[Gankaku]

I have a question! My first question(s) here. This has been bothering us for some time.

Our first cockatiel, Couscous, is a girl. She has a mate, Sunshine. They've mated, although I don't think they're particularly bonded. He loves her but he's also been showing off to the new girl Corinne, who won't have anything to do with him.

Anyway, Couscous has never once laid an egg. She's maybe, 3 years old now. Sunshine seems to be interested in a family.... We put a handmade nesting box in his cage once, and he was all in there, and really aggressive if anyone tried to take him out. I don't even know if he was using it for nesting more than he just liked the dark box.

Corinne, she's been laying eggs regularly, for like a month after we got her. She's maybe a year old.

Could Couscous be infertile?

Also since Sunshine seems to be interested in Corinne (but she won't have anything to do with him right now) could they be potential mates in the future?

 

[Laura]

Its hard to say why they haven't had a family yet could be because they are not bonded I don't really know.

Corrine is laying eggs regularly you said she won't have anything to do with the male so I am assuming they never mated, you should try and discourage her from laying eggs are you keeping them in there for her when she lays them? laying eggs regularly is very hard on there bodies, she is still abit young a female should really be atleast 18 mths old maybe she is not interested in him yet as she is young still

Are all three in the cage together? if you are looking at them to have a family, having 2 females and 1 male in a cage together is probably not a good idea

 

[Aly]

I would also try and discourage the egg laying in Corrine esspecially since she's not intrested in Sunshine. Some tiels just don't bond that way and never will. The likelyhood is very slim that she'll suddely become intrested in him although it may be possible. If you are certain that Couscous is a girl and she hasn't laid eggs it could be that the conditions aren't right for her. If you want to breed them I would remove Corrine for the time being so they can bond closer and she doesn't feel threatened by the other female. Also, try and do all you can to discourage the single female laying eggs in Corrine. It drains their body and is not the healthiest thing if she's become a chronic egg layer. Things that you can do is make sure she's getting 12+ hours of sleep (dark time), remove any nesting material, anything she mates with, don't rub her back or any area besides her head, limit high fat and high protein foods. During the time that she is laying her eggs make sure she is getting plently of calcium and vitamins in her foods like veggies, cuttle bone...etc.

 

[xxxSpikexxx]

I would try and get her to stop laying eggs less light ect. here are some links http://www.cockatiel.org/articles/incessant_egglaying.html and http://www.cockatiels.org/articles/breeding/eggs.html

 

[Many Feathers]

Are they all in the same cage? Do you have a proper sized nest box? Hung near the top of the cage?

If the egg layer is housed alone, let her incubate her eggs. Pulling them will only prompt her to lay more. If she has a nest box, remove it in about 18-21 days after last egg was laid. That will give her time to realize they won't hatch.