Ask Lafeber

Cockatiel male fights with female

I have a cockatiel pair form more then 1 year. Recently they lay 4 eggs of their first breeding clutch. From last week they were sitting on eggs for hatching on rotation basis like male in day and female in night. But from today male cockatiel is coming out of nest box sudden again and again and attaching female cockatiel. Why is that so and what I should do to settle this out as they have eggs on hatching. Also want to know that could female cockatiel can perform egg hatching process all alone means without need of male cockatiel in cage?

Hi Meraj,

Both parents care for the eggs and chicks. It is too much work for just the female – she would be at risk of getting malnourished and physically worn out. Sometimes the males will do this in captivity and it’s hard to know why. Your birds need to be about 2 years old for breeding, so if they are younger, then the male simply isn’t interested in settling down for raising chicks. He may want to breed again. If he keeps this up, you can try rotating the parents, leaving one in the cage during the day, and the other at night. Hopefully if chicks start hatching, the male will settle down and both parents can be in the cage at the same time. Not all birds will make good breeders. It is important to remove the nest box and rest the pair between each clutch for about 6 months. If he does this the nest time, then it may be best to not set this pair up for breeding again.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda