Ask Lafeber

Cockatiels breeding

So I have two cockatiels and I thought they were both male. However, the male I originally had started getting on top of the new ones back and the new bird has been lifting her tail and chirping when he is on the new bird. But the male bird doesn’t mate, just stands on the new birds back. I am sure that the new bird is a female so my question is, why is my male cockatiel not attempting to actually breed?

Hi,

Both birds may be too young. They need to be at least 2 years old for breeding. Also, mating behavior does not necessarily mean you have a male and female. In captivity same sex pairs often bond like a male a female and even display mating behavior.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda