Ask Lafeber

Cockatiels not mating

Hi.i have two cockatiels male is grey and female is white
I assume they have bonded cause they sit side by side and scratch each others head gently .i installed a nest box and I provide food and water and corn and boiled eggs and vitamin (in their water)but i have not seen them mate yet
I have seen cockatiels mate on youtube but mine are not doing it
Female spends more time in nest box than male and male does enter while female is in nest box but no eggs
Also They are in my room should i take them to a more quiet area ?and should i take the nest box away untill they mate and then install it again?i provide 12 hrs of light too
Thanks for your help

Hi Navid,

You might try moving the cage to a more private area if you are in your room a lot. Breeding birds need privacy and it is best to have them in an area where they will not see people other than for being fed or cleaning the cage. You also need to only minimally clean the cage when you are trying to get them to breed. Keep the papers or bedding changed out but no major cleaning inside the cage. And only clean the nest box in between clutches of birds. If the birds do breed and raise chicks, you would remove the nest box once the chicks have left it, and give the parents a few months to rest.

Sometimes you can do everything right and a pair will not breed. All you can do is set it up on your end and hope for the best. Are you 100% sure of the gender of each bird? It does sound like they are behaving like a pair, but two males will act this way sometimes, too. The lack of eggs could mean both are males. Or possibly the female is still too young.

You might try removing the box for a while, move the cage to a more private area, and give them the nest box back if you observe more bonding behavior.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda