[Xenoh]

I just got my first cockatiel a week ago, she's a hen called Sunny.
She's an adoption, and between 1 and 1.5 years old.
She's been adjusting very well to me and her new home, but maybe slightly too well cause now she's trying to mate with me

I'm scared that she might lay eggs because of this.
I'm not encouraging the behaviour (petting her/giving her attention) but i'm not discouraging it either.
Should I?
And if so, how would I go about doing that?

 

[Janalee]

hen trying to mate with me

Yes, she probably is, or "pleasuring" herself. They will do that when they get hormonal. You can look up links on hormonal control (I am sorry I do not know how to put the link here). My previous bird was a hen and she would get that way sometimes. A couple of things I do know: increase her hours of darkness by covering her cage or putting her in a dark room. They should have at least 12 hours of darkness. Another thing, don't run your hand along the length of her back. She'd probably like it, but that stimulates hormonal behavior and egg laying. If she does lay eggs, she will be very protective of them and may become aggressive towards you. My bird was usually sweet, but she turned into a little monster when she had eggs. Sadly, I didn't know about hormonal control then. When she did lay eggs, I usually let her sit on them for a few days, then sneaked them away when she wasn't looking. That may not be the best thing to do though; maybe someone else can provide a better solution. Good luck!

 

[Xenoh]

Thanks for the response!

I'm going to try increasing the amount of darkness (before it used to be around 8-10 hours).
Hopefully this will atleast reduce her hormones

 

[legacypgmr]

Thanks for the response!

I'm going to try increasing the amount of darkness (before it used to be around 8-10 hours).
Hopefully this will at least reduce her hormones

I'm certainly no expert but reduce the daylight will stop her from laying eggs. Reducing or stopping hormonal urges ? Not as sure about that.

The mating episodes didn't happen all that often but when my female showed the obvious signs of wanting to mate, that is, crouching down, along with (usually) making some small squeaking/cooing sounds, I'd just stop petting her immediately and place her someplace else. That would stop that particular episode easily enough.