Ask Lafeber

breeding

My male cockatiel is 9 months old and my female cockatiel is 8 months old. Can they mate now coz they are actually interested in each other and my male makes the call. Is it good to breed now or should I separate them?

Hi Jenifer,

You should definitely keep them separated until they are 2 years old. They are capable of breeding already, but they are really too young. In the wild they would not breed at this young age. But in captivity, they tend to get sexually mature at too young of an age. They still have some physical and mental development ahead of them. If you let birds breed when they are too young, there can be several issues. A young female is at a higher risk of becoming egg bound and dying. Young males are generally only interested in mating, and are not ready to settle down and care for eggs or chicks. Both the male and female take turns sitting on the eggs, and a young male will often stop helping and want to mate again after a few days. He can actually get aggressive towards the female and sometimes he will go in and destroy the eggs. Young pairs are also bad about eating the eggs, and once they start this, you can rarely break the habit so it ruins them from being good breeders. You also need to consider what you want from these birds. If these are both tame pets, you will lose them as pets if you set them up to breed when they are old enough. Breeder birds need to be left alone and not handled. And they end up bonding with each other and losing interest in humans.

You do need to discourage her from laying eggs now. Cockatiels breed in the wild when the days are longer, weather is warmer, food is abundant and they have a safe place to nest. In captivity, we provide these conditions year round, so we have had to learn methods to keep them from breeding year round. Even if you want them to breed when they are old enough, it is not healthy for them to have multiple clutches year round – 2 clutches per year with a 6 month rest in between is the most they should be allowed. To discourage egg laying, you can reduce her daily light to 8-10 hours by covering the cage early each evening. Rearrange toys and perches in the cage regularly, and move the cage to another place in the room regularly. A busy, high traffic area can keep her from feeling like she has a safe nesting place. Don’t give her anything she can use as a nest – no bird huts or tents, boxes or even large food dishes. If she starts to sit in a dish, remove it and replace it with small dishes. If she starts to sit in one corner of the cage, hang some toys there to keep her from doing this. Don’t give her anything to shred – no paper or cardboard. If her cage does not have a floor grate, then don’t use anything in the tray and just clean it daily. When she is out of the cage, don’t let her get in cozy or dark places, and don’t let her wander around the house. Don’t let her come and go from her cage as she pleases – this much freedom can actually trigger hormones and nesting. If you give her fresh foods, limit those to small amounts 2 or 3 times a week. All of these things can help, but again, she still may lay eggs at some point. If she lays eggs too often, then you would need to take her to an Avian Vet for a hormone shot or implant.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda