My male cockatiel is not showing any nesting behaviors, but the female is biting up the wooden sticks, paper, coir, everything into a cardboard box.
My cockatiel are not mating yet, they have together for a week now, and my male keeps whistling to the female, but no mating yet
Hi,
Both of your birds should be 2 years or older to breed. If they are younger than 2, they should not be together yet. They need a wooden nest box. If you have given them a cardboard box, you need to take it out. It is not suitable as a nest, and it will cause confusion and distract both birds from the real nest box. It needs to be wood – cardboard is flimsy and will fall apart when it gets wet. It can also support mold and mildew growth. Once you have a wood nest box, it should be attached to the cage as high as possible. The birds will chew on the items you mentioned, but cockatiels rarely use any nesting material. Sometimes they pull some feathers to line the nest box inside.
You need a lot of patience to breed birds. If your birds have only been together for a week, they have not had time to bond. Bonding for a pair can take weeks or months. They may not bond at all. In the wild they choose a mate, so they do not always like the mate we choose for them. You should not give them the nest box until the pair has bonded. They should start spending most of their time together, feeding and grooming each other, and eventually mating. It could happen in a few weeks, it could happen next year, it may not happen at all. You can’t force them to bond or breed. But if they have a nest box before they are mating, the female is likely to claim it and lay infertile eggs, which is a waste of her health and energy. So for now, remove the nest box and do not give them a nest box until you see them mating. Don’t give them anything the female can sit in – no boxes, bird tents, huts or large food bowls. If she decides to nest without him, she may never bond with him. You should give them plenty of privacy. If you are watching them all the time, they aren’t going to bond. You need to be feeding them a nutritionally balanced food like pellets – a loose seed mix will not provide the nutrition they need. You should also offer leafy greens, chopped veggies and some fruit. If they bond and start mating, offer an egg food daily. This can be a commercial dry diet or you can cook an egg with the shell washed, crushed and cooked with the egg. Again, remember to be patient. If you are already anxious after only one week, you may not be cut out for breeding birds. There is a lot of waiting involved, and even if they bond, mate and lay eggs, the eggs may not hatch or they may not feed the chicks. The first clutch almost always fails, and then you have to remove the nest box and rest the pair for 6 months before you let them try again. You can’t let them breed over and over or it will eventually kill the hen from laying eggs too often. Only allow two clutches per year with a 6 month rest in between.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
