Help. New to cockatiels and they're breeding

[Abigail001]

Hello! My cockatiels names are Coco and Jefe they're both around year and half old. i have two things that concern me. If i leave my cockatiel inside the house they won't lay on the eggs at all, but if i take them outside the female will lay on the eggs all day and night. she only comes out to eat and stretch but other then that she will be in there. They don't switch at all and she's always in there. I don't know if this healthy or what i should do. please give me some help.

 

[Garet]

What do you mean by out of the house???

Are you trying to breed them despite your inexperience? That could be dangerous for your birds. It sounds like your birds aren't a bonded pair. The male should be helping her sit on her eggs, but if he won't go in or if she won't let him, you could have a fight on your hands. If I were you, I'd remove the male and put him in his own cage before things get nasty.

If you're not trying to breed, let her sit on the eggs until she abandons her eggs and remove the box. Giving her 10-12 hours of sleep will also reduce her drive to lay.

You can help her by bringing her food that's high in calcium and protein, like scrambled eggs with the shells masked into it. You have to cook the shells of course.

 

[Abigail001]

I did not mean to breed them. I bought them the nesting box because I saw that they kept mating. When I mean I take them out of the house I mean that I physically push there cage outside. The male does go in the best box only while shes out of the box but she only comes out for short periods of time. He does go in occasionally when she’s in the box but even then she stays in there.

 

[Garet]

I did not mean to breed them. I bought them the nesting box because I saw that they kept mating. When I mean I take them out of the house I mean that I physically push there cage outside. The male does go in the best box only while shes out of the box but she only comes out for short periods of time. He does go in occasionally when she’s in the box but even then she stays in there.

Then the nest box needs to be removed after this clutch. You don't need to give your birds a box just because they're breeding. Just putting them to bed for 10-12 hours will help curb this behavior. A nesting site will exacerbate it. Egg laying is dangerous to the hen. She can wind up egg-bound and require a vet to help her pass the egg, which might entail surgery.

 

[finchly]

If you give them a nest box (or a tent or hut, any thing dark and cozy) they will breed. If you do not want to breed, don't give them a nest box. You can take away the eggs and refrigerate or freeze them and put them back, in this way she will sit them out for 20 days or so and give up. If you just take them away, without replacing them, she will keep laying which can leech the calcium from her body and maybe also lead to chronic egg laying (unhealthy for her).

It sounds to me like a typical first pair, they aren't sure what to do. He is right to go in the box some, but your hen is doing most of the work and that's okay.

Have you candled the eggs to see if they are fertile? Use a strong flashlight. If they have sat on them at least 5 days you will be able to tell. Here's more information. Hopefully they are not fertile and you can do as I suggested with the eggs. I'm not sure where you live, I am in the US and there are so many cockatiels in shelters already that I would never breed mine. Breeding also shortens their life span considerably, and it is said that breeders do not make good pets, and pets do not make good breeders. So you have to sort of decide what you want.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[finchly]

I re-read your initial post. I think they are doing fine. He is not helping a lot but he may help more as time goes on. Or maybe not! I breed finches and canaries, usually my males are better parents than the females.

Hope this helps. You will find that people here are fairly anti-breeding but there are some who have experience and will help you. Don't be discouraged; take the advice you want and leave the rest. I'll tag a couple of people who might have more to add. @Monica @MandaExotics

 

[SandraK]

I did not mean to breed them. I bought them the nesting box because I saw that they kept mating. When I mean I take them out of the house I mean that I physically push there cage outside. The male does go in the best box only while shes out of the box but she only comes out for short periods of time. He does go in occasionally when she’s in the box but even then she stays in there.

That is pretty normal for tiels - good parents will share the nesting, hatching and feeding so they are behaving the way they should. I'll also say that when a hen is ready to lay, she will lay eggs with or without a nestbox or dark place to hide in.