Unique Avian Solutions
for Breeding, Genetics,
and Companion Parrots
Copyright © Linda S. Rubin | CockatielsPlusParrots.com
Breeding Articles
HOBBY BREEDING COCKATIELS
©1999 Linda S. Rubin
CF Genetics Consultant  & Panel Judge
©2000 All Photos and Articles “All Rights Reserved” by Author.
Written permission from author required for reprints.

First published in the October 1999 issue of BIRD TIMES magazine and the
August 2001 issue of UK BirdKeeper magazine
Many cockatiel enthusiasts get hooked on raising cockatiels after acquiring their first pet. The decision to breed using
pet birds, or to purchase new stock entirely for breeding is often decided by individual circumstances. If your goal is to
match a lonely pet with a new mate, the solution is relatively easy. Buy an unrelated bird of the opposite sex and after a
30-day quarantine period and a veterinary checkup, place the two birds in side-by-side cages. If your birds are tame,
allow them playtime together outside their cages. Eventually, your pet and its potential mate will investigate both cages
and select the one they prefer. This is less risky than randomly placing one bird in another bird’s established territory.

If your existing cages are on the small side, you may wish to provide a larger breeding unit – for example, one that
measures a minimum of 2 feet high, by 2 feet deep, by 3 feet long. Keep in mind that in addition to the parents, an
average of four or five babies must be able to move around comfortably in the cage once they emerge from the nest.

                  
BREEDING GOALS:  Novice breeders need to consider the likely outcome of their birds’ breeding attempts. A typical
nesting cycle in an established breeding pair will yield an average of four to five babies per clutch. Cockatiels usually
double-clutch, the hen laying a second round of eggs often before the first clutch of young leave the nest. The number
of young may well average out to 10-12 chicks per year; more if you don’t remove the nest box to prevent continuous
clutching that will lead to serious health problems if left unchecked.

A decision must also be made about the dispersal of future chicks. Will the chicks that are produced be used as future
breeding stock, be sold to reliable pet retailers and individual customers, or will they be given to family and friends? Will
some of the offspring be retained to exhibit in bird shows to work towards champion lines? While many companion bird
owners considering breeding initially scoff at the idea of showing their beloved pets, it is wise to keep in mind that
almost all show exhibitors start off as pet bird breeders.

A hobby breeder may initially state that his intention is simply to breed his pet bird. More often than not, this modest
ambition gives way to breeding more than one pair of cockatiels, resulting in a sizable collection of birds. Occasionally,
young birds are sold in the hope of recovering the costs of feed, veterinary care and replacement equipment, such as
feed vessels, nest boxes and cages. Some hobby breeders even venture into part-time or full-time business, expanding
their aviaries to accommodate higher production. But if your aim is to get rich, don’t quit your day job just yet. Raising
birds, like any business dealing in “fragile perishables,” is a risky venture at best, marked with lots of competition.


                  
SELECTING STOCK:  A small number of hobby breeders venture into aviculture to produce the best birds they possibly
can, aiming for the show bench, hoping they will rise from the rank of novice to that of advanced breeder with top
bench wins. These breeders frequently command higher prices for their champion and grand-champion stock and
from the offspring that are produced by their winning birds.

Although not everyone starts out by breeding exhibition quality birds, the newcomer might do well to give serious thought
to this endeavor, because the choice of foundation stock will later impact goals if the objective is to produce high caliber
birds. Pet birds aren’t always suitable for breeding with exhibition-quality birds and many seasons can be lost producing
stock that is considered unworthy of the show bench. There is no justification for using inferior breeding stock, simply
because one does not wish to breed for show.

Some hobby breeders use the excuse that their interest is merely to raise pets, rather than exhibition-quality birds. Due
to lack of knowledge and experience, breeders in this group are responsible for perpetuating genetic defects, poor
lineage and inherent weakness in the young birds they produce. Although less robust birds might look as if they are in
need of good homes and may indeed become treasured pets, they should not be used for breeding, as they will
perpetuate their genetic problems and other faults.

Some choices to breed a pet cockatiel are fueled by attempts to secure an opposite-sex mate, satisfying a maturing
pet’s coming-of-age desire to breed. Babies resulting from a union between a pet bird and an unrelated outcross may
produce healthy birds, but much of the outcome depends upon the owner’s dedication to keeping the parent birds well-
nourished before the eggs are laid. Nutritional deficiencies can devastate the growing embryo and the maturing chick,
both of which require specific nutrients during the various stages of embryonic and neonatal development. Calcium
requirements, protein-to-fat ratios and other necessary components of the diet are especially important during the
breeding period, not only for the developing chicks, but to ensure the continued good health of parent birds, which
spend a great deal of energy raising their young.

                    
INBREEDING:  Another frequent problem is the owner’s desire to keep the offspring of the original breeding pair and
allow the young to breed back tot heir parents, or worse, to each other. Inbreeding, although sometimes necessary
when forming a professional breeding stud, or under other special circumstances, should not be attempted by the
novice breeder. Such a practice may impair the overall health and vitality of the chicks produced. Novice breeders who
inbreed their birds become perplexed when the resulting chicks don’t turn into the large, healthy, long-lived individuals
they had hoped to raise.

Cockatiels, like all living creatures, can only pass on the genetic traits that they already possess. Genes are responsible
for all the inherited traits in an organism, including traits that are hidden. These inherited traits include such invisible
qualities as personality and resistance to disease, to more visible qualities such as size and color. Although selective
breeding, or the line-breeding of distant relatives helps to define and set a trait, the desired qualities must be present in
some form in the breeding pair if they are to be passed on and ultimately seen in successive generations.


                      
PRICING:  Although it is not necessary for the new hobbyist to spend many hundreds of dollars per bird in order to secure
good stock, better-quality breeding birds are somewhat more expensive than pet birds. Quality breeding birds can be
secured directly from sources such as professional aviculturists, hobby and show breeders, or retailers who may even
purchase quality birds from local breeders.

Many quality birds wear a closed, coded, seamless leg band attached to one leg, which can be traced back to identify the
breeder who produced the bird. Purchasing foundation stock from exhibitors is another excellent option, because their
“cull,” or non-keepers, are usually affordable and can be superior in quality to birds from other sources. Exhibitors can’t
keep all the birds they produce and many of the birds they sell are of very high quality. Some birds come with pedigree
cards documenting their ancestry, including bloodlines, and can make excellent foundation stock for the novice breeder.

Whether we breed one clutch or one hundred, we must take responsibility for the birds that we help bring into the world.
The offspring our birds produce today may become part of someone else’s foundation stock tomorrow. Future breeding
stock should be brimming with health and vitality, be long-lived and of good color and size, and be bred from well-
nourished birds, with good resistance to disease.

Your beginning flock may well produce another bird fancier’s foundation stock. It could become part of a novice’s
exhibition flock; it could produce someone’s special companion bird, or a child’s precious pet. This is reason enough to
make careful choices in selecting your own foundation stock, so choose wisely.