Why are my Cockatiels eggs not fertile?

[American]

I have a pair of Cockatiels they’re about two years old. They breed and lay eggs, but none of their eggs are ever fertile or hatch. What could be the problem?

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum. Maybe they're too young still? Also, and I don't mean this to sound silly- but are they definitely male and female? Sometimes people are surprised... (And do you actually want babies? There are so many birds out there in need of homes. And raising babies isn't as easy as people sometimes think.)

 

[American]

Thank you for the response. The female was DNA tested and she looks like a female cockatiel, the male is a whiteface and he looks like a male whiteface. Im okay with or without babies, I was just curious why they’re not fertile.

 

[Lady Jane]

Why don't you give them a rest and separate for a while. Nature is telling you its not the right time and may not be the right pair.

 

[American]

Thank you for the reply. I’ve been thinking about separating them for a little while. How long would you recommend separating them?

 

[Lady Jane]

Until next Springtime.

 

[enigma731]

If they're a bonded pair, I wouldn't separate them. That's cruel. Cockatiels are flock birds that need friends. If you want to discourage breeding, then take out everything that encourages nesting/broody behavior.

 

[American]

Thank you for the reply. I think I will just take all the stuff that encourages breeding out of their cage.

 

[Tara81]

Did you candle all the eggs? I ask because maybe they aren’t properly incubating the eggs. Or maybe genetics. At around 18 months is when they are the right age to start breeding so maybe they were too young before as well. Since they aren’t having much luck, maybe you can give them a rest from trying to breed, and research how to handfeed in case they don’t raise their young properly when they do hatch in the future. First time cockatiel parents sometimes don’t take proper care of their young, so it’s great to learn about handfeeding just in case.

 

[Zara]

Have a check of your birds environment. Something is simple as perches could be the answer. A loose perch can cause infertile eggs.

Next spring provide a platform perch for them, they may find it easier to mate on.

As said by Tara, please research well before trying to breed (create offspring). Here is a good link to read;

Tips For Breeders

And a video;
This is about hand rearing baby birds, but again as Tara said, it often happens that new parents will not feed their offspring properly and you will need to be prepared to step in;

 

[finchly]

Good advice above

Also the diet could come into play (vitamin deficiencies etc.)

And to help stop the breeding for awhile without separating, you could cover the cage to give them 13 or 14 hours of darkness. You can separate them but there will be constant screaming lol. And anytime one is out it will plaster itself to the other one's cage. Easier not to I think.

 

[American]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I have candled the eggs, but nothing was in them.
They don’t breed on the perch usually, they breed on the bottom of the cage, is it okay for them to breed on the bottom?

Thank you all for the advice I’ll try some of the things y’all mentioned. I will be reading the stuff about breeding and watch the videos about it, so I can learn more about it.

 

[Zara]

I have candled the eggs, but nothing was in them.

When?
Best time to candle an egg is about a week or so after the hen starts to brood.
All eggs will appear infertile for the first few days.

They don’t breed on the perch usually, they breed on the bottom of the cage, is it okay for them to breed on the bottom?

What do you mean by ¨breed¨? Maybe ¨mate¨? (breed is when offspring are successfully produced)
My pairs mate both on the floor and on perches- both wooden and rope.

 

[American]

I did wait a week to candle them. Sorry I meant mate. I think I’m just gonna take the stuff out that encourages them to mate for a little while.

 

[Tara81]

I did wait a week to candle them. Sorry I meant mate. I think I’m just gonna take the stuff out that encourages them to mate for a little while.

Yea are you sure they aren't siblings as well? Are they different mutations? Just something to think about if you bought them at the same place

 

[American]

I bought them from different places. My male is a white face and my female is pearl.

 

[Tara81]

I bought them from different places. My male is a white face and my female is pearl.

Since you are very interested in breeding, do you know all the chicks will most likely be normal greys from that pairing? (unless mom is split to whiteface) Just curious if you were looking for a different outcome

 

[American]

yeah I know that. I didn’t know when I first got the male, but it doesn’t bother me.