Ask Lafeber

Feeding female

My female cockatiel is in the nest on eggs I don’t know. Should I feed her and what?

Hi Wilma,

You didn’t mention a mate, so if she doesn’t have a male, the female does not need a nest. You should take the nest away and put the eggs on the cage floor or throw them away.

If you do have a breeding pair, then she will come out of the nest for short periods to eat and drink. Usually one parent sits during the day, and one sits at night. Both parents work together. If this is their first clutch, they may not be successful – most first clutches fail. But they need to learn if you plan to breed them again. So just give them plenty of privacy and don’t check on them too often or they will get nervous and might break the eggs or harm the chicks if any hatch. If they do hatch chicks, the parents need a lot of food, which you should already be offering. They need a nutritionally balanced diet like pellets – a loose seed mix will not provide what the chicks need. You should also offer chopped veggies, some fruit, leafy greens and cooked eggs with the shell washed, crushed and cooked with the egg. The parents also need a cuttlebone or mineral block. Most breeding birds will eat foods they never ate before, so offer these foods now, and continue once the chicks hatch.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda