Cockatiels mating....

[SkyBlue241]

Hey guys. I havn't been on this site for a long while, but I still consider it the best place to go for any questions relating to my birds. :D Now on to the actual topic. I noticed that Marmalade seemed a bit lonely at times, and she is always putting up with Sky's attempts to mate with her. Sky (my budgie), trys preening her and feeding her, ateast I think he does. He tryed spitting seeds out of his mouth into hers. Anyway, I just bought a male cockatiel (Marmalade is a female) just two days ago. I think I'll call him Zeus, hehe. So theve already started to bond. Just tonight they began preening eachothers feathers (mostly around the head and crest) and they did it for about half an hour on my leg while I watched tv. My dad doesn't want babies right now though in the house, so I'm not completely sure what to do with the eggs if they have any. Should I just throw them away? If my neighbors (who own birds) want them, I might just have to give the babies to them. Also I need to know if I should have some sort of a nesting box for them. If there are any things I NEED to know please give me some info.

[krazy4birds]

Hi there and glad to hear from you again....always welcome here. If you do not want them breeding do not put up anything for them to call "home". I have a pair also and they are "courting" right now too. I just leave them alone and if and when she lays I try to leave it on the bottom as long as she is trying to sit on it. Chances are pretty slim that any egg would make it under conditions like that. Someone else told me too that you can replace her eggs with wooden ones and when she tires of sitting take them out. I usually just let her sit (unless they break) on the bottom and eventually she does give up.
Now if you want to try to have some babies then they should have a nesting box. My husband made mine, it is about an 8x8 that sits on the outsde of the cage and I bumped it up real tight against the cage and tie it with those zip ties. The hole they use to go in and out is just one of their feed/water places and I tie up the door to it. He also (prior to mounting) drills holes in the box just big enough to get some air in there. The top of the breeding box should have hinges so you can check on them without disturbing them. I hope this all helps, it is what I know but I'm sure there are others who can help too. :) I have had 2 different sets of babies and found good homes but I will probably not have anymore due largely to the fact of they are hard to place in my place here in the country and there are so many unwanted birds in the city that I would rather go there first. I must admit though.....it is totally amazing to see mother nature at her finest and those sweet little ones :p

[SkyBlue241]

Haha it is really amazing, and just watching Marm. and Zeus' reactions when I put them together was so exciting. I'm glad that she has a mate now, and your info was extremely helpful. Thanks. Now I have to try an get Sky a mate before he trys mounting Marmalade, lol. I realize that even I don't have a close bird friend at the moment, it's definetely worth it, since I can watch the birds being natural and happy. Since Sky has lost Marm. to Zeus, I'm gonna be spending more time with him so he doesn't get lonely. Oh, if Marm. has eggs and if I dont replace them with wooden ones, will she go crazy or something? I don't wanna throw the eggs away, but if I can't find them a home, I'm afraid I have no choice. Ok I think that for the moment I wont make a nesting box, but I'll just buy some fake hay or something incase she does have some, cause I dont wanna have the eggs breaking in the cage or anything. Glad to hear from you krazy, I had a feeling you were gonna be the first to reply, lol.:p:D

[krazy4birds]

You do not have to throw them away if you don't want, just let her sit on them if she wants too. If she shows no interest in the eggs then it will do no harm to take them out. She can sit on her eggs and when she tires of it and her natural instincts tell her there will be no hatching she will give give it up on her own. So far my female, Myrtle has shown no signs of the nesting instincts they will get sometimes (like shredding paper in the bottom of the cage etc...) so I am hoping she will not lay any this year. Good luck to you
Skyblue...keep me posted! :)