Cockatiel Eggs - urgent, advice would be much appreciated!!

[Harrisono]

Here's the background. I have a yellow cockatiel female and a white and grey cockatiel male. But...the female has some issues. She's not a smart as the other cockatiels and seems to be missing all feathers on the underside of her wing, she doesn't pluck them so it's not that. But she doesn't have much mental capacity, which is why I've never thought she could be a mother. She and the white and grey mate sometimes, and there are eggs in the bottom of the cage, but she never sits on them - until now. She has three this time around, and I got so excited about it that she was actually sitting on them.

Now here are where the problems come in.

She doesn't sit on them constantly. She gets up to eat and drink sometimes, and takes her sweet fat time getting back down there; she doesn't seem to have that motherly instinct of "holy crap, eat, drink and GET BACK TO THE NEST!!!!"

Another problem is the environment. Since I didn't expect her to take care of the eggs, there is no nesting box. She's on the cage floor against the wall, so I put an empty food bowl over her head for protection. She also lives in the cage with 5 other birds - 2 other cockatiels and 3 american parakeets. The parakeets are psychotic, as I bought them fro a pet store and you know how pet store birds are. Every time the mother bird gets up to eat, they seem to like to go down to the bottom and ravage the nest. This is especially alarming. I don't want these eggs to get wasted as her others have!

Here are my main concerns:

1) Lack of a nesting box. Should I jerryrig one for her and put the eggs in it, or would that disturb the process since she didn't actually lay them in it?

2) Inconsistency. The mother is comparable to a young teenage mother - no true sense of responsibility. She doesn't seem to get that she needs to sit on these things *all the time.*

3) Parakeet invaders. This one speaks for itself. How can I help protect the eggs?

4) If by some wild miracle the eggs survive, how will I take care of the babies? They can't eat seed, and I have nothing they could eat...

Also, how could I better plan in case she lays more eggs? Is it possible to make some sort of working incubator? Because I definitely can't afford to go out and buy one. Also, is a permanent nesting box, just in case, worth getting?

If you have some advice for helping me makes these eggs successful, if it's not too late (this has been going on for about 3 days), then thank you in advance! :)

[Harrisono]

Also, where could I get an incubator for a good price? Like I said, I don't think my bird will take care of them right in the future.

[Peanutbutter]

Male and Female tiels SHARE sitting on the eggs... so if dad's not helping chances are the eggs are not viable.

My advice, rapid boil the eggs for about 3-4 minutes, let them cool... and put them back with mom. Ensure that they won't hatch to a hen with problems & pass along whatever has affected her.... I also would not provide any kind of nesting materials or a box.

Absolute basics if you are serious about becoming a hobby breeder (ask yourself WHY you want to breed?):
Breeding Cockatiels, how to breed cockatiels, cockatiel breeding, causes of cockatiel infertility and failure to breed, why cockatiels won't breed, how to candle eggs, nest box, nestbox, how to set up a cockatiel nestbox, what to use and put inside a
*note-- moms & dads feed the chicks, but formula is available if you wish to handfeed. Hand feeding is very delicate and usually requires training.

As for housing keets and tiels together-- generally this is not a good idea. If the cage is large enough (aviary) it can work out... but as you said- keets are aggressive, they can make the tiels really uncomfortable. Without knowing more about your setup there really is no advice I can offer to protect the hen and her clutch.

Unfortunately I know this is not what you wanted to hear...

[RXK]

Originally Posted by Harrisono

Here's the background. I have a yellow cockatiel female and a white and grey cockatiel male. But...the female has some issues. She's not a smart as the other cockatiels and seems to be missing all feathers on the underside of her wing, she doesn't pluck them so it's not that. But she doesn't have much mental capacity, which is why I've never thought she could be a mother. She and the white and grey mate sometimes, and there are eggs in the bottom of the cage, but she never sits on them - until now. She has three this time around, and I got so excited about it that she was actually sitting on them.

Now here are where the problems come in.

She doesn't sit on them constantly. She gets up to eat and drink sometimes, and takes her sweet fat time getting back down there; she doesn't seem to have that motherly instinct of "holy crap, eat, drink and GET BACK TO THE NEST!!!!"

Another problem is the environment. Since I didn't expect her to take care of the eggs, there is no nesting box. She's on the cage floor against the wall, so I put an empty food bowl over her head for protection. She also lives in the cage with 5 other birds - 2 other cockatiels and 3 american parakeets. The parakeets are psychotic, as I bought them fro a pet store and you know how pet store birds are. Every time the mother bird gets up to eat, they seem to like to go down to the bottom and ravage the nest. This is especially alarming. I don't want these eggs to get wasted as her others have!

Here are my main concerns:

1) Lack of a nesting box. Should I jerryrig one for her and put the eggs in it, or would that disturb the process since she didn't actually lay them in it?

2) Inconsistency. The mother is comparable to a young teenage mother - no true sense of responsibility. She doesn't seem to get that she needs to sit on these things *all the time.*

3) Parakeet invaders. This one speaks for itself. How can I help protect the eggs?

4) If by some wild miracle the eggs survive, how will I take care of the babies? They can't eat seed, and I have nothing they could eat...

Also, how could I better plan in case she lays more eggs? Is it possible to make some sort of working incubator? Because I definitely can't afford to go out and buy one. Also, is a permanent nesting box, just in case, worth getting?

If you have some advice for helping me makes these eggs successful, if it's not too late (this has been going on for about 3 days), then thank you in advance! :)

why do you have the parakeets in the same cage as your cockatiels? especially when they are invading her nest?? and, then you ask what can be done. well, it's pretty obvious: PUT THE KEETS IN A DIFFERENT CAGE! they shouldn't be caged together in the first place since fights between the two species can be lethal. plus, as you know yourself, the budgies tend to be aggressive.

so, to reiterate, please separate the cockatiels from the keets.

and, as for the breeding part, i don't have any knowledge or experience to share. but, i have to ask why you want the eggs to be viable? are you going to be keeping them? just remember that homeless birds are overpopulating the animal shelters.

sorry if i sound harsh, but these are things to know.

[prettypenguin]

It really doesn't sound like your girl should be reproducing, as she won't take care of the eggs. If the male doesn't either, than I wouldn't bother. Raising baby birds is expensive, difficult, and time consuming, not really for a novice who keeps different species housed together. My tiels and keets are housed separately, and if I had a male and female, they would be as well, to prevent egg laying/hatching, as I'd rather not quit my job to raise birds. Just sayin'.

[kbordeau]

If given the proper invironment your tiels might suprise you. If you want to breed do all the reading you can before a nest box is given. Relocate the keets from the tiels now & see if the birds settle down. Dont hand feed without knowledge, its too dangerous for the birds.

[Harrisono]

Hey, I'm a student, I really didn't expect my birds to breed as I've had the oldest one for about 8 years, and a few others about 6 years and they've never done it until now. I'm not a professional - the reason I'd like the babies to hatch is because i like to see the birthing and growing process. I just love animals, specifically birds, so this is intriguing! After doing some research on breeding it seems like a long and painstaking process; it's such a miracle that it can occur in the wild at all! Now it makes me somewhat worried they will hatch and I can't just kill the eggs before they do! It'll feel like an abortion which I consider pretty wrong most of the time as it is...

As far as the harshness, I feel like I've entered a semi-professional bird care environment and so will be bashed with things like "isn't that obivous you shouldn't do that, idiot?" Sort of like the housing two species together. It may be obvious to you guys that separate species should be in separate cages, but to people who just like birds but are not "enthusiasts" it's not obvious at all, it even seems rather superfluous and unnecessary. I'm not a pro, we're tight on money and I have a stressful life as it is, baby birds wouldn't be the best idea even if I had planned it. But I mean, like I said my personality is such that I can't stand to see any shot at life go to waste so long as it's under my supervision. I do not think that they will hatch, but if by some chance they do I know someone who is a bird enthusiast and will be able to take care of them. Just remember I'm a normal person who is seeking advice from people who know the field. Please go easy on the newbies; being new to something is scary enough as it is.

As for the habitat, it's a pretty large cage, about 6 feet tall by 3 1/2 ft. length by 3 foot width, by estimation. Enough to accommodate 6 birds but not enough for nesting I suppose. Like I said, this was completely unexpected and I think I better know how to expect it in the future.

Thanks for the help! It's a huge help to get responses to specific questions! I feel like this should help me resolve the situation somewhat favorably now. :)

[kali]

Can I ask what you are going to do? I'd just like to know what responses you found helpful. Thanks.

[kali]

And also, what is an American Parakeet? I know you Americans call Budgies Parakeets, but there are only two types of budgies as far as i know, the English and the Aussie ones.

[RXK]

Originally Posted by Harrisono

Hey, I'm a student, I really didn't expect my birds to breed as I've had the oldest one for about 8 years, and a few others about 6 years and they've never done it until now. I'm not a professional - the reason I'd like the babies to hatch is because i like to see the birthing and growing process. I just love animals, specifically birds, so this is intriguing! After doing some research on breeding it seems like a long and painstaking process; it's such a miracle that it can occur in the wild at all! Now it makes me somewhat worried they will hatch and I can't just kill the eggs before they do! It'll feel like an abortion which I consider pretty wrong most of the time as it is...

As far as the harshness, I feel like I've entered a semi-professional bird care environment and so will be bashed with things like "isn't that obivous you shouldn't do that, idiot?" Sort of like the housing two species together. It may be obvious to you guys that separate species should be in separate cages, but to people who just like birds but are not "enthusiasts" it's not obvious at all, it even seems rather superfluous and unnecessary. I'm not a pro, we're tight on money and I have a stressful life as it is, baby birds wouldn't be the best idea even if I had planned it. But I mean, like I said my personality is such that I can't stand to see any shot at life go to waste so long as it's under my supervision. I do not think that they will hatch, but if by some chance they do I know someone who is a bird enthusiast and will be able to take care of them. Just remember I'm a normal person who is seeking advice from people who know the field. Please go easy on the newbies; being new to something is scary enough as it is.

As for the habitat, it's a pretty large cage, about 6 feet tall by 3 1/2 ft. length by 3 foot width, by estimation. Enough to accommodate 6 birds but not enough for nesting I suppose. Like I said, this was completely unexpected and I think I better know how to expect it in the future.

Thanks for the help! It's a huge help to get responses to specific questions! I feel like this should help me resolve the situation somewhat favorably now. :)

thanks for all of the clarification. it clears up a lot.

one thing you might want to look into is checking if the eggs are actually fertilized. if they're not fertilized, there are certain things that should be done to ensure that the hen isn't going to continue laying (which could lead to serious medical issues if she continued to lay such as calcium deficiency and eggbinding).

back to checking if the eggs are fertilized: you can search the forums on how to do this since i don't know the exact procedure as i haven't had any experience in this. but, just to give you an idea: you check the eggs by putting a light source directly on it to see inside the egg, and whether something is forming/growing. and, i believe the egg(s) should only be removed when the hen can't see this being done, and gloves should be worn when handling the eggs. lastly, if you search the net, there are actual pictures of what you should see, so i highly recommend you look into this.

btw, how is the hen doing? are there any signs of distress (such as with eggbinding)? and, fyi, her poops should be larger during this time when she is laying.

lastly, please research on the net about the hen and the egg laying process, and possible complications. this is very important since her health is at stake during this critical time.

if you have any other questions, please ask; i hope i didn't scare you off earlier with my comments :S.