Ask Lafeber

2 female cockatiels

So 2 female cockatiels can have babies together without a male?

Hi Melanie,

No, this is definitely not possible. But many people do get confused about this. Any bird can lay eggs with or without a male. But unless she mated with a male before she laid eggs, the eggs will not be fertile. It’s just like the chicken eggs you buy at the grocery store. Those chickens have never even seen a rooster. All of the eggs you buy are not fertile.

If your cockatiels are laying eggs, then you need to take steps to stop them. Single cockatiels are notorious for becoming chronic egg layers. This not only affects their quality of life, since she will spend all of her time uselessly sitting on her eggs, but it will drastically reduce her lifespan due to the strain on her body. In the wild, a cockatiel pair would only have one clutch of chicks in a year. This is during breeding season when the weather is warmer, days are longer, food is abundant and they can find a safe place to nest. Once the breeding season is over and the weather changes, the pair leaves the area and will not nest again until the next year.

In captivity, the conditions for breeding are ideal year round, so it is the owner’s responsibility to discourage breeding and nesting except for once or twice per year. With breeding pairs, the nest box is removed so the pair will rest for several months. When you only have one female or only have females, it is best for them to not lay eggs at all since it will be fruitless. You need to take steps to reverse the perfect breeding conditions. Limit her daylight hours to 8-10 by covering the cage early each evening. Never give her anything she can use as a nest, and definitely not a nest box. Adult birds do not need a nest to sleep in – it is a tool that is only used during the breeding season. So no boxes, bird tents, huts – nothing she can sit in, including food bowls. Give her several small cups for food if she insists on sitting in a food bowl. If she chooses a corner of the cage as a nesting area, hang toys in that corner to block it off. Do not let her have anything to shred like paper, cardboard or cage bedding. If her cage doesn’t have a metal floor grate, then leave the tray bare and clean it daily. If you give her fresh foods, stop offering these for a while, and then only offer a couple of times a week. Rearrange the toys and perches in the cage frequently. Move the cage to a busy place in the room, and keep moving it weekly. These are all things that are disruptive and can signal her that it is not a safe place or time to lay eggs. If she still lays eggs, then it is time to take her to an Avian vet for a hormone shot or implant. This is a serious, life threatening condition. Chronic egg laying drains her resources and is physically demanding for her body. When she sits on the eggs, she doesn’t have a mate to take turns, so she isn’t getting any exercise, she won’t eat frequently enough, and she will hold her droppings inside and only poop a huge dropping each morning and maybe once at night. This is hard on her intestines and can actually result in an infection.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda