I have had birds for a couple of years now and this winter got my ringneck dove a mate. Boy have they been busy. Lonesome has layed 5 sets of eggs of which 4 of the clutches have hatched and lived. I also have a pair of parakeets that are still young and do not expect any clutches till next spring. Then there is Wicket. She ( I say that because her head, her feet stance, and her tail feather colors all points to female) is my quaker and doesn't seem to really want to bond with me.

The real reason for my post is that I have been thinking of starting an avairy in my barn and would like some advice. I am wondering if you can mix these smaller birds with the larger macaws and cockatoos and such?

I know I need to be able to regulate the humidity, temperature and lighting.

1)Can one make a little extra money raising doing this as a hobby?
2)Has anyone here have any experience in setting up a small operation?
3)Would you be willing to share an approximate dollar amount needed to start up a small breeding operation?


Any information will be helpful and appreciated.
Thank you,
Donna07

My friend has a breeding business, only Grey's though, not sure how much she actually makes, I know her vet bills are huge though!

You should talk to Andie (Andie Wan Kenobi) she has a breeding business, and should be able to answer your questions.

Good luck!

I agree with Casey's Mom. I would talk to Andie and ask her some questions.

I have a small, hobby, breeding business. I breed Cockatiels (possible Lineolated Parakeets too). I can let ya know that there isn't much money to be made. In fact, my costs faaaar excede the money I make.

Depending on how large or small you want to go and depending on what species you want to breed depends a lot on the expense.

You'll have to purchase breeding pairs (larger birds like the 'toos, Greys and Macaws are very expensive), incubators, brooders, nesting boxes, cages, formula, thermometers, syringes, and those are just the small stuff. The real expense is with vet bills (as Casey's mom stated).

You have to ensure that every bird is vet checked before introducing them into the rest of the flock and you have to do quarantine. This is very important as all it takes is one sick bird to totally destroy your business.

Also, keep in mind that a lot of species of birds won't produce for you in the first year, or even second. So you may not have any chicks for the first couple of years.

It is a tough business and not something that is inexpensive to start up. I would say that if you're looking at say 4 pairs of the larger birds (again, Greys, 'toos, or Macaws) you are looking at at least $4,000.00 for just the breeding pairs. And again, it depends on which species (some species of Macaws are much more expensive then the others).

Andie is a great person to talk to. She has several breeding pairs of birds, but I believe most of hers are the medium sized birds. I know she does get some babies (from other breeders) and handfeeds them out. That, to me, is a lot less hassle

I don't mean to talk you out of it, but you have to be in it for the right reasons. Be prepared to fork out a LOT of money and, as I said, it could be years before you actually make any profit.

I don't breed, but I can tell you that the breeder we bought Nico from in 2005 is selling everything breeding related - including birds - that she owns. She was losing money big time...

I don't mean to be a downer...just want you to know that - as Carrie said - it is NOT easy!

Well, I can tell you first hand/sorta that unless you intend to do it as a business and not just a hobby, there is no money to be made. You will be losing money. If you do it as a business you're looking at a lot of time, no vacation and very little reward.

If you're looking to raise large species of birds, Macaws, Cockatoo's, Greys, etc. Are will you be prepared to take back any birds you sell, when people find they've bitten off more than they can chew.

Are you prepared for round the clock feedings when you start hand feeding

Do you live in an area where the noise from all these birds won't offend your neighbors?

Are you prepared to regulate heat, humidity, and the amount of light they need...Lighting needs change all the time. Are you prepared with alternate heating and lightening sources in the even the power goes out and you have babies in the brooders

There's a lot more to it than meets the eye and I have only begun to scratch the surface.

Some species don't mix well with others just because of the noise level alone, Some require more than one pair to feel comfortable enough to reproduce.

If you work outside the home now to help make ends meet and you have a family to raise, the time and commitment it takes to care for multiple pairs of breeders is really going to cut into that. To do it as a HOBBY and make money is not realistic. You need to be doing it either as a Hobby with only a pair or two of birds and do it because you love the species or you want to be doing it as a FULL TIME job with many many pairs. And the cost of the birds is the inexpensive part. Cages, lighting, water set up, feeding costs are HUGE not to mention vet bills.

Andie has spent far more than she's made. And unless you have someone to help you that loves the birds as much as you do...what will happen if you get sick or injured and aren't able to take care of your birds for just a few days even. Breeder pairs DO NOT do well with change...And that means having a stranger come into feed or clean cages. It can put them off the nest and you can lose babies or it can disturb them bad enough that they might actually kill a mate. Especially with the higher strung big birds.

Yes, I'm painting a pretty negative picture and purposely so because its not all fun and games. Its a lot of hard hard work. As Carrie mentioned, you'll need to buy mated or at least bonded pairs. Then just because they produced for the previous owner doesn't mean they will produce for you...If you buy them as a bonded pair meaning they haven't yet to produce or mate even, you could have up to 2 years or sometimes longer before they will settle in and mate.

Your bigger birds can be very VERY choosy about their mates. Its not uncommon for a Male cockatoo to kill the female because he can become
so aggressive...Or for an aggressive female to kill the male. And conditions can be perfect and just the slightest upset can cause disaster.


A gentleman I know that was in the bird business at which I worked part time had LOTS of birds...Big to small...Macaws, Cockatoos and Amazons down to parakeets...In one year that I know of He had a male Moluccan Cockatoo kill his original mate that had been a very productive pair, he bought another female and set them up to bond and the male killed her plus 2 others before the last aggressive female ended up killing him That's a lot of money and a lot of heartache. And to this day, he still hasn't figured out what caused it to happen to start with.

The type of birds that you mentioned having successfully mated and raised babies I'm assuming you allowed the parents to raise them. Meaning you did not hand feed. You can't do that with big birds and expect to have a sell-able product. Hand fed babies are pretty much the only way you're going to have a marketable product. And then there is a difference in had fed and hand nurtured babies. To have a truly marketable baby you need to put HOURS and HOURS of time in to rearing these babies. And the bigger the bird the longer it takes to wean them. Some cockatoos it takes a full year of hand feeding to have them ready to be weaned and tame enough to sell. So there's a lot more than meets they eye as I said.

So Without going on and on, the term Hobby breeder and Profit don't exist especially not with big birds and very seldom with medium and small birds. But that's just my opinion

WOW!
Connie thanks for the tutorial on breeding pros and cons. I have absolutely no desire to breed for any reason but found this very interesting reading. I have my two babies strictly for "loving" but I am getting such an education on here. And it certainly makes me respect breeders even more than before. This was awesome information and I am sure it will help those thinking of branching out into the world of breeding to realize exactly what a commitment it has to be.

I totally agree with what Andie said. I was thinking about getting some breeders eventually but not now. Yikes!

Angela

It's hard to breed any animal and make a profit- that's why there are so many puppy mills and bird mills... and rat mills... etc. The deplorable conditions are because it's really hard to have enough money/ time to clean and raise and feed and vet all the animals and make any sort of living. Even leopard geckos are a drain on the finances to breed and they are probably the lowest maintenance animals I can think of. I don't think I will ever breed anything as I learn more and work more with shelters and abandoned animals. Being a breeder means potentially seeing babies you spent so much time in getting neglected/abused/abandoned.

Thanks to all of you for posting a reply.

If I do decide to venture into a small set up I will take all that you have said into consideration before I ever begin.

Donna07