Ask Lafeber

Cookatiel mating

I have a lutino cookatiel which I know a Male and a albino cookatiel which I know a female, they bonding and kissing and go inside a nesting box but I’ve notice that a female want to go un top of a Male when they want to mate.

Hi Edward,

There are visual ways to determine the sex of a lutino cockatiel but not an albino. Unless you have had a blood test run or the bird has laid eggs, there is no other way to know for sure that it is a female. It sounds to me like you either have two males birds or you have their genders reversed. Unless the birds are very young and don’t know what they are doing, in which case they are not ready to breed yet and you should remove the nest box.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda