Hi,
I have had my pet tiel {he's 5 month's} for 6 weeks now. I bought him from a girl who had an ad in the paper. She was a good owner and bought him from a breeder.I don't know any thing about that breeder. My question is if I acquire any more birds should I go through a breeder who keeps records and bands on the birds? There was another ad in the paper from a breeder who advertised a pearl female for sale. She said she was a breeder when I asked , but kept no records. Is that common? Thanks, Ann


Ann,

There are a lot of good cockatiel breeders across the U.S.; some band and some don't. We always try to encourage potential buyers to seek out a reputable cockatiel breeder, and to learn as much as possible about cockatiels before they spend their hard earned money.

The best source of information comes from those same reputable breeders and cockatiel specialty clubs such as NACS.

There are many advantages to owning a banded bird vs. an unbanded bird. Banding is one of the essential tools necessary to produce consistently quality birds. It provides you with your bird's genetic background as well as provides you and others with a means to locate the breeder if the bird escapes and is found.