My bonded pair of cockatiels are just at 12-14 months old. Our girl started laying eggs a few days ago and we have 2, but she’s looking heavy like another is coming. I’m scared that they are young. She is protective of the nest and cares for the eggs. I was going to wait til she was done laying and try to candle them to see if I can see an embryo. Any advice?
Hi Lindsay,
Yes, the birds are really too young. Cockatiels should not be paired until both birds are at least 2 years old, and they definitely should not be given a nest box at their age. She is at a high risk of becoming egg bound, so if she fails to lay the next egg on time, and looks puffed up or her tail is pumping, rush her to the Vet. She will lay 4 to 6 eggs. They nest too young in captivity, given the chance. But there are a lot of risks letting young bird breed. She is at a higher risk of becoming egg bound and dying. Both birds are often too immature mentally to care for eggs or chicks. The male might help at first, but he is more likely to stop after a few days and just want to mate again. This can cause fights, or he might even destroy the eggs to make her mate again. Whether these eggs hatch or not, take the nest box away as soon as they are done with the eggs, or if they do hatch chicks, as soon as the chicks leave the box. Do not give them a nest box again until they are both over 2 years old. Then if they breed again, always rest them, without their nest box, for 6 months between each clutch whether the eggs hatch or not. If they develop bad breeding habits now like abandoning the eggs too soon, breaking the eggs, not feeding the chicks, etc. this can ruin them for breeding in the future. First clutches almost always fail, regardless of the parents ages, so don’t be too disappointed if the eggs are fertile, but don’t result in chicks. Hopefully you are feeding them a nutritionally balanced diet like pellets – a seed mix won’t provide what they need. You should also offer greens, veggies and fruit. And go ahead and start offering an egg food daily. You can cook an egg with the shell washed, crushed and cooked with the egg. It is very important for the hen, because she loses a lot of protein and calcium with each egg she lays. And at her age, she is still growing and going through some physical development, so her nutrition needs are higher. If they are just on seeds, add all of the foods I mentioned and hopefully they will start to eat them. If the chicks do hatch, it’s really important that the parents are eating more than seeds, so that the chicks get enough nutrition.
As for candling the eggs, they have to sit on them for a minimum of 48 hours, per egg, before any growth even begins. One parent sits during the day, and one sits at night. And each egg takes the same incubation period, so they hatch every other day, in the order they were laid. If the eggs are not fertile, I would take the box down, and even separate the pair and let them be in cages side by side until old enough to breed. This gives them both time to finish growing and maturing.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
