Possible Cockatiel Mating? Birds are acting strange...

[CloneFly]

Hello!
I own several cockatiels, and have some suspicions/concerns about a possible mating between two of them. My birds are about 15 mths and I recently noticed my male lutino (Mango) acting very friendly towards my Pearl split 2 Pied female, (Pïppïn).

Now please bear with me while I delve into the background "drama"

Pïppïn has been "pursuing" Mango for quite some time, grooming him & what not, but alas it was unrequited love. He would usually snap or take advantage of the free grooming & not groom her back. As of 3 days ago though, they have been sleeping side by side with mutual grooming taking place. They also touch beaks quite often. Last night, Mango (male) started pulling Pïppïn's (female) neck feathers and seemed to be attempting to mount her. I interrupted and got yelled at by Pïppïn. (This happened twice by the way.) Now I'm unsure if they have mated or not, I can't feel or see any eggs around the cage, but just to be safe I have moved Mango into a seperate cage. I'd like to breed them later on, but since my girl is so young, I'd like to hold off for another year or so.
After all that drama, here is my main concern: are they okay???? Their behavior has been off lately. The female is usually very spirited, often picking fights with me when perched on my shoulder, while the male usually isn't one for snuggles/scratches and can be bitey. As of late, they are both very mellow, the female is sleeping a lot and is showing concerning levels of patience. My male is also allowed kisses, snuggles and scratches without any attempts at drawing blood.

I just want to be sure they're ok. I hand raised them all together, so they're my little babies

 

[Zoohtasim]

Hello!
I own several cockatiels, and have some suspicions/concerns about a possible mating between two of them. My birds are about 15 mths and I recently noticed my male lutino (Mango) acting very friendly towards my Pearl split 2 Pied female, (Pïppïn).

Now please bear with me while I delve into the background "drama"

Pïppïn has been "pursuing" Mango for quite some time, grooming him & what not, but alas it was unrequited love. He would usually snap or take advantage of the free grooming & not groom her back. As of 3 days ago though, they have been sleeping side by side with mutual grooming taking place. They also touch beaks quite often. Last night, Mango (male) started pulling Pïppïn's (female) neck feathers and seemed to be attempting to mount her. I interrupted and got yelled at by Pïppïn. (This happened twice by the way.) Now I'm unsure if they have mated or not, I can't feel or see any eggs around the cage, but just to be safe I have moved Mango into a seperate cage. I'd like to breed them later on, but since my girl is so young, I'd like to hold off for another year or so.
After all that drama, here is my main concern: are they okay???? Their behavior has been off lately. The female is usually very spirited, often picking fights with me when perched on my shoulder, while the male usually isn't one for snuggles/scratches and can be bitey. As of late, they are both very mellow, the female is sleeping a lot and is showing concerning levels of patience. My male is also allowed kisses, snuggles and scratches without any attempts at drawing blood.

I just want to be sure they're ok. I hand raised them all together, so they're my little babiesView attachment 3186850View attachment 3186851

ADOOORABLE birds! And it's normal for females to act territorial while in breeding mood and by the description you gave, they've either already mated or were just about you. Nothing to worry about though. But about him pulling out her feathers, how manu exactly? Is she hurt in any way? Other than that, things sound normal

 

[Zoohtasim]

ADOOORABLE birds! And it's normal for females to act territorial while in breeding mood and by the description you gave, they've either already mated or were just about you. Nothing to worry about though. But about him pulling out her feathers, how manu exactly? Is she hurt in any way? Other than that, things sound normal

Also, them being mellow right now MAY mean they are missing each other. You could try to keep them in a separate cage side by side to see if their behaviour changes.

 

[ButtonHoarder]

I think cockatiels can mate without laying eggs, if they are like budgies.

 

[Serin]

15 months is definitely mature enough to breed. They are fully mature around nine months. I would not separate them or interrupt them!

 

[Jessijay]

Hello!
I own several cockatiels, and have some suspicions/concerns about a possible mating between two of them. My birds are about 15 mths and I recently noticed my male lutino (Mango) acting very friendly towards my Pearl split 2 Pied female, (Pïppïn).

Now please bear with me while I delve into the background "drama"

Pïppïn has been "pursuing" Mango for quite some time, grooming him & what not, but alas it was unrequited love. He would usually snap or take advantage of the free grooming & not groom her back. As of 3 days ago though, they have been sleeping side by side with mutual grooming taking place. They also touch beaks quite often. Last night, Mango (male) started pulling Pïppïn's (female) neck feathers and seemed to be attempting to mount her. I interrupted and got yelled at by Pïppïn. (This happened twice by the way.) Now I'm unsure if they have mated or not, I can't feel or see any eggs around the cage, but just to be safe I have moved Mango into a seperate cage. I'd like to breed them later on, but since my girl is so young, I'd like to hold off for another year or so.
After all that drama, here is my main concern: are they okay???? Their behavior has been off lately. The female is usually very spirited, often picking fights with me when perched on my shoulder, while the male usually isn't one for snuggles/scratches and can be bitey. As of late, they are both very mellow, the female is sleeping a lot and is showing concerning levels of patience. My male is also allowed kisses, snuggles and scratches without any attempts at drawing blood.

I just want to be sure they're ok. I hand raised them all together, so they're my little babiesView attachment 3186850View attachment 3186851

Has the shift in Behavior been since they have been separated? Generally cockatiels go through what I like to call the teenage phase and they tend to come out of it when they get a little bit older usually between a year-and-a-half and two years they start to come out of it and come more into what their adult personality will be like . If they are that bonded and affectionate with each other separating them is probably going to cause distress. If you're worried that they're breeding too early, control the amount of light they're getting make sure there are no potential Nest spots and avoid soft foods for the time being. Trick their bodies into thinking it is winter all the time. If you can control their hormones until you're ready to choose to breed them or allow them to breed it's a lot less stressful to them then trying to separate them. Cockatiels get very attached to each other and it can be very distressing to them when they can't get to or be close to who they're bonded to. Make sure they're getting at least 12 hours complete darkness (except maybe with a little night light if you prefer to give them a night light) and just work on management. If you do notice that She lays an egg which she probably won't this young just leave it where it is until she's done fussing over it or she'll feel like she needs to replace it and will lay more. Cockatiels like most parrots are fairly easy to keep out of breeding condition (usually, thetr are exceptions) just by controlling certain environmental aspects like how much light and dark they get each day. If you have more of a flock setting it can be better anyway to keep them out of breeding condition because they can get Territorial and will sometimes fight when they are hormonal. I have seven and they all get along great unless their hormones kick in and then there are a couple that will try to kill one of my other birds who actually is special needs and can't fly. I would recommend not separating them and just making sure they're getting enough sleep hands have nothing that could be seen as a nesting spot. If you're worried that she will potentially lay an egg just make sure she's getting enough calcium because at the end of the day even with proper management they will sometimes pop out a couple eggs. Good luck, they are beautiful!

 

[CloneFly]

I've been told to wait

15 months is definitely mature enough to breed. They are fully mature around nine months. I would not separate them or interrupt them!

Until the female is at least 2yrs... I don't want to take any chances of her getting egg bound!

 

[Jessijay]

I've been told to wait

Until the female is at least 2yrs... I don't want to take any chances of her getting egg bound!

Yea, 9 months is not mature for a female Tiel, 2 years for a female. Good call waiting, egg binding is a serious concern in young birds.

I think cockatiels can mate without laying eggs, if they are like budgies.

Correct

 

[CloneFly]

Has the shift in Behavior been since they have been separated? Generally cockatiels go through what I like to call the teenage phase and they tend to come out of it when they get a little bit older usually between a year-and-a-half and two years they start to come out of it and come more into what their adult personality will be like . If they are that bonded and affectionate with each other separating them is probably going to cause distress. If you're worried that they're breeding too early, control the amount of light they're getting make sure there are no potential Nest spots and avoid soft foods for the time being. Trick their bodies into thinking it is winter all the time. If you can control their hormones until you're ready to choose to breed them or allow them to breed it's a lot less stressful to them then trying to separate them. Cockatiels get very attached to each other and it can be very distressing to them when they can't get to or be close to who they're bonded to. Make sure they're getting at least 12 hours complete darkness (except maybe with a little night light if you prefer to give them a night light) and just work on management. If you do notice that She lays an egg which she probably won't this young just leave it where it is until she's done fussing over it or she'll feel like she needs to replace it and will lay more. Cockatiels like most parrots are fairly easy to keep out of breeding condition (usually, thetr are exceptions) just by controlling certain environmental aspects like how much light and dark they get each day. If you have more of a flock setting it can be better anyway to keep them out of breeding condition because they can get Territorial and will sometimes fight when they are hormonal. I have seven and they all get along great unless their hormones kick in and then there are a couple that will try to kill one of my other birds who actually is special needs and can't fly. I would recommend not separating them and just making sure they're getting enough sleep hands have nothing that could be seen as a nesting spot. If you're worried that she will potentially lay an egg just make sure she's getting enough calcium because at the end of the day even with proper management they will sometimes pop out a couple eggs. Good luck, they are beautiful!

I have 5. My most recent is a baby (she's a rescue) so I was wondering if that may have contributed to their "mood". Their behavior change actually took place before I separated them and had been going on for a few days before I caught them trying to mate. The girl seems to have perked up a bit today having initiated a squabble with one of my other girls. As for the light, I'm afraid I can't exactly control the lighting... the house is lit most of the evening and well into the morning hours as well. I've tried covering the cage, but they're quite prone to night frights and have already broken several blood feathers. They're used to being seperated for a week at the time as I usually will keep one in my room while the rest are in the main cage. Will it be alright to keep them separated for about a month or so? (With supervised visits ofc) I just want to give them time to "cool off"

 

[Serin]

Egg binding is due to poor diet (seed, no calcium supplementation) and a lack of muscle development in the female (caged or clipped wings)

Cockatiels mature in under a year in the wild and breed the next wet season following their hatch year.
My females began nesting before their first birthday and I have not personally encountered egg-binding with flighted birds on pellet + vegetable diets with access to oystershell grit.

Don't separate bonded birds at all. Don't interfere with natural mating behavior. If you really don't want them to lay eggs the solution is just to keep them in a bright area without any dark, enclosed cavities to use as nests. Mating is normal, natural, and frequent with parrots that are bonded and will only lead to nesting in specific conditions.

Maintain indoor birds on a natural day length schedule; down at sunset, up at sunrise. Additional electric light only causes problems. Mine are kept on a sun porch without any additional lights for this reason.