Pair will not mate, but go thru the whole nesting cycle

[Darklotus555]

I have a pair of cockatiel. She has laid several clutches, but eggs are never fertile because the male will not mate. He is a great dad. He sits on the eggs, prepares the nest, he is protective of the nest box. But will not actually breed.
Will Cockatiel switch mates? Or only breed with their mate? I have 2 other breeding pair, but would love to see this hen actually have a clutch. Should I try to find her a new mate?
I have tried everything to get these 2 to produce actual chicks, but just get infertile eggs.

 

[expressmailtome]

I do not mean to be rude, but are you sure that he is a male?

 

[Darklotus555]

Yes, unless DNA lies

 

[MiniMacaw]

Funny you say that...I have a dna female plum head parakeet. I started to notice some red feathers coming in on her head after her second big molt. Worrying it was a deficiency of some sort off to the vet we went. And she is a he lol. First dna test was wrong. I’m told it’s rare, but it definitely happens. This little stinker is now almost done getting his adult male colors in, but it didn’t even cross my mind at first since he was already dna tested a “she.”

 

[finchly]

You can switch mates, but if they’re tightly bonded it’s really hard on them emotionally.
Some breeders switch them around to get different colors, I never do because I don’t have the heart.

 

[Darklotus555]

Well, he does the wolf whistle, heart wings and very vocal. I saw them mate once, before her first clutch. I have never seen them mate again. Every clutch has been infertile. They are not very bonded. I don't see them preening each other, or any other "mate" behavior.
He is a good dad, like i said. But even a few years ago, he would sit in other clutches, and feed other bird's chicks. He belongs to my roommate, the female is mine. I moved away for 2 years, and he was housed with another male. I feel they "bonded" but the other male has mental issues. He is only, how do I put this, excited over cloth. He LOVES wash clothes, dish towels, anything material. He will blow kisses, do heart wings,...get lovey, but only with material. STRANGE BIRD. Neither of the birds during this time laid eggs...so I am very sure its male.
its also not like the 2 males tried to mate, and the male I am posting about seems normal.
I have tried Vitamin E, and probiotics, they always give chop.
I have 2 other males (4 total) and they have produced chicks with their mates. I guess I need a new young, healthy, viral male....but this male would produce beautiful babies.
Attached is the hen, clear yellow pied, and the male, white face pied.

 

[Zara]

There´s not enough bedding in your nest. It won´t change anything RE mating, but will be important for when you finally get fertile eggs. Needs to be a few inches deep or as deep as you can get it..

I see on the second pic, your male is with two other birds? How are your couple housed? If they are with other birds, maybe being in their own cage/space could help.

Do you have any platform perches? They could make it easier to mate on.

I have a pair of bonded lovebirds, and for a long time they struggled mating, it was very awkward and eventually the male would get so frustrated he would return to mate the boing, something he´s always known. She has a foot problem so can´t balance well with his weight on her. So double check all of your perches are well fixed and strong, if they wobble or move, he may get frustrated and revert to his cloth seeking ways.

The last thing is that some birds just take longer to work it all out than others. @Khizz had her pair of tiels for a couple of years before they worked out the whole mating routine.

 

[Darklotus555]

He "rearranged" the nest box about 2 weeks before she laid eggs. He threw out a lot of the aspen bedding.
The pic of him was taken over the winter, I do not encourage year round breeding. They have been housed alone since early spring.
They have several types of perches, yet my other pairs prefer to mate in the nest boxes. There is a shelf inside their cage as well.
This is year 2 they have had clutches. I removed the male and box at one point, and she would lay eggs everywhere. I finally put the 2 back together with a box, and she laid a clutch, but he would not help at all. Finally removed her, and made sure she got 14 hours of total darkness, in a cage by herself. She stopped laying until this spring. This is clutch 2, laid 5 eggs, none fertile....again.