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What's the real cost of breeding birds?

allie136

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I only want to breed one pair as a hobby/experience because I love birds and have the time, etc to do it. But first I need to know about the cost involved, both financially AND emotionally before I commit 100% and buy my baby birds pair. If anyone could let me know their thoughts or experience on this I would greatly appreciate it.
 

Tim

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First, you have to realize that A) Breeders rarely make good pets and B) Good pets rarely make good breeders. So, If you buy a breeder pair, you should not buy babies. They will see each other as siblings, and be imprinted on humans. They are less likely to want to breed, and even less likely to have the ability to parent their babies. If you must breed, you are better off buying a proven breeding pair and not handling them as pets.

Emotionally--are you OK if the parents decide not to feed their young, or end up killing them? That happens. Would you be ok if YOU accidentally killed a baby bird by giving them formula that was a few degrees too warm? That happens, too.

Each baby will need several vet visits. And you run the risk of the hen having life-threatening emergencies from things like egg binding and yolk peritonitis if you don't provide proper nutrition in the weeks before, during and after she lays a clutch. Do you have a sufficient fund set aside for such veterinary emergencies?

At minimum you will require a temperature and humidity controlled brooder if you want to hand-feed and tame your baby birds. And you must be willing to be able to feed a young bird every two hours around the clock for several weeks.
 
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JLcribber

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I love birds and have the time, etc to do it.
Thats not a good enough reason IMO.

You have no experience breeding anything and therefore no reality to base this "vision" on because the truth is the reality is not anything like the dream you have. You love the "idea" of this vision. It's a very complicated thing that takes a great deal of knowledge/expertise simply because so many things can go wrong.

If you love birds I would implore you to help a parrot in need already out there (because they're everywhere) instead of contributing to their already desperate plight.
 

Heather F

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I don't know what an average certified avian vet visit costs in the UK, but here in Toronto, Canada, last weekend I brought in one of my birds for a checkup with "wellness testing" (meaning they run some tests on blood and droppings) and a manicure and facial (nail trim and beak polish). The total for the visit came to about $350 (CAD). A regular checkup without the extra bloodwork is still about $100. And that's for a young healthy bird. Actually treating a sick or injured bird can run into the thousands. And while here you can get veterinary insurance plans for dogs and cats, there is no such thing that covers birds. Veterinary care for birds is EXPENSIVE. To be a certified avian vet someone needs a lot of very specialized additional training, since bird physiology is so different from animal physiology, and so there are far fewer of them and they charge more for that additional expertise.

And there are a LOT of things that can go wrong when birds breed. Splayed legs, feeding problems, parents rejecting and attacking their young... Just a few weeks ago someone here on AA lost a baby cockatiel from a head injury sustained when the baby crashed into something when it was learning to fly. It was a tragic accident. And that's the kind of thing that you are risking if you decide to get birds and let them breed. I have known a few hobby breeders and they all admit that it is a hobby that costs more than it brings in by selling the babies.

If you are interested in learning about bird husbandry and want to find a way to put your love of animals to use, see if there is a bird rescue or aviary in your area that is looking for volunteers. You will get some experience in looking after birds, meet some people with experience, and it will give you a better idea of whether it is something that you want to sink your time and heart and money into after all. You may even meet a bird or two who need a loving home.
 

finchly

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Hi, the financial cost will put you in the hole. I can't think of a single type of bird that youd actually MAKE money breeding.

But it's the emotional cost that's worse. I breed Gouldian finches (I have other birds, but don't breed them). There's a demand for them here in FL -- and when that begins to disapate, I won't breed them any more. They might be "just finches," but every life counts. So hubby and I end up handfeeding babies occasionally, and they have to be fed every 2 hours around the clock for 8 days. Then you can stretch out to 3 or 4 hours. By then I am aching for a night's sleep...and 4 hours for me is not a whole night!

They also have to be kept warm, above 90 degrees F, so they live in an incubator or we have to pack 'em up to go with us and figure out how to keep them warm while we're out.

You can imagine how close we feel to them after all that, so when one dies, we are devastated. Usually the ones we have cared for have been tossed out by the parents, who know more than we do about what's wrong with the baby. In other words, we begin with one that wasn't supposed to make it to begin with, and try to help it live. We have applied electrolytes, medications, veterinary care, etc. and if it dies, you have to get a necropsy done to be sure the others won't catch what it had. We've made plenty of mistakes but at this point we've got it pretty much right and then the baby goes and dies anyway.

A couple weeks ago, a young friend brought me a zebra finch to feed. It was about 4 days old at most. The other 3 in the nest had died and the parents seemed to be abandoning the nest. The baby had probably been cold for about 24 hours... the parents clearly had parasites and possibly illness. Still, baby Chirp was so determined to make it.

I set up the brooder, warmed him and fed him. On day 2 he became dehydrated, but was still flapping those tiny wings and demanding food! I added water and NV powder, and a couple feedings tried clearing his crop with watered-down Megamix. I could see some hard seeds in there, by the way. His skin pinked back up, so I thought we'd gotten through the dehydration.

The next day, he vomited the stuff I had seen in his crop and it was hard, unshelled seeds.... the parents would have hulled them so I think maybe someone tried to feed him seeds! Also around then he wasn't pooping, and when he finally did pass another of those hard seeds he then began pooping again.

On day 4 he began to weaken. I begged him to stay with me. By now I was attached to him, his little chirpy voice, his demanding way of yelling for food. I could see his feathers beginning to come in on his wings and tail area. It was not to be. He finally stopped begging and died a couple hours later. :crycry:

Breeding is dealing with that, and more, over and over. It is losing your baby or maybe your hen -- and one time the hen died from egg binding and the male became sad and passed a few hours later! It is hard and sometimes thankless. Are you ok with that?
 

Sylvi_

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Hi, the financial cost will put you in the hole. I can't think of a single type of bird that youd actually MAKE money breeding.

But it's the emotional cost that's worse. I breed Gouldian finches (I have other birds, but don't breed them). There's a demand for them here in FL -- and when that begins to disapate, I won't breed them any more. They might be "just finches," but every life counts. So hubby and I end up handfeeding babies occasionally, and they have to be fed every 2 hours around the clock for 8 days. Then you can stretch out to 3 or 4 hours. By then I am aching for a night's sleep...and 4 hours for me is not a whole night!

They also have to be kept warm, above 90 degrees F, so they live in an incubator or we have to pack 'em up to go with us and figure out how to keep them warm while we're out.

You can imagine how close we feel to them after all that, so when one dies, we are devastated. Usually the ones we have cared for have been tossed out by the parents, who know more than we do about what's wrong with the baby. In other words, we begin with one that wasn't supposed to make it to begin with, and try to help it live. We have applied electrolytes, medications, veterinary care, etc. and if it dies, you have to get a necropsy done to be sure the others won't catch what it had. We've made plenty of mistakes but at this point we've got it pretty much right and then the baby goes and dies anyway.

A couple weeks ago, a young friend brought me a zebra finch to feed. It was about 4 days old at most. The other 3 in the nest had died and the parents seemed to be abandoning the nest. The baby had probably been cold for about 24 hours... the parents clearly had parasites and possibly illness. Still, baby Chirp was so determined to make it.

I set up the brooder, warmed him and fed him. On day 2 he became dehydrated, but was still flapping those tiny wings and demanding food! I added water and NV powder, and a couple feedings tried clearing his crop with watered-down Megamix. I could see some hard seeds in there, by the way. His skin pinked back up, so I thought we'd gotten through the dehydration.

The next day, he vomited the stuff I had seen in his crop and it was hard, unshelled seeds.... the parents would have hulled them so I think maybe someone tried to feed him seeds! Also around then he wasn't pooping, and when he finally did pass another of those hard seeds he then began pooping again.

On day 4 he began to weaken. I begged him to stay with me. By now I was attached to him, his little chirpy voice, his demanding way of yelling for food. I could see his feathers beginning to come in on his wings and tail area. It was not to be. He finally stopped begging and died a couple hours later. :crycry:

Breeding is dealing with that, and more, over and over. It is losing your baby or maybe your hen -- and one time the hen died from egg binding and the male became sad and passed a few hours later! It is hard and sometimes thankless. Are you ok with that?
I'm so sorry for your loss.:sadhug2:

Poor baby, fly high little Chirp. :sorrow:
 

SpecialistElbru

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You made no specification what type size or anything on the kind of bird you wish to breed.

If you feel you absolutely must breed birds, I would suggest that chickens or large pidgins, because if you can't find homes for them, they can be prepared for the table.
:watching:
 

Heather F

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Hi, the financial cost will put you in the hole. I can't think of a single type of bird that youd actually MAKE money breeding.

But it's the emotional cost that's worse. I breed Gouldian finches (I have other birds, but don't breed them). There's a demand for them here in FL -- and when that begins to disapate, I won't breed them any more. They might be "just finches," but every life counts. So hubby and I end up handfeeding babies occasionally, and they have to be fed every 2 hours around the clock for 8 days. Then you can stretch out to 3 or 4 hours. By then I am aching for a night's sleep...and 4 hours for me is not a whole night!

They also have to be kept warm, above 90 degrees F, so they live in an incubator or we have to pack 'em up to go with us and figure out how to keep them warm while we're out.

You can imagine how close we feel to them after all that, so when one dies, we are devastated. Usually the ones we have cared for have been tossed out by the parents, who know more than we do about what's wrong with the baby. In other words, we begin with one that wasn't supposed to make it to begin with, and try to help it live. We have applied electrolytes, medications, veterinary care, etc. and if it dies, you have to get a necropsy done to be sure the others won't catch what it had. We've made plenty of mistakes but at this point we've got it pretty much right and then the baby goes and dies anyway.

A couple weeks ago, a young friend brought me a zebra finch to feed. It was about 4 days old at most. The other 3 in the nest had died and the parents seemed to be abandoning the nest. The baby had probably been cold for about 24 hours... the parents clearly had parasites and possibly illness. Still, baby Chirp was so determined to make it.

I set up the brooder, warmed him and fed him. On day 2 he became dehydrated, but was still flapping those tiny wings and demanding food! I added water and NV powder, and a couple feedings tried clearing his crop with watered-down Megamix. I could see some hard seeds in there, by the way. His skin pinked back up, so I thought we'd gotten through the dehydration.

The next day, he vomited the stuff I had seen in his crop and it was hard, unshelled seeds.... the parents would have hulled them so I think maybe someone tried to feed him seeds! Also around then he wasn't pooping, and when he finally did pass another of those hard seeds he then began pooping again.

On day 4 he began to weaken. I begged him to stay with me. By now I was attached to him, his little chirpy voice, his demanding way of yelling for food. I could see his feathers beginning to come in on his wings and tail area. It was not to be. He finally stopped begging and died a couple hours later. :crycry:

Breeding is dealing with that, and more, over and over. It is losing your baby or maybe your hen -- and one time the hen died from egg binding and the male became sad and passed a few hours later! It is hard and sometimes thankless. Are you ok with that?
:sad7: I'm so sorry for your losses. I couldn't deal with that.
 

karen256

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With some birds, if everything goes right, you might make some money, but it would be pennies per hour spent feeding and socializing.

You would, at the very least, need a flight cage/aviary for the parents (they might not be tame enough to let out for exercise), a brooder, handfeeding supplies, an avian vet within a reasonable distance, and the time to handfeed babies, as well as room for some cages and play areas for babies. A brooder need not be expensive at all, but handfeeding formula and supplies can get quite expensive.
Feeding and socializing babies can be very time consuming. Even if you have birds that are good parents and you don't pull babies until they are a good 2-3 weeks old, they will still need at least 3 feedings a day and lots of attention and playtime. If something goes wrong, you might find yourself feeding very tiny babies every 2 hours - and the smaller the baby, the greater the liklihood of there being problems or the baby dying.
Not all breeders vet babies. But any good breeder will vet the parents, vet any babies that seem in less than perfect health, and offer a health guarantee to help ensure new owners take the babies to a vet themselves.

Also a big part of responsible breeding is making sure you produce only healthy, well adjusted birds that have will be likely to find good quality, caring homes. This means breeding only from birds that are healthy and well adjusted themselves (breeder birds may not be tame but they shouldn't be extremely fearful once adjusted to a new home, or aggressive to each other). It also means breeding species that make good pets, that aren't overbred in your area, educating potential owners, ect.
 

camelotshadow

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Hi, the financial cost will put you in the hole. I can't think of a single type of bird that youd actually MAKE money breeding.

But it's the emotional cost that's worse. I breed Gouldian finches (I have other birds, but don't breed them). There's a demand for them here in FL -- and when that begins to disapate, I won't breed them any more. They might be "just finches," but every life counts. So hubby and I end up handfeeding babies occasionally, and they have to be fed every 2 hours around the clock for 8 days. Then you can stretch out to 3 or 4 hours. By then I am aching for a night's sleep...and 4 hours for me is not a whole night!

They also have to be kept warm, above 90 degrees F, so they live in an incubator or we have to pack 'em up to go with us and figure out how to keep them warm while we're out.

You can imagine how close we feel to them after all that, so when one dies, we are devastated. Usually the ones we have cared for have been tossed out by the parents, who know more than we do about what's wrong with the baby. In other words, we begin with one that wasn't supposed to make it to begin with, and try to help it live. We have applied electrolytes, medications, veterinary care, etc. and if it dies, you have to get a necropsy done to be sure the others won't catch what it had. We've made plenty of mistakes but at this point we've got it pretty much right and then the baby goes and dies anyway.

A couple weeks ago, a young friend brought me a zebra finch to feed. It was about 4 days old at most. The other 3 in the nest had died and the parents seemed to be abandoning the nest. The baby had probably been cold for about 24 hours... the parents clearly had parasites and possibly illness. Still, baby Chirp was so determined to make it.

I set up the brooder, warmed him and fed him. On day 2 he became dehydrated, but was still flapping those tiny wings and demanding food! I added water and NV powder, and a couple feedings tried clearing his crop with watered-down Megamix. I could see some hard seeds in there, by the way. His skin pinked back up, so I thought we'd gotten through the dehydration.

The next day, he vomited the stuff I had seen in his crop and it was hard, unshelled seeds.... the parents would have hulled them so I think maybe someone tried to feed him seeds! Also around then he wasn't pooping, and when he finally did pass another of those hard seeds he then began pooping again.

On day 4 he began to weaken. I begged him to stay with me. By now I was attached to him, his little chirpy voice, his demanding way of yelling for food. I could see his feathers beginning to come in on his wings and tail area. It was not to be. He finally stopped begging and died a couple hours later. :crycry:

Breeding is dealing with that, and more, over and over. It is losing your baby or maybe your hen -- and one time the hen died from egg binding and the male became sad and passed a few hours later! It is hard and sometimes thankless. Are you ok with that?


:crycry:
 

fluffypoptarts

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Irishj9

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The real cost of breeding birds is heartache. I Gave my best friend a couple of breeding pairs of lovebirds. He proved a huge success at handfeeding and raised several youngsters. they were so tame and beautiful his office mates formed a q to buy them off him. He handfed them in the office rather than be away from them.

Then last Sunday he came home to find his latest two tame chicks, almost fully fledged, out of the nestbox, dead. Why?. Nobody knows. He invested great time energy and love in their welfare for this to happen.

The real cost is not cash
 

Irishj9

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But if you want a cash cost, look at vets bills. Thumper has begun his latest moult and looks like a punk rocker with feathers all askew and some poking out at right angles.

Standard protocol applies. First eliminate any illnesses and viruses, mites etc. This means vet

vet means cash, lots of it.

I dont care, Im earning sterling in london, but i wouldnt be at all surprised to hear the vet wants to hold him several days to observe his beheaviour etc. Birdie hotels are expensive
 

SandraK

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But if you want a cash cost, look at vets bills. Thumper has begun his latest moult and looks like a punk rocker with feathers all askew and some poking out at right angles.

Standard protocol applies. First eliminate any illnesses and viruses, mites etc. This means vet

vet means cash, lots of it.

I dont care, Im earning sterling in london, but i wouldnt be at all surprised to hear the vet wants to hold him several days to observe his beheaviour etc. Birdie hotels are expensive
As are birdie ICUs and regular hospital "rooms". The hurt when you've loved somebirdy and tried everything to save it, to no avail, I think is the saddest part of trying to save/breed birds. Just as with dogs and cats, a pedigree is needed, vet care for the parents & vaccinations, prenatal care, post natal care, vaccinations for puppies/kittens and well checks before going to new home.

It is never as cheap as it sounds and it is not a case of "just get her pregnant and you'll be fine". Look at it like starting your own company - you have to have your heart and soul invested in it for it to even have a slim chance of succeeding.
 

barry collins

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Can I offer my recent experiences with baby birds to this list,

I have recently been thrust into caring for baby cockatiels after I bought a male cockatiel to be a friend for my shy male cockatiel that I already had. Much to my surprise my original bird decided after over a year of being a slightly shy boy actually decided to be a girl after all. Hey it's a free world who am I to judge his/her life choices! So after lots of touchy feeling and general squeaky behaviour she started to lay eggs and I was at first a little scared and then quite proud and then quite excited, so along came a box and some late nights on the internet confusing Google with my extreme questionings and counting down the days on my calendar to my new babies and being a mature intelligent man I was looking forward to being a well prepared and loving pal to some cute little kids. And for a couple of weeks that is how it went and my two parent birds were perfect parents and I had also by this point decided to handle and make hand tame babies as the parents are both hand tame and especially the father who is a remarkable pet who is so friendly it is untrue. At this point all was good with the world and I was content with everything but then the curve ball came.....

When the oldest chick was 3 weeks old and I had them out of the box giving them a check over while the parents were having breakfast I noticed some blood on the head and neck of the oldest chick, I presumed this was from claws as they all scrabbled about at feeding time but then after a few days I realised they were plucked feathers and was shocked and upset at seeing my newest family members hurt so early in life so I started watching very closely and seeing how this was happening. Much to my surprise it was the father who was feeding them first but then intentionally plucking out a feather!!!! OMG what do I do now? So back to google and after taking away the dad and giving him supervised feeding visits every few hours the plucking stopped. Then after a couple more days the mums beak started to bleed every time she fed the babies and the dad just gave up and things got real!!!! So I'm left with 2 parents unable or unwilling to feed their babies and a dad who plucks feathers and cannot be trusted to be left with them. WOW reality kicked in quickly and baby food was bought and knowledge was sought and a brooding area was established. OK i thought let's do this, the parents are now obsolete and I am the back up.... Wow talk about tired and talk about stressed..... 3 babies feeding well after a couple of tries but the oldest chick calling for its mum and crying and not feeding and getting thinner and looking smaller.... I tried everything but she would not eat anything! She lost over 20 grams and had a visit to the vet refusing at least 20 feeds before either sheer hunger or just persistence got her to feed eventually 5 days later!!! So now I'm tired, stressed, given all my money to the vet..(for nothing!) And to top it all off the mum just laid another egg... AAHHH.... She's not ready for that, I don't want it and I'm busy already bringing up her other babies! Things are not good so I reluctantly force myself to order some plastic eggs and wait to see how many she lays so I can murder her new babies and trick her into looking after some Easter eggs instead while she is clueless to my evil. (This is my pet it is difficult to do.) .............then she has trouble passing her last egg because she is not in condition after first clutch so now I am feeling mega guilty and spend 24 hours worrying about what I've done to my beautiful birds life! (She pulled through it)

So I am now over the crest and still have 4 lovely fat baby cockatiels who all survived despite all the problems (I thank google and AA for this!) They have all fledged and they are all currently weaning and are all silly tame with all the family and are friends with both parent birds and are getting personalities of their own now. I am desperately trying to lower the hormones of the parents as we speak and due to remove the plastic eggs next week and pray she lays no more eggs.....EVER....!

So to sum up first time breeding I would not wish it on anyone who wasn't fully committed and prepared for all eventualities and by some blind luck and sheer determination I have 4 beautiful new baby cockatiels that have cost me emotionally and financially and as we speak I am still trying to work out how so much mess can come from such little being's? Personally I love them all and may end up keeping them all as I have brought them through the hardest part of life and am now emotionally involved with their lives and would have trouble trusting anyone else to love them as they deserve........after all of this I could not do it again and have no plans to let my birds breed again and would not recommend anybody takes on the demands of baby birds. The parents work tirelessly at bringing up a clutch of chicks something we as humans have trouble matching unless you have the overwhelming drive to do it. I can't see it would be worth it financially verses the effort put in and the hours spent feeding and worrying. However it has been a learning experience and eventually a very rewarding experience that I am glad went the right side of disaster but looking back all the experts are right and breeding birds is not easy and will cost you in time and emotion and I think you should make yourself fully prepared for all these things before deciding to intentionally breed parrots of any sort bearing in mind cockatiels are not the hardest birds to breed by any stretch of the imagination but gave me some sleep less nights........ Good luck!
 

iamwhoiam

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@Irishj9 Sorry about your friend's babies Very sad.
 

SandraK

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I loved your story (because I followed it as it happened). You were a very good parront and did the best you could. The ONLY thing I'd suggest would be to let your tiels have all the squeaky fun they want, just swap out any real eggs for dummies (BTW mark them, just a word to the wise). That way your lady shouldn't overlay but, more importantly, nothing will hatch either. Just a suggestion from another tiel parront.
 

barry collins

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I loved your story (because I followed it as it happened). You were a very good parront and did the best you could. The ONLY thing I'd suggest would be to let your tiels have all the squeaky fun they want, just swap out any real eggs for dummies (BTW mark them, just a word to the wise). That way your lady shouldn't overlay but, more importantly, nothing will hatch either. Just a suggestion from another tiel parront.
Thanks for the tip I will watch closely and try and keep the hormones down a bit. It is getting cold and dark now in the north of England so hopefully if the lights are turned out at bedtime they won't decide to try again this year?
 
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