From personal experience of rescuing, adopting, and raising birds including cockatiels: There are many factors that must be taken into consideration before even thinking about avian breeding. I understand you would like an answer to this question but too many times have I seen or heard of birds being cared for improperly (not necessarily intentionally) so I am asking you to please answer the following questions for your safety as well as the birds.
- How experienced are you of a bird owner? How many birds have you owned?
- Are you certain you have two cockatiels of the opposite sex?
- Have any other birds other than these two come in contact with them in the past year? Where does wach bird you own live in terms of cage(s)?
- Do all of your birds (including if more than the two) have a certified avian vet and been disease checked?
- What kinds of foods do you feed your cockatiels now (including treats and snacks)? Mineral supplements? Are you familiar with the term "egg-binding" and prepared to deal with this or any other situation in order to save any of the cockatiels lives?
- Are both of your birds hand-tamed and friendly in general when treated properly? If so, do you put in effort to ensure that they are each individually given TLC?
- If your relationships with your birds matter, are you aware that during breeding and mating situations, where both birds are housed together, that they will almost inevitably become uninterested in you and focus only on the care of their young? Are you also aware that allowing them to breed will most likely cause them to bond to each other for life and never have such a relationship with you regardless of how much training and retaming is performed? CAUTION: Seperating any of the birds after hatching may also lead to major problems in the entire flock of birds, both physically and emotionally!
- Do you require a breeder's license where you currently reside and plan on allowing the birds to mate and the chicks to hatch?
Again, I do appologize for such amount of questions; I only wish to ensure that you and your birds can live happy lives in terms of your relationship as well as their physical well-being. And I assure you, there are many more concerns to be delt with and prepared for BEFORE allowing your tiels to breed. If you havent done so already, I encourage you to research this topic using several different sources, particuarly your avian vet which you SHOULD HAVE. I strongly urge you to NOT ask a breeder as they may give false or otherwise misleading information due to the fact that some breeders aim for genetic mutations while breeding their birds, not for companion animals. Hope this helped. Keep me posted and I will try to answer any other questions or concerns you may have.
