I Have Wonderful Parents

There really is much more to breeding than just throwing two birds together and giving them a nest box. I am not even getting into the possibilities of having to care for a day old baby that was rejected by the parents, or possibly even an entire clutch under a week old if something happens to the hen. I am just referring to selecting your breeders.

Sure, you want birds that are going to give you pretty babies. That doesn't mean anything though if they are small and weak. You need parents that are strong and healthy themselves so that they produce good, healthy chicks. You also need to do as much research as possible to make sure that they are not related to prevent inbreeding which can also lead to small and weak chicks with health issues.

Of course, I think one of the most important things to consider is the temperament of the parents. There is plenty of debate on whether personality is an inherited or learned trait, but there is definitely some inherited factor. So many people use birds that wouldn't make good pets, which just perpetuates the cycle. If you breed birds that are aggressive and would not make good pets, then you produce babies with those same traits. I know my next statements won't line up with many "conventional" breeders, but I think it makes a huge difference in my relationship with my birds.

I don't leave my breeders alone and I don't put them in a separate room all by themselves. I have breeders that are completely tame that I take out and play with and they hang out with me away from their cages while they are not on eggs. Even the breeders that are not completely tame, I can reach into most of the nest boxes while the hens are sitting and pet them while they are on eggs and it does not stress them out. Even though they are not tame in the traditional sense, they trust me enough to know that I mean them no harm. By having my breeders exposed to more noise and commotion than is "typical" I think it actually stresses them out less because they are accustomed to it. They don't freak out if someone they don't know happens to walk in the room. It is simply business as usual.

It even makes it easier when I need to ask extra of my breeders. I was helping a friend clean her breeding cages yesterday since most of her birds are on break. She had one budgie sitting on babies that were old enough to start hand feeding for the most part. Just one was still really young so she asked if I would be willing to take it to hand feed because I don't have an issue with young babies. I took it and placed it in the nest of one of my parrotlet pairs with babies of a similar age that I plan on pulling in a few days. They took to it right away and within minutes it was fed, warm, and accepted. Because I select my breeders based on health first, temperament second, and visuals last, I am able to do things like this without worrying about them being overly aggressive towards another baby. Having wonderful parents leads to having wonderful chicks, which is what any breeder should strive for.

Amen to this!!

I get a lot of strange looks about how I choose my breeders, who gets to keep breeding, and how I treaty breeders! For example "everyone knows" you shouldn't give breeders toys during breeding season, as if somehow the only way they will reproduce is if there is NOTHING ELSE TO DO! I find that to be incredibly cruel and stupid.

I also don't keep breeding birds who don't take good care of their babies. I've "lost a lot of money" on that policy but it's worth it to know what sort of bird I am producing.

My goal is to have my entire breeding stock be co-parented birds produced at my aviary or by one of my most trusted friends so I have at least one generation of genetic history on them, and so that our relationship can be stress free for the birds.

I don't breed reject pets; I don't breed aggressive or extra fearful birds; WHY WOULD I? Oh yeah, if money were my only priority.

I maintain that the best place to produce a pet that is going to live in a home is in a home. Not in a factory, and not by accident. We never stop learning, never stop growing, and never stop being amazed by these creatures and how far they will go for us.

Oh and we never stop spending money lol. On supplies, on equipment, on the vet. I swear I might as well just line the cages with dollar bills sometimes.


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This is such a good story! Dangit why can't you be in the UK? I'd love to be able to get a baby bird from you or Silversage!

I do think temperament is partly inherited but of course if that baby sees mum and dad being aggressive to people when they come to check on the chicks then that baby is going to learn that the hand is a bad thing that must be attacked at all costs.

Another point I agree on with breeding them in the home. It's the environment where they're going to be for their lives so they need to be used to it and happy in it. could you imagine keeping a human baby in a shed until 6?

And of course good pet parrots should be the ones to breed. It's exactly how dogs were domesticated, the ones we liked were bred around us and then we got dogs that liked humans and adapted to our lifestyle. I long for true domestic parrots but until we get the cryogenic freezing down I'll have to settle for the tame ones

That is another good point I didn't mention, Dani. All of my breeders get just as many toys as my pet birds do, and they get rotated regularly as well. I refuse to be a breeder that treats my birds more as a means to make money than the pets that they are.

I know all of my breeders on a personal level. I know their likes and dislikes, what annoys them and what thrills them. They're more than just a machine that produces eggs for me.

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@ OutlawedSpirit and Silversage

You are both beyond words in how you care and treat your flock.
Let us hope your advice and good practice will filter down eventually and 'your gold standard' becomes global?

Exactly. My breeders ARE PETS. Even the ones that think I want to eat them haha. They get the same or even higher level of enrichment, diet, and vet care than my "pet" birds that love me. I know all their names and personality quirks, the ones who have to have their food chopped a certain way, the ones that are afraid of certain colors of water dishes, etc. they share our lives!

Sort of off topic but this is one reason why it really bugs me when people call me up wanting a cheap baby. Somehow the fact that I spend hours every day caring for my birds means they should cost less than the ones who are barely tame, completely unsocialized, and already damaged at the pet store. Sorry, I have parrot food to buy and the good stuff isn't cheap! Besides, we treat discount things like they are less valuable; it's human nature. My babies only go to homes that know the difference between what I produce and what the TYPICAL pet store produces, and are willing to go the extra mile to give my babies the best home possible.


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I didn't realize that "breeder birds" don't always get treated well. I know my breeder gives her breeding birds new toys all the time. She sells toys too, and the funds go directly toward enriching the lives of the parents and babies. I guess I took that for granted at bit.

I will be honest too, I've never even asked her how much a baby will cost. I've bought dogs that way too. Just name the price, because I know I'm getting a quality pet. I mean of course I have a general idea, but it's not even important to me. I know that most good breeding programs for quality pets, even the best breeders only break even.

I've had quite a few rescued breeder pairs over the years, that were given up because they didn't produce mostly, and having learned about how they were mistreated, no wonder they didn't produce! I treat them with love and care, as I do my other birds, and even though they might not be the most friendly, I'm happy to have them and give them a loving home. I don't breed them though I'm prepared if they do, I'm happy to take care of them for as long as I'm able.

I wish more people had the mindset to treat them with the love and respect that you guys do, because it makes such a difference in the long run.

Speaking of treatment and production, I have to be very careful with my pairs in managing how much they produce. Parrotlets will breed year round, they are not seasonal breeders, so I have to work to throw them off their breeding cycle of they won't naturally break themselves between clutches. I've had one or two pairs not produce for me due to bad chemistry between the birds, but overall I've never had a problem with my pairs producing. I think a lot of it really does come down to how they are treated. Happy, well cared for birds are just more willing to produce clutches.

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Yes unfortunately most pet parrots are produced in commercial breeding situations which are appalling to say the least. The babies are usually force weaned, often tube fed, clipped early, and just all around abused mentally and emotionally. Produce as many as you can as fast as you can to get all the money you can!

And I know what you mean about managing the cycles. Cockatiels will produce non stop if you let them; mine are allowed two clutches a year if they are small, one if they are large. They will literally kill themselves through reproduction if allowed.




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I really don't understand how people get confused when their poorly treated birds stop breeding. How many people want to have a baby whilst in prison?

the breeder I used for Rio was good with all her birds, she kept a couple species in each aviary and just let them do their own thing. There were toys and what-not and one of the aviaries was where people could walk up and say hello. I think one of the birds had chosen me as a friend (flew right over to me and began trying to play with me whilst on the mesh) but unfortunately he wasn't for sale

The confusing thing to me is why the birds who are treated so poorly often still produce. I guess it's that deep seated drive to perpetuate the species.


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SilverSage said:

The confusing thing to me is why the birds who are treated so poorly often still produce. I guess it's that deep seated drive to perpetuate the species.


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They still produce, to some degree anyway, but I think even with the best breeders, you still end up with weak chicks. I am sure there are breeders that would disagree, but I think the happiness of the parents has a direct impact on the health of the chicks. In human babies, exposure to cortisol, a stress hormone, impacts growth during development and predisposes them to disease later in life. I would not see birds being any different. Plus, add in the fact that most breeders who don't care for their birds well probably are not nearly as picky about who they use to breed, and it's a perfect storm for chicks that are just not going to turn out to be happy, healthy, well adjusted pets.

That's why it is so important to really research a breeder before you agree to purchase a baby from them, and why paying extra really is worth it. Saving a hundred dollars now means nothing several thousand dollars in vet bills later. Not too mention the heartache when your beloved pet doesn't live their full life due to poor breeding practices.

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No kidding! Plus obviously the health of the parent impacts the health of the babies.

Here is one thing that frustrates me in this industry; ARROGANT BREEDERS "talking down" to customers who are TRYING to educate themselves!

Look I'm a breeder. I started breeding budgies almost two decades ago. I have learned a lot of things over the years, but that does NOT mean I know everything (please don't laugh; I know this is obvious lol) or that someone with nothing more than access to google may not have found some piece of info that I haven't seen yet.

I have had people come to me saying "well my breeder said ______(insert nonsense) and she has been breeding for 20 years, so she must be right!" Or even that they asked a question about policy, etc and were SCOLDED for asking because they aren't a breeder so supposedly they don't have the right to question.

PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS!!! And don't stop until a logical rational satisfying answer is given! One that can be supported by science or at LEAST common sense. Soooooo much damage is done to baby parrots and adult parrots because people are willing to fund the cruelty because they DONT UNDERSTAND what people are doing to the birds they are raising, and so called "breeders" are hiding behind their titles. It's not like vets, we don't have to go to school to claim the title, I literally was a breeder when I was 10 years old!


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Great post outlawedspirit! Totally agree.

Being that a huge part of the domestication process is selective breeding especially for temperament and health, the personality and behavior of the parents is super important. We will never have truly domesticated companion birds who are suited to life with humans, unless we have breeders like you striving for that.

Keep up the good work.