Ask Lafeber

My cockatiels

So I have a male and a female cockatiel since 6 years and they never mate! They fight sometimes but they never breed. Since 2 years my female cockatiel is laying eggs without breeding and my male cockatiel never sits on the eggs also as soon as my female cockatiels lays eggs she starts attacking my male cockatiel very furiously as soon as she sees the sight of him and she keeps on sitting on those eggs for days and eventually the eggs never hatch…. I’m very confused by what all is happening! Kindly revert me asap

Hi Ramya,

These two birds are clearly not compatible and should be separated. If they were going to bond as a pair, they would have already. They choose their own mate in the wild, and do not always like the mate we choose. When a pair fails to bond, it is best to split them up and try new mates with each bird. It’s not good to allow the female to fruitlessly lay eggs. It depletes her body of calcium and each egg takes a physical toll on her. A pair should be rested, with no nest box, for at least 6 months after each clutch whether the eggs hatch or not. They should be limited to 2 clutches per year. In the wild they only lay eggs once a year. If she continues to keep laying eggs over and over, she will eventually die. Some birds simply are not good for breeding, and this may be the case for one or both of these birds. But they certainly are not good as a breeding pair so go ahead and split them up, or stop giving them a next box and don’t try to breed them anymore.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda