Female looking for a male mating

[keatond]

Hi, good morning, everyone. I joined the form as a new owner for less than a year. My cockatiel is a female and looking for a mate these days, wondering if anyone can help. Thanks! View attachment 34042

 

[Sparkles99]

 

[sunnysmom]

Hi. She's a cutie. Do you mean you want to get her a friend or are you talking about breeding?

 

[keatond]

Hi. She's a cutie. Do you mean you want to get her a friend or are you talking about breeding?

breeding, need a male mate. thx!

 

[Shezbug]

Have you bred birds before or do you know anything about it? I see you say you are a new bird owner of a year, might be a bit much getting into breeding this soon.

@Zara gives really good advice and support to many of our new members who decided to allow breeding thinking it is easy and as simple as putting two birds together until tragedy strikes.

 

[Sylvi_]

Your girl is beautiful! But as an owner of a solo mature hen, I do feel the need to speak on this a little.

Female cockatiels are perfectly fine on their own as long as they’re interacted with plenty during the day. Now, if you work all day, having a friend in a separate cage would be great. Cockatiels are very social so just seeing and hearing another bird makes a huge difference in them.

I’d recommend also, that you read up on the large amount of risks that come with letting her reproduce. Egg binding, prolapse, egg peritonitis. Nutritional deficiencies. All which are easily fatal. If she rejects the chicks or doesn’t care for them, then those lives are now completely dependent on you; a new bird owner.

Breeding is a huge undertaking and an even bigger risk to the bird involved. It’s simply not worth your hen’s life when there’s already so many wonderful cockatiels in the world needing homes, IMO.

 

[sunnysmom]

Two females can be buddies. Please think carefully about breeding and do your research. I used to belong to a cockatiel forum and there were countless sad breeding stories. It's work and not easy. And first time tiel parents don't often do well with their first clutch. Also, think about what you're going to do with the babies. There are already so many cockatiels out there in need of good homes.

 

[Mizzely]

How old is she? While they CAN lay eggs around a year old, usually waiting until 2 years is healthier What kind of diet is she on? Some diets are too low in calcium and D3 which puts her at risk for egg binding.

 

[Lady Jane]

Why do you want to breed cockatiels? There are plenty available for adoption.

 

[keatond]

isn't it the natural thing for them to do?

 

[Mizzely]

There are a lot of natural things that pets and animals do that we limit or prevent for their own good.

 

[Zara]

isn't it the natural thing for them to do?

Is living in a cage in a humans home natural?

We can´t compare our captive birds to their wild counterparts.

If we´re talking mating then I think it is a good thing for our captive birds, gives them a way to release their tension. Though breeding is a whole other can of worms.
A friend is nice, a partner is great, but leave it at that. Get yourself a set of dummy eggs and switch them out to avoid offpsring. When they breed in the wild, they are on a completely different diet, they fly all day every day for exercise, plenty of access to unfiltered sunlight, and even when things don´t work out and chicks or a mate dies, there isn´t a human in the middle that will end up heartbroken.

There are plenty of ways to offer enrichment for our birds to give them as close as we can to a ¨natural¨ life, things like foraging, plenty of flight time and a ¨flock¨ (a friend). If you want to explore these more, just ask if you need any help.

 

[C_Leigh]

It is natural for dogs to breed as well yet we desex them to prevent it.

Not to mention it is very unnatural for a bird to perch on a humans shoulder.

Why does natural equal good and unnatural equal bad?

 

[Sunni Tiel]

I would definitely not recommend breeding. I know everyone else has said this, but it's really a huge commitment and there are so so many fatal risks for pet birds breeding, especially if you haven't been doing years of research and talked to a professional. You will also need to be prepared to hand raise chicks if they're rejected by the parents, (very common in first time breeders) and that's super tricky. There's a very specific way and just a tiny thing done wrong, or sometimes even if you do everything right, you can lose a chick. Not to mention expenses!! Food, toys, cage space, and most importantly vet bills will add up very quickly! I'm asking you to please reconsider.

 

[Sodapop&Co.]

Your girl is sooo cute! Just like dogs, birds are perfectly happy without having to breed. It's instincts that can be triggered, yes, but not something they need to be happy. Congratulations on your bird and welcome to the Avenue!