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Question:

June 1, 2020

compatible cocktails


Hello.

I have two cocktails. We where told the one is male and the other female about two weeks ago we found out both are male. We took the one male and exchanged him for a female ( he got a new loving home) now my question is how long does it take for them to bond and start breeding?? Iv provide a nesting box outside the cage and the male is in and out of the box. I also see that when the female gets close to him or the box he is really agitated with her. He was biting her in the 1st week but is see that he will allow her to come closer but not to close to him.


Answer:

Hi Megan,

The first thing you need to do is to remove the nest box for right now. Unfortunately you were not given advice on introducing a new mate. This needs to be done gradually. First, any new bird should be kept in quarantine in a separate room for 30-45 days just in case it is sick. After that, you should place the bird in a cage near the bird you already had. Of course you didn’t know about these two steps and the birds are together already. However, the male already had his territory established with a mate he was bonded to – even if they were both males. So he needs time to adjust to the other male being gone. He sees this female as an intruder right now because he has no way of knowing his mate isn’t coming back. What you did was fine since your goal is to breed. He will get over it and hopefully he will bond with the female. But having the nest box up is not good because it adds to his territorial behavior.

If the birds fight after the nest box is removed, you might need to split them up for now. Some vocal squabbling and beak sparring is fine, but if the feathers start flying or if there is any blood drawn, they need to immediately be separated. If this happens, I would leave the female in the male’s cage, and put him in a different cage. This will give her time to adjust to the cage without his interference. Keep them side by side until you see them showing interest in each other such as vocalizing back and forth or trying to reach each other. Then you can put the male back in with her. Not all birds will bond and not all birds will make good breeders. But with any luck, these two will end up bonding. If they start to sit together, groom each other and even feed one another, this is very promising behavior. Do not give the nest box to them until they are showing these strong signs of bonding. If you see them mating, then it is definitely time to try the box again.

Remember that the nest box should never be left up year round. Cockatiels will breed all year in captivity, because they do not have the environmental changes to trigger them to stop. So it is your responsibility to remove the nest box between each clutch and let the parents rest for a few months. They really should only be allowed to have up to two clutched per year. Laying eggs and feeding chicks is very draining on the hen’s resources, but it is also hard on the male. A pair left to breed indiscriminately through the year will have a short breeding life and short lifespans in general. And the chicks will be less healthy with a pair that is over bred.

Good luck with this new female and I hope the bonding goes well and they are ready to breed in a few weeks or months.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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