Ask Lafeber

Sick female, aggressive male

Hi, we have a pair of cockatiels snd it’s their 1st time laying eggs. The female got sick after the 3rd egg and her mate got aggressive with her and literally threw her out of the cage! He refuses to allow her to sit on the eggs. He took over all the csre of the eggs. We took the female to the vet snd she’s doing better but the male won’t allow her on the eggs. We have seperated them. We allow the female to sit on the eggs at night and the male during the day. I’m worried about the eggs, the female, the male’s aggressiveness. The vet said she got divk because she wss sitting on the eggs too much and her feces got stuck indide of her. She’s recovering but not at 100% yet. How should we hand the vety aggressive male? Thanks

Hi Eve,

In this situation, you generally need to remove the male. However, it is very hard on the female to incubate the eggs on her own. You need to candle the eggs to see if they are fertile. You can do a google search to learn how to do this. If the eggs are not fertile, you should throw them away, remove the nest box and keep the birds separate for now. Let the hen recover for at least 6 months and then try the pair back together. Not all pairs are compatible and not all of them are good as breeders. She may be to young – is she at least 2 years old?

If these eggs are fertile, you are going to have to help a lot. You will have to make sure the female is eating and taking care of herself. If switching the birds out is working, keep doing that. If the chicks do hatch and survive, then follow the above advice once they are weaned and let the hen rest.

Here is an article that discusses this type of issue. Again, this pair may not be good breeders so you might habe to stop giving them a nest box

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww61e.htm

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda