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Hi,

I am trying to obtain some information on breeding. I don't know if I will ever breed the birds, but I would like to know anyway.

If you buy a hand fed baby male cockatoo, then later on you get a female baby of the same species to pair them up together. After a few years when they become mature, would they make a breeding pair? Or would they never breed because they wouldn't know what to do?

Thanks

1. depends on the species of cockatoo.

2. getting an older male, then a younger female, might be asking for trouble,
as the male will be in breeding condition before the female matures.
might be smarter to get 2 at the same time, if you can afford it.

3. getting birds separately might decrease the chances of them bonding, especially if one, or both, becomes imprinted onto humans.

Yea I thought about they may never breed, but it really doesn't matter. I am going to get one male rose breasted first, then maybe six months later get the female. This way they wont be lonely if there are days that I can't spend a lot of time with them. At least they will have each other.

I just wanted to see what the chances are of them ever wanting to breed. If they do thats fine, if not, thats fine too.

Appreciate the help on this.

Also, even though they are the same species does not guarantee they will like each other. I have to CAGs that I got from the same breeder within a year of each other. They are not related, and their sex is unknown. Although they will chat back and forth, they don't like each other. They are my personal pets so I had no intention of breeding them, but it would be nice if they at least got along.

Even if you plan on housing the two birds together, you will still need two cages initially. The second bird should be quarantined for a minimum of 30 days, 60-90 ideally. After quarantine, it is generally recommended that you keep the cages beside each other so that the two birds can become acquainted while in the safety of their own cage.

Actually, handfed rosies are one of the easier 'toos to set up for breeding,
except that pets might develop too much fat to be breeders.

Now your question could go a 100 different way and there are more answers then you could imagine. Some birds when put together as youngsters still become imprinted with humans and don't make good breeders down the road. Then again it depends as someone else wrote what specie of cockatoo it is.I have over the years raised many different species of toos and have seen the good and the bad. For an example I put two moluccans together as young birds and eventually set them up with a nestbox and left them alone. They produced two eggs, but as soon as the babies would hatch the male would eat the babies. I did the same with a pair of umbrellas and they raised babies without any problems. did the same with a pair of red vented cockatoos and when the female and male were of breeder age he took almost all of the top mandible off of her and it had to be sewn back on. So you see it depends on the species and how they feel when their hormones finally kick in. You do realize that once you decide that this pair is of breeder age and you see copulating or that they really want to breed you will not generally have that loving pet anymore and you won't be cuddling her or him and that is what you want. You want to be the feeder and not the kisser of those birds anymore. Just a bit of light on the subject and others can tell you their feelings. Just remember that with cockatoos you should always have a double entry nextbox to keep the male from keeping the female in the nestbox and you opening it up later to find a dead starved bird inside. A word to the wise from a breeder that has been around since the days of imports and there is another story.

Denis

Wow, thanks for all of the responses everyone. I just kinda thought about "what if" it comes to the breeding situation. But I guess Denis along with everyone else answered it all. I don't want the birds to be lonely at all, so by pairing them up that will hopefully never allow that to happen. They are generally going to be my pets, then eventually somewhere down the road when I strike it rich I will get a pair of Major Mitchell's too. Overall I just want to have four birds, I am trying to discourage myself from getting a lot of birds like I used to do in the past. Breeding is not in the equasion, but if it does happen I want to know what to do.

One thing I don't understand is how come some of these birds are SO expensive. I know everyone is trying to make a buck, but why try to make a killing. I know there are a lot of breeders that don't make a lot of money when it comes to selling parrots, but there are some that really make a killing. I used to think about that, but I also realize that feeding the birds year round sometimes is more expensive than the cost of one baby. But I really wish parrots were not that expensive. Because as I look at a lot of these boards lately, it seems like everyone is trying to sell or get rid of their pets or breeders etc. I guess thats probably due to how bad the economy is and most people are losing their jobs left and right.

Thanks again everyone.

Supply and Demand. Short and Simple. Before the ban on importation, birds were generally a LOT cheaper! Once the ban on importation went into act, it wasn't as easy to get certain species, thus their prices went up.

In Australia, a galah could easily sell for $50-$150... parent raised or handraised. Reason why, is because in Australia many people may consider galah's to be pests... Here in the states (USA) they go for $1,000 and up. If your lucky, you might find them for less. I don't think too long ago they were selling for about $2,300. I remember when handraised parrotlets sold for $200-$300... They are now generally being sold for $75-$150.... and maybe as low as $50. I think that says a lot since I've only been into bird keeping for 8 years now!

As for you looking into getting birds... well if you aren't necessarily interested in breeding then I'd suggest you look more into birds of the same sex rather than opposite... but then again it is possible to keep pets of opposite sex, too. If you are going to get birds of opposite sex, then you need to ensure that they are NOT related, in the possibility of them breeding in the future.


And short and simple... if you don't like how you see all these birds up for sale... adopt instead of buy! Most of my birds are rehomes, being mostly 2nd hand and 3rd hand birds... if not 4th (and so on). Except two budgies and a cockatiel, all the birds were given to me for free. I don't go out looking for birds, but they seem to find me! Out of all the people who gave me their birds, I think only a very few were looking to place their birds in a good home... while the others just wanted to get rid of the birds ASAP and didn't care where they went, but that it was a plus that they may go to someone who knows something about birds. Out of all the birds that I've had, I've only been lucky enough to adopt out two birds whom I knew would be happier in a different situation than I could provide them (both tiels - one wanted a mate, and my only female back then wasn't interested... another was a royal pain to his family and so I figured he'd be better off in a home with less birds! I can say that both are happy where they are now!)

Major mitchell's as beautiful as they are would not be a good choice for a beginner. The males can kill their mates during breeding season and whenever you want to talk about how to keep this from happening I will be glad to talk to you about this subject. Yes, there are a lot of high priced birds and just because one person has a bird at an expensive price doesn't mean that they will ever sell that bird. Some birds as the e-mail before this one says are rare and this brings the price up and yes, galahs are cheap in Australia, but my best friend over there gets 10,000 for his blue and golds and 12,000 for his greenwings. So the price is inline with what we get for birds here.I use to sell moluccans in my bird store, but because of all of the people that would part with them after the first year I stopped selling them. They were the bird that was given up the most next to nanday conures. I don't want to go there as they are great birds, but the overall "noise" would be the most common reason for them being parted with. We had a list of people that wanted certain species if parted with and we would call them if we would get a specie that was wanted. It was really nice to be able to rehome birds that would have that special person that was looking for one. So you might call your closest bird store and tell them that you have a certain specie that you are looking for and that you have done your homework on and see if they have a list for birds that people don't want anymore.We never charged for these birds,but asked that the new owners would buy toys and the correct food for their new bird. I guess the biggest thing is that we as humans love these feahered friends and sometimes we never know when to stop. You will do well and just do a little homework before you jump into any new bird.

Denis

Actually I am not new into birds, I have been into parrots about 20 years off and on. Everytime I get a bunch of birds, handfeed them from 4-6 weeks old. I only end up keeping them for about a year or a little more than a year. I end up giving them away because of job situation, or I am moving to a different state. But mostly I have given away all of my parrots a few times because I am out of work. So when I see all of these birds given up for sale, I already know life circumstances is affecting everything.

After I get rid of my birds, I will go a few years then I will get back into birds. Then the same thing happens again and I have like 10 or more parrots. I have given away the best Moluccans that I have ever had in my life and I always think about it. Where they are and how are they being treated.

Hopefully things can be different for me this time. So instead of collecting just everything I see, I will purchase only the parrots I want.

In the past I had only bred congo greys, but that was right before I had to move from NY and head to Texas. But thats another story.

I really do appreciate all the input and insight you folks have given me, I have not had any parrots for 3 years now, and I miss not having any.

Also on the adoption part, all I ever see in adoption is a price just as the same as buying a parrot. I always wondered why they called it adoption if they are selling it for regular retail price.

I forgot to ask something because I had to run. I heard and read a little about the ban on birds from Australia I think from back in the 50s. But does anyone know why?

I have seen various videos of the wildlife in Australia, and the parrots are pestes over there. They show you how the farmers trap the parrots in nets and kill them off, I saw these videos when I first got into parrots. When I saw that I was wishing that I could get some of those parrots that they were killing. I figure if the parrots are pests, then just export them and you won't have as many. But who knows the reason for it.

I was reading the other day that if you live in Australia and you decide to leave, you can take your pet with you. But you have to prove you have had the pet for a while and stuff like that. It makes you wonder, what if you decide to leave with about 100 of them and say they are your pets

Oh yea and as you mentioned Denis, I do remember when some of these parrots were a lot more expensive. I have noticed the prices decrease dramatically over the years. A friend of mine back in NY used to sell greys for about 1500, but I see greys now for about 700 and up a little. So the prices have dramatically decreased, and I see it decreasing even more as more and more are bred.

I saw an ad the other day in san diego for a lead beater for 1600, but the people didn't want to ship. They told me it was not compatible to be in a apartment anymore. I think the bird came with a huge cage thats about 400-500, so it was really a good deal. They said they bought it in some bird fair in CA.

But until then I will keep dreaming of having the ones I want. You know I really do appreciate boards like this, the people are friendly and they teach you so much.

Thanks for everyone in here, I really enjoy reading the questions and answers. I learn something new all the time from people like you on these chat boards.

May God bless you all.....

1. As suggested previously, Major Mitchells are not the easiest 'toos to breed,
and I have not seen any information about pet males becoming successful breeders. Aggression appears to be a characteristic of both males and females, with the females directing their anger at other females in the area, or anything that would compete with their nesting. Young birds are sweet. I know nothing beyond that point.

2. An owner can take 2 pets out of Australia.

3. The restrictions of animals entering Oz keeps out diseases that are widespread in other areas: rabies, hoof-and-mouth...West Nile, bird flu from a domestic source. (Much like the restrictions in Hawaii.)

4. The restriction of animals leaving is partially economic...keeps the prices high, but PBFD is also widespread in the Aus wild parrot population, so there is a definite safety issue.

I see a lot of good advice in previous replies, but I also would like to add that you make sure when you get your female that she is not related to the male you plan to purchase. If you get the bird from the same place it is possible that she came from the same parents, or share some other bloodline. I reccomend buying from a different breeder or pet store (the farther away the better) or be possitive after talking with the owner that the two birds would indeed not be related. If you have two hand-fed babies that end up bonding enough to breed successfully, you don't want the only problem being that they are related! Good luck with your future family members/possible breeders.

Christina