Hi Brenda
Thank for answering my question. I had no idea that was the steps to take to introduce a new bird. I saw them this morning sharing a piece of popcorn with out pecking at one another. I forgot to ask. The cage during the day stands outside and as the sun goes done the cage is in our living room behind the couch. Will they still breed (When the get along) if we move the cage daily and it stands in the living room??
Hi Megan,
That is a good sign when they share food!
As to your moving the cage question – this is exactly what you want to do when you want them to STOP breeding and take a break. LOL There are several factors that trigger breeding. The days get longer, weather gets warmer, food is abundant and the pair finds a safe, private, stable location for their nest. As I mentioned, we provide such an ideal environment, birds will breed year round if we don’t force them to rest. To do this, you reverse the triggers by limiting daylight hours, reducing fresh foods, removing the nest box and moving the cage around. So remember that after they have their first clutch and need some rest.
I do want to bring up the risks of taking your birds outside. They are at risk from predators like cats, raccoons or other wildlife. There are also parasites and diseases that wild birds carry. And mainly, birds do not do well with abrupt temperature changes but they particularly have no heat tolerance. While giving them some fresh air and sun is nice, the risks can outweigh any benefits. You may have a protected area that keeps other birds and predators out and this is good, but be aware of the heat issue.
For breeding, you need to choose a private, quiet location for the cage and it has to remain there until any chicks have been weaned. I’m not sure that being in your family room will provide enough privacy. It can vary by bird and some birds defy all of the rules and will breed and raise chicks no matter how much is going on around them. But those birds are the exception. For best results, go with the quiet and private location. You also need to distance yourself from them. Your main contact will be feeding them and light cage cleaning. A few discreet check ins are fine during the day or you can get a nanny cam to keep an eye on them. Once they are actively mating and going in and out of the box, you need to be very careful about any cage cleaning and in some cases, you just have to leave it until after the chicks are weaned. You should not clean the nest box once they have started this process. Some bird breeders will clean it, but they are more experienced and know which of their pairs will tolerate more interference. If your pair is nervous, they may abandon or destroy their eggs or abandon or kill their chicks if they feel too disrupted and threatened. Again, they need to feel their nesting site is safe from predators or rival birds.
We get a lot of cockatiel breeding questions so I encourage you to browse through our answered questions to learn more about the diet they need and other breeding tips. There are categories on the right so you can select breeding to find those answers.
Thanks for the update and good luck!
Brenda
