Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 3/21/2008

Question
i was wondering if you could awncer theses qusetions please e mail me asap thanks.i have 2 cockatiels i know one is female because she has laid 3 eggs but i am not sure of the other. they are in 2 diffrent cages the female is not trained and does not like to be handled the other likes to be around people they ar in 2 diffrent cages but im not sure if they have mated or if they even like each other the female will go into the other cage when i let them out i think she likes the other bird but it does not seem intrested in her they will fight when they get too close. I was wondering if the eggs could be fertilized or not because they have spent the night in the same cage at times. Should i have them in the same cage while she is laying the eggs? if the other bird is also female will she hurt hurt eggs? if it is male will it try to help with the eggs if i put them together?  I dont have a nest box yet and the female is just laying on the botom of her cage should i put them in anything? her cage is a bit smaller than the other birds cage should i switch there cages or would it be ok to put them together? also she has not been siting on the eggs from what i have seen but i am not home all the time and this is the first time she has ever laid eggs will she sit on them there is 3 or them. i have had them for a year and about 6 months the female was young when i got her the other i dont know the age. i got them to keep each other company and also if they were male and female to breed. I hope you can help me please awncer my questions i need some help. thank you. Kacy.

Answer
Hi, Kacy,

The expert you sent your original post to could not answer, and I picked your post up from the question pool this morning.  Please tell me who you sent your original post to.

I really can't advise you very much because you do not know the sex of the second bird and/or if they have mated or not.  Female parrots can lay infertile eggs without having mated with a male bird.  Since you do not know if they have mated and/or if you have a male bird, the only advice I can give you at this point in time is to just leave the eggs where the female has laid them and let her tend to them if she will.  She may not incubate them at all or she may incubate them (sit on them).  Regardless, if you remove any eggs, she'll likely just keep laying and laying until she gets a full clutch of eggs under her.  Therefore, just let them be until they either hatch or she abandons them on her own.  Normally, a pair of birds have to pair-bond before they will mate.  Pair-bonding is when the male feeds his female beak-to-beak.  If this is not occurring, then chances are this pair are not pair-bonded and the eggs are infertile.  However, I can't be sure of this since I don't know your birds and haven't been able to witness their behavior.

Males assist in the incubation and feeding process.  Therefore, a pair-bonded set of birds should remain together throughout this entire process.  A female bird cannot usually handle this all by herself (incubating, feeding any offspring, etc.).  The birds have different roles in this process.  

You can put them together if they get along with each other.  If the other bird is a female, she might destroy the eggs of another female.  

If you could provide a complete description of the other bird, better yet a good photo or 2, I might be able to help you determine the sex of the second bird.  You can also research different websites on the internet associated with cockatiels in hopes of helping you determine the sex of your other bird via coloration.  You can also have this bird DNA sexed.  Visit Zoogen or Avian Biotech Labs on the internet for more information on this.

Before allowing your birds to bred, if in fact you have a true breeding pair, please do much research and educate yourself as much as possible on birds in general, specifically cockatiels, so you will have the knowledge you need to handle situations your birds will get into.

Chrys