Cockatiel

Nymphicus hollandicus · Cacatuidae

The beginner's parrot that experienced breeders never quite leave behind.

Native range: Inland Australia

Length: 30–33 cm
Weight: 80–110 g
Lifespan: 15–25 years
Maturity: 12–18 months
Incubation: 19 days
Clutch: 4–6 eggs
Ring size: 5.5 mm
Fledge: 32–35 days
Weaned: 8–10 weeks
CITES: Appendix NC
IUCN: LC
Taxonomic family: Cacatuidae

Diet

A pelleted base with sprouted seed, dark leafy greens and grated carrot. Cockatiels are prone to fatty liver disease on an all-seed diet, and sunflower is the main culprit.

Housing

150 × 75 × 120 cm for a pair as a permanent cage; a 3 m flight is better. Bar spacing 14–16 mm.

Temperament

Placid, quiet by parrot standards, and one of the few species that shares a flight peacefully with budgies and Neophemas outside the breeding season.

Breeding

Free-breeding once conditioned. Hens will double-clutch readily, which is exactly the problem: pull the box after the second clutch or she will lay herself into calcium deficiency.

Established mutations

Lutino (sex-linked)

Pearl (sex-linked)

Cinnamon (sex-linked)

Whiteface (recessive)

Pied (recessive)

Fallow (recessive)

Watch for

–Fatty liver disease from seed-only diets

–Night frights: leave a dim light in the birdroom

–Egg binding in over-bred hens

–Chronic egg laying in single pet hens

The lutino cockatiel is the textbook example of sex-linked inheritance: a lutino cock over a normal hen gives visually lutino daughters and normal-looking split sons, every time.

Sources

Run a pairing for this species Work out hatch dates Check the ring size

All twelve at a glance

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Species	Incubation	Ring	Clutch	Lifespan
CockatielNymphicus hollandicus	19 d	5.5 mm	4–6	15–25 years
BudgerigarMelopsittacus undulatus	18 d	4.0 mm	4–6	6–12 years
Peach-faced LovebirdAgapornis roseicollis	23 d	4.5 mm	4–6	10–15 years
Green-cheeked ConurePyrrhura molinae	24 d	5.5 mm	4–6	20–30 years
Indian RingneckPsittacula krameri	23 d	7.0 mm	3–5	25–35 years
Gouldian FinchChloebia gouldiae	14 d	Not recorded	4–8	5–8 years
Quaker / Monk ParakeetMyiopsitta monachus	24 d	6.0 mm	4–6	20–30 years
Bourke's ParakeetNeopsephotus bourkii	18 d	4.0 mm	3–6	10–15 years
EclectusEclectus roratus	28 d	Not recorded	2	30–50 years
Sun ConureAratinga solstitialis	25 d	7.0 mm	3–5	20–30 years
African GreyPsittacus erithacus	28 d	11.0 mm	2–4	40–60 years
Blue & Gold MacawAra ararauna	27 d	14.0 mm	2–3	50–70 years

All 94 species, with the dates scheduled against your own birds.

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