Cockatiels laying eggs

Saw this at bottom of cage. Thankfully kept them in separate cage away from the others as suspected they were a couple, even through breeder told me they were both males. Could tell from behavior and one trying to climb the other all the time that wasn't the case.

Both are healthy as had them at vet recently a month ago. Will have to change diet but already have them on Veggie and Grain Mix as well as pellets. Do let the fly around in the morning and when I am home, so they get exercise. Will put a breeding box in cage with nesting material for now. If I want to discourage it will freeze, or boil eggs and return back to nest. The good thing beside egg being broken due to no box in cage looks normal for the most part. Both are from a different clutch, so not worried about inbreeding as will separate the babies if I do allow them to eventually hatch. Pretty sure they will screw this up the first time around.

ParrotGenie said:

Will put a breeding box in cage with nesting material for now. Both are from a different clutch, so not worried about inbreeding as will separate the babies if I do allow them to eventually hatch. Pretty sure they will screw this up the first time around.

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What a little surprise!

What I have bolded above I'm assume you mean they have two different parents. Parents can have multiple clutches a year and so even directly related babies can be from different clutches but same parents. So as long as you are sure they are not related it should be a fun experience. As always when letting bird breed, be sure to research and be ready with your handfeeding formula and brooder should anything go wrong.

itzjbean said:

ParrotGenie said:

Will put a breeding box in cage with nesting material for now. Both are from a different clutch, so not worried about inbreeding as will separate the babies if I do allow them to eventually hatch. Pretty sure they will screw this up the first time around.

Click to expand...

What a little surprise!

What I have bolded above I'm assume you mean they have two different parents. Parents can have multiple clutches a year and so even directly related babies can be from different clutches but same parents. So as long as you are sure they are not related it should be a fun experience. As always when letting bird breed, be sure to research and be ready with your handfeeding formula and brooder should anything go wrong.

Click to expand...

Different parents as the Albino Cockatiels came from from breeder daughter and the father Albino cockatiel was originally a pet store bird she bought. Then they started breeding and she gave the babies to the father, which he raised for a couple of months and then sold the other 3 kept one and gave me both the the other as he knew I was looking for a male lutino cockatiel, he also gave me the lutino from his flock and the albino, as he assumed they were just bonding to each other and both were male and he didn't want to break the bond. I notice later definitely one was a female due to notice mating breeding behavior.

I won that bet as he was pretty sure they both were male and was telling him one definitely female, but he was a 100% sure they were both male and made a bet as was going to DNA test them. Egg definitely confirm suspicion.

Have a brooder setup from before and did throw in a breeding box, which is a box with a hole, sure have done this earlier but wasn't expecting her to lay this young? Will have to do for now, till I make a proper one with plywood, or get one from breeder, if he has a spare? Formula ordered already. Already had them on Veggie and Grain Mix as well as pellets I started with them a week after getting them and have a large cuttlebone and mineral block in cage.

Cockatiels for whatever reason (and Budgies) typically start young and unfortunately tend to be chronic layers. I have actually had both Cockatiels and Budgies who started laying around 5-6 months old, and because I didn't think they were even close to being old enough to breed I hadn't separated them. I've actually had Budgies start breeding before their Ceres had even stopped changing colors so I could tell their genders!

I don't know what your long-term plans are for this pair, but just keep in-mind that Cockatiels, probably more-so than any other parrot species, tend to be both chronic AND continual egg-layers, whether fertile or infertile. So once they start laying it can be extremely difficult to get them to stop, even if you separate them from their male-mates, remove all nest-boxes and nesting materials, put them on a Natural-Light Schedule, etc. So if you get to the point where you've decided you don't want to breed them any longer, start ASAP on discouraging the egg-laying and be strict about it, because sometimes they just refuse to stop laying...little buggers.

As far as the nest-box go, you can really use any type of box as long as it's closed and provides them privacy and has an entrance they can easily get in and out of. Just make sure you have plenty of bedding in the bottom of whatever it is that you're using for both the nest-box AND the Brooder, otherwise you'll have a bunch of babies doing permanent splits! And of course the mom will keep throwing the bedding out of the nest-box, just keep putting it back in so that there is a good half-inch to an inch on the bottom at all times, same for the Brooder since you're planning on pulling them between 2-3 weeks old and hand-raising them.