Whst Happens When the Male Parrot Wont Feed the Female Parrot on the Nest
Question:
March 23, 2021
Male cockatiel attacking female
Hello, we have two cockatiels, a male and a female. When we first got them, we thought both were male, but we saw them trying to mate and one eventually laid infertile eggs so we gave her a nest box. The male didn't care, and left her alone. On the female's third-or-so clutch, the male suddenly seemed interested and they took turns incubating the eggs or a week or so. Starting about a day ago, the male started chasing the female and attacking her whenever they're in the same room. The female wants to go incubate her eggs but the male never lets her. Now, we lock the female and male in different cages with the nest box attached to his cage. Whenever we separate the male and the nest he panics and screams a lot. We do think that the male is a real male though, as he is very vocal and has no female markings. Please help as we have no idea what to do, and also the eggs are infertile.
Thanks!
Answer:
Hi Selina,
Since the eggs are not fertile, go ahead and take down the nest box and throw the eggs away. To begin with, the pair is not bonded and should never have been given a nest box. Most female cockatiels lay eggs at some point. The problem is, they can become chronic egg layers and this can eventually kill her. She has already had too many clutches in a short time. In the wild, a pair will only breed one time per year, during breeding season. In captivity, they do not get the environmental signals that they would in the wild, so they don't know to stop breeding. It is the owner's responsibility to limit how often they breed in a year. At the very most, they should be allowed two clutches per year, with a six month rest in between. You do this by removing the nest box as soon as the eggs are overdue or any chick leave the box. There are other changes you can make to discourage breeding – limit their light to 8-10 hours by covering the cage early in the evening, move the cage to a busy place in the room and keep moving it around the room once a week or so, rearrange toys and perches in the cage, stop offering fresh foods for a while and do not let them have a nest box or anything they can get inside of, no large food bowls, no nesting material and nothing they can shred like paper or cardboard.
This pair does not sound compatible. They seem to barely tolerate each other, and this is not uncommon. But an unbonded pair or a single female should never be given a nest or nest box. A bonded pair will spend most of their time together, grooming and feeding each other and eventually mating. Unless this happens, the pair is not bonded and isn't going to breed, so they don't need the nest box. It is best to keep the pair separated for now. For some reason, some captive males will seem to short circuit and behave like yours. They get overly aggressive and territorial, attack the female and keep her away from the nest box. It's not known why some do this – it can be the pair is too young. They need to be at least two years old before you let them breed. While this pair hasn't produced chicks, they have been allowed to nest too often. If the pair is under 2 years old, then possibly they will get along better when they are old enough. I would keep them separate until they are two, and then reintroduce them. But only IF you want to deal with breeding. If you prefer not to, then keep them apart and don't give them a nest even if the female lays eggs again. If you want to try them again, wait until they are 2, or if they are, wait for at least 6 months and try reintroducing them. Do not give them a nest box. Wait and see if they form a close bond. If they don't sit together most of the time, groom each other, feed each other and mate, then they are not bonded and should not be given a nest or they will repeat the same aggressive behavior. Both male and female have to help sit on the eggs and raise the chicks. A poorly bonded pair will not do this. As for the female, if she keeps laying eggs in spite of you making the changes described above, then you will end up needing to take her to an Avian Vet for a hormone shot or implant. Some female cockatiels in captivity won't stop laying eggs and in that case, a Vet has to intervene to save her life. Breeding birds is not easy. It takes a lot of work on your part and as you are finding out, it still may not result in chicks. But again, this is not an unusual experience. It may be best for these birds to remain separate.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
Source: https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/questions/male-cockatiel-attacking-female/
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