I have a pair of cockatiels, the male cockatiel is five years old and the female cockatiel is one year old. Four months ago (when the female was eight months old), they mated and laid four eggs, all of them were infertile . Again, four months later (when the female cockatiel was one year old), repeated mating was done and she laid four eggs, all of which were infertile . Is one of the two birds barren or is there another problem?
Hi,
The female is much too young to be breeding! And laying two clutches already, before a year of age, is very dangerous for her. Young hens are at a higher rate of getting egg bound or having complications with egg laying. I would separate the pair until she is 2 years old. She is more likely to lay fertile eggs at that time. If you keep trying to breed her at this age, she may never be a good breeder, or she could end up dying from egg laying. When you breed cockatiels, you should remove the nest box after every clutch and rest the pair for 6 months. In the wild they only lay one clutch per year, during breeding season. She has already had 2 clutches, and she isn’t even old enough and wasn’t rested long enough after the first clutch.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
