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Mating cockatiels

Aldosky

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Hi, I am new to this website and i hope I am posting or the right forum, anyways. I have a sort of aviary (too small to be an aviary too big to be a cage) and I have 2 cockatiels (male and female) and a budgie. They have lived together for over a year and they are all ready to mate. This is the problem: The female cockatiel is showing all the necessary mating attitude, always clean, spends a long time in the nest and she is trying to get the male's attention by lowering her had. The male cockatiel, on the other side rejects her, bites her on her head and runs away. First thing that comes to mind is maybe he's not yet ready, but something weird is happening. The male cockatiel tries to mate with a toy in the cage, when this happens, the female tries shoving herself underneath him hoping for his attention, but he rejects her again, and would rather mate with his rope toy. I dont know how to act at this point, I think that their behaviour shows that they both want to mate, but the male is a bit dumb. IDK how to react, for now I took the toy out of the cage, hoping it would stimulate him or make him "horny". I need help because I am scared that what is happening here is mentally dangerous for both of the parrots. Although it wasn't planned, I am happy to hand feed baby cockatiels if it will come to this.

PS: please dont attack me saying that idk what i'm doing. I did a lot of research for the event and know how to act, also I have a network of specialised people who I trust in case I need help… Also sorry for my English I am Italian.
 

Aldosky

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Also I forgot that at times, the male cockatiel is very territorial and wont let the budgie near the female or the nesting box. The budgie other hand, is the one who preens the female cockatiel and they get along well.
 

Aldosky

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Latest news: The budgie has been trying to mate with the cockatiel, and she is fine with it. When this happens, again, the male cockatiel attacks the budgie who is forced to fly away, but the male cockatiel still wont mate and almost despises the female cockatiel.
 

Lady Jane

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male is a bit dumb.

Please separate the budgie from the cockatiels before you have a fight on your hands. Please don't label you male cockatiel as dumb. He is just not interested. Are you sure its a male? Take the nest out and let them be. Not all pairs mate, like mine. Have you seen them grooming and feeding each other?
 

aqualover9

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:welcomeavenue: I suggest reposting this under the breeder section where people who have lots of experience can see.
 

Aldosky

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Please separate the budgie from the cockatiels before you have a fight on your hands. Please don't label you male cockatiel as dumb. He is just not interested. Are you sure its a male? Take the nest out and let them be. Not all pairs mate, like mine. Have you seen them grooming and feeding each other?
Yes I will separate them, even though the cockatiel and budgie seem emotionally attacched. I have not seen them grooming, although they are closer than they used to be. What I find weird is that the male cockatiel is still very protective towards the female, even though he rejects her.
 

Zara

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Welcome to the forum Adlosky,

Very important: Get the budgie in a separate cage away from the cockatiels before you have a dead bird.
Mating pairs should never have a third wheel.

Please don´t call your bird dumb.
Like @Lady Jane said, are you sure they are M F?
What is their diet?
Do you have a picture of their set up.
How much flight time do they have?
How far away is your avian vet?
You say you are happy to handfeed the chicks if needed, but have you done that before? If not, can the vet teach you? Or maybe a local breeder? The best way to learn handfeeding is one on one with someone teaching you and showing you.

If you have taken away the toy, the only thing giving him sexual release, he could snap and attack the hen. Monitor them very closely, if he gets aggressive with her, they need to be split up and his toy returned to him, wait a few weeks, and then try reintroducing them under close supervision.

Keep in mind, maybe they are not compatible. (Occams razor)

Don´t apologize for you English, you did good! My boyfriend speaks like a 4 year old child, maybe one day he will learn :)
 

Aldosky

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Welcome to the forum Adlosky,

Very important: Get the budgie in a separate cage away from the cockatiels before you have a dead bird.
Mating pairs should never have a third wheel.

Please don´t call your bird dumb.
Like @Lady Jane said, are you sure they are M F?
What is their diet?
Do you have a picture of their set up.
How much flight time do they have?
How far away is your avian vet?
You say you are happy to handfeed the chicks if needed, but have you done that before? If not, can the vet teach you? Or maybe a local breeder? The best way to learn handfeeding is one on one with someone teaching you and showing you.

If you have taken away the toy, the only thing giving him sexual release, he could snap and attack the hen. Monitor them very closely, if he gets aggressive with her, they need to be split up and his toy returned to him, wait a few weeks, and then try reintroducing them under close supervision.

Keep in mind, maybe they are not compatible. (Occams razor)

Don´t apologize for you English, you did good! My boyfriend speaks like a 4 year old child, maybe one day he will learn :)
Hey, answering you questions
1: I did not get them a DNA test but the vets i have been to said they are all pretty sure of their gender.
2: They always have mixed seeds in the cage, but I plant some seeds in pots that I put in the cage so they have some grass, always every other day I give them fresh lettuce and sometimes a piece of apple, they also love baby salad so I get them that as well sometimes. The water is always fresh and I put vitamin supplements in the water so they remain healthy with strong beaks.
3: I will upload a picture of the setup… (dont be scared, i'm just about to clean the cage)
4: the cockatiels are not tamed, as I adopted them when they were adult already so it is hard to allow them to fly (I am working towards taming them).
5: The vet is only a 10 minute drive away (around 3 km)
6:I have never handfed before, and yes I do have a vet that can help me out with that.

I do keep them monitored most of the time, they are just outside my room so I check on them every 30 minutes. For now the hen and the male seem to slowly get along better and better. Also IDK what is meant by mating pair, but they do not come from the same store, and the female is 3 or 4 months younger. The female keeps spending most of her day in the nest, like if she is preparing to lay an egg. She will just go out to eat drink poo and then she will go back in.

Anyways thank you very much for your response, if you have any more suggestions please, I'm open.
 

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Zara

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1: I did not get them a DNA test but the vets i have been to said they are all pretty sure of their gender.
If you can get some clear pictures of the birds, I´m sure some AA members can confirm that for you.

2: They always have mixed seeds in the cage, but I plant some seeds in pots that I put in the cage so they have some grass, always every other day I give them fresh lettuce and sometimes a piece of apple, they also love baby salad so I get them that as well sometimes.
Those pots are not a good idea, in fact if they have soil in, they are bad. Also, if they are baron, best remove them until the plant is lush.
If you want to make grass, you will have to grow it in coco peat.
Lettuce is not something you should feed much of as it has little nutrition, it is just water.
Try feeding things like, peppers, kale, broccoli, green beans, bok choy, collard greens, coliflor, carrot, snap peas, quinoa, brown rice, cooked or sprouted lentils/mung beans.
(Sorry I do not know what baby salad is)
Food is important, especially for a laying hen. She needs to be eating well and be healthy.
If you can buy pellets, they would be great to introduce to your birds too.
It would be better for the birds to be eating well for months before breeding.
Converting Parrots to a Healthier Diet - Tips | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
Some general info on sprouting .. thought it might be helpful | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
You can also try offering things like bird bread (not our bread), @Ripshod has a good recipe.

3: I will upload a picture of the setup… (dont be scared, i'm just about to clean the cage)
That´s a good cage, but you should replace most of the dowel with natural branches. You can either purchase some, or collect your own from trees that have had no pesticides used on them and then you must clean them.
The budgie should really be removed.


Glad to hear you have a vet so close by and that they will teach you handfeeding.

Also IDK what is meant by mating pair,
Mating pair is a pair of birds who mate. Two birds hat have sex.
Your birds are not yet a mating pair, but when they mate , they will be.
When you see other breeders cages, unless it is a large aviary, they house birds in twos. A third bird will cause aggression and provoke attacks.

The female keeps spending most of her day in the nest,
Yes the female willñ get the nest comfortable before laying. Usually up to a week before.

 
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Cynthia & Percy

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