Ask Lafeber

Breeding birds

I have two cockateils i am sure of their gender as the female lays eggs and the male does his thing unfortunately the birds arent i terested in mating the female would make the mating call and the male would just ignore. The male would sometimes try and have sexual inter course with a chair where he sees his reflection and i bought the two birds at different time from different places so they arent related they get enough light and they are friendly towards humans but the male sometimes would hit the female away when she tries to get close is there anything i can do to make them love eachother. They are outside the cage most of the time so maybe they dont spend enough time together not sure

Hi Aya,

The problem here is that the birds are in a confusing situation. The male can’t decide between being a breeder or being a pet. When you have a breeding pair, they can’t be handled as pets anymore. Some will be tame again when they aren’t breeding, but generally you lose your pet when it becomes a breeder. The birds need to be caged together and not be allowed to roam. They need privacy from humans so they can focus on each other. So basically you need to decide if you want pets or breeders. If pets, then remove the nest box and don’t give them anything to nest in. If breeders, keep them in the cage and only check on them to feed them or check in quickly.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda