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COCKATIELS - ADVICE FROM A BREEDER Page 3
by Linda Greeson of BlueQuaker.com
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MATING
Prior to mating the cock is very vocal. He will fly back and forth in the cage, persistently repeating
a high pitched, loud call. He will perch before the female with wings pulled away from the body,
his crest lowered, and his head twisted from side to side. Every now and then he will give a little
jump as he calls, following his prospective mate closely.
The hen solicits mating by lowering herself on the perch with her tail elevated. She does this as
the male courts her with song and as he then steps directly on to her back. The actual pairing
takes some time, the male's tail tucked under the female's as they rub their vents together. The
female utters a continuous "chittering" noise as long as copulation is taking place. Mating
usually precedes egg production by about one week and often continues at intervals while the
eggs are being laid. One mating, however, is sufficient to fertilize the hens eggs for about 30
days. Stable and steady perches must be provided for successful copulation to take place. The
number of matings has no effect on the number of eggs laid.
The cock usually spends considerable time going in and out of the nest box prior to the hen's
entering, presumably to assure her safety. When he is satisfied that all is well he invites his
mate into the box. The hen then starts a process known as brooding - spending a great deal of
time in the box for three to four days before laying her first egg.
EGG LAYING
The usual pattern is for an egg to be produced every other day for a total of 5 to 6 eggs. There
can be great variation in the number of eggs. Some pairs consistently lay only two or three,
others we have had keep on putting out eggs like little machines for a total of twelve or more.
Egg production is heavily influenced by both diet and heredity. The experienced breeder learns
to concentrate the building of his breeding stock by selection from the most prolific pairs.
TESTING EGGS FOR FERTILITY
On or about the fifth day after being laid it is good practice to check the eggs for fertility and
remove clear eggs from the nest. When a strong light is held behind the egg there will be visible
a small dark spot with red veins extending all around. Each succeeding day the embryo will
grow larger until the entire egg will appear dark except for a small air space near one end. If the
egg appears perfectly clear after a week of incubation on can safely assume that it is infertile.
With experience one develops the ability to determine fertility by an opaque appearance of the
shell.
THE INCUBATION PERIOD
When more than six eggs are laid in the same clutch it is good practice to transfer these,
marked with the parent's pair number, to another nest with fewer eggs. In trying to cover more
than six eggs usually none are adequately covered and the result is a low hatch rate. During the
breeding season we keep several incubators in operation for use when foster parents are not
immediately available. When the artificially incubated eggs hatch we can usually find parents
able to feed just a few more mouths. The fostered chicks can be identified with a drop of food
coloring to keep pedigrees straight.
As soon as the first chicks start hatching we are conscientious about keeping the parents
supplied with soft foods in addition to their regular diet. They work very hard in keeping the
babies' crops full and soft bread corn, millet, etc. give them welcome assistance.
Most cockatiels make devoted parents. Young birds having their first experience in parenting are
sometimes dismayingly negligent in sitting or more frequently in feeding.
Patience, giving them a second, or even a third chance, usually pays off. With experience they
usually settle down to perform well.
The usual routine is for the cock to sit on the eggs during the day and the hen at night. The
reason for this is that the hen has a fatty pad on her breast which allows her to produce more
heat required during the cooler temperatures at night. Often you will find both in the nest box
together, sharing their duties. On these occasions they carefully divide the eggs into equal
numbers for each to incubate. I am convinced that they can count!
The birds sit so faithfully for such long intervals you will notice single large droppings of a lighter
shade of green instead of the usual smaller, darker droppings. The nest box remains
immaculately clean during the incubation time.
At sunset, time for changing of the guard, the cock will emerge from the box and attack his food
voraciously while the well fed hen replaces him in the box for the night. He then spends the night
just outside the nest box, guarding his mate and their eggs.
As part of the incubation process the parents turn the eggs regularly, usually hourly during the
first half of the incubation period. This movement of the egg changes the embryo to a different
position in the egg for better use of
food sources. There is more even distribution of heat from the parents and the chance of the
developing chick sticking to the egg membrane is reduced. During the last days of incubation
the eggs due to hatch first are pushed to one side by the birds for a period of time each day as
they no longer require turning.
Around the 18th to the 21st day of incubation the chick can be heard faintly chirping inside the
egg. A very small hole appears in the side of the egg. With the aide of a temporary small
protrusion on the upper side of his beak, called an egg tooth, the chick is actually cutting his way
out of the shell. If you are fortunate enough to be present when this is happening ( an exciting
experience!) resist your instinctive wish to help him out. Interference by humans, except by those
most skilled, inevitably damages the chick.
As incubation rarely starts with the first egg - more often with the laying of the third or fourth - the
first group of chicks hatch at close intervals.
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