 IF i am lucky. But, it's not the easiest bird in the world to find a home for because cockatiels are so readily found. So, if I get $50 each I am looking at $200 for the clutch. This will come in spurts as they will not all sell on the same day. But, I had to pay at least $20 to feed the clutch. Plus, I spent a month and half taking care of them. Not being able to come and go as I please, going without sleep, etc. etc. Pet shops will buy your cockatiels. They usually like to get them when they are on 2 feedings. So, you would still have to feed the babies but not for as long. But, pet shops want to pay out of the nest price which is usually around $25 per bird. That's alot of work for $100 huh? Now, you might be able to make some money if you don't worry about selective breeding. You can colonize them, pull at 3 weeks and then sell to pet shops. But, the only way to make money at that would be to have a big colony that produces alot of babies and several pet shops to work with. So, if you are wanting to get rich selling cockatiels, save yourself the time and money :)

Now on to your question....

1) educate yourself and learn everything there is to learn about cockatiels.

Start by visiting:
http://www.cockatiels.org/
http://www.cockatielcottage.net/main.html

learn what they can and cannot have. Why they do the things they do etc.

Learn about the different mutations and why it is not good to breed certain birds with other birds of the same mutation, etc.
google: cockatiel mutations. And the genetics of it all such as what a recessive, dominant, and sex link gene is and how to pair your birds correctly to acheive colors.

Decide if you are going to do selective breeding like I do. Which means that I breed my birds to acheive and retain certain attributes which is what I highly reccommend for the preservation of bloodlines. The cockatiels that we have here now are the only ones that we will get because importing has been banned. If our bloodlines get mucked up we may see the end to a wonderful beautiful bird here in the states.

or if you are going to colonize and just throw them all together and allow them to pick their own mate and not know what bloodlines each offspring came from. Not good.


you'll need to learn how to hand feed. Here is an excellent link for that:
http://www.cockatiel.org/articles/handfeeding.html
http://www.cagenbird.com/a04.htm

You'll need to gather your supplies. And pick QUALITY BIRDS that will produce quality offspring. Just because you have a cockatiel doesn't mean it needs to be bred. Last but not least, LOVE THEM! Because, that is really why we breed these beautiful birds.

Answer 5

-First you need an avairy. [sorry spelling] It can either be a room or outside, expencive though. You can also use cages if you are just starting [small amount of cockatiels.
-You need many nesting boxes, food, perches, and good climate.
-Cuttlebones and special food [calcium] so they dont lay tin shelled eggs.
-Cockatiels, about 7 or more so they can pick their mate.
-Feed for the babys
-Time
-Love

Now you raise them with love. Now you can post things on the street, vets, shelters, etc. Dont go head over heals, only take care of what you can handle. Only breed the same female 3 or 4 times a year. Like one bunch [3-6 babys] every 2 months. Dont rush them. Oh and you may need a incubator for eggs that are rejected.



Hope things helps,
Cockatiel Expert

Answer 6

you advise hand rears the cockatiels the only thank you to get them completely tame, with the aid of vets sky extreme rates the kind of breeders is shrinking, there are possibly 0.5 as many as ten years in the past super parrots that sell for $500 plus are nevertheless around yet you won't be able to make money breeding cockatiels any further

Answer 7

i dont think breeding cockatiels would be a good idea. the girl bird can have egg bound, which my cockatiel had and she passed away from it. Egg bound is VERY common in girl birds. its when an oversize egg is in the body, and the only way to remove it is by surgery, but by the time you find out that your bird isnt looking to well, its too late. if you want to breed cockatiels, youll end up loosing money, i think, since your cockatiels could die. i hope you rethink this idea. trust me, if your cockatiel gets egg bound, it leaves a sick feeling to your stomach. it still does to me today.

Answer 8

well, I really wouldn't try it yourself. Id leave it up to the birds.
You really wouldn't fit inside the cage very well unless you were a very flexible contortionist. Then after the babies hatch which you'd have to share in the responsibility of sitting the eggs, you'd have to learn how to regurgitate your food to feed the young ones. That means you'd have to go on the Bird Seed Diet which is somewhat like the Adkins.

Answer 9

Get a boy and a girl obviously.
Now you have to get a box for her to lay eggs in. They won't do anything unless they haver a box or nesting materials.

The cheapest way is to take a tissue box and put hay in it. stick it in the cage.

Be aware-you have to get a different cage to put the babies in.

Check out this site for everything you need to know!

http://www.cockatiels.org/articles/breeding/breedingStarting.html

Answer 10

Is having sex with a cockatiel really your cup of tea?