Ask Lafeber

behaviour and breeding

i have a pair of cockatiels. they mate regularly and often frequent the nest box either one or both of them together. but they laid no eggs. sometime ago i noticed that (not always but mostly) when the female cockatiel enters the nest box the male starts to sing( like a mating call, whistling) and move here and there on the perch and then she comes out. (and after that he sometimes goes into the nest box himself)
is it normal? oris there a problem? when will they lay eggs?

Hi,

I always say it takes a lot of patience to breed birds. This is where the patience really comes into play. Your cockatiels are acting like a normal pair, and most likely they will lay eggs – eventually. Unfortunately I can’t give you a time frame. They might lay in a few days or a few weeks or a couple of years. It’s all up to them now. All you can do is provide a healthy diet, and a quiet, private place for their cage.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda