# Male cockatiel Not mating



## Hana (Feb 11, 2021)

Hi. 

I have two cockatiels one of them is a whiteface pied (female/ about 1.5 year old) the other one is a cinnamon (male/3 year old).
They groom each other and have no problem sharing their food. The female started crouching down for mating. I put a box for them. Both of them are really fond of the box and go inside it frequently. 
But the problem is that the female keeps crouching down and calling for him but he doesn't care!! Sometimes he just cleans her butt😐. 
He often masturbates.
No egg have ever been laid.
I was worried that maybe they have not bonded. Should I wait or bring them another mates?


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## Smerft85 (May 18, 2019)

First, your female is too young! Sounds like they are bonding just fine, if they're taking care of each other they are building a bond. Second, they my or may not ever breed, or when you learn the dangers and remove the nesting box to avoid breeding, your female will lay unexpectedly and put you into panic mode. Personally, I wouldn't push the breeding without EXPERIENCE, and having you ask a very basic question is a pretty good indicator that you are not experienced, and likely wanting to breed for profit instead of the love of a species. Your female could become egg bound and die on her first shot at breeding, and I'm just guessing you dont likely have the benefit of your spouse being a CVT that works with exotic animals like I'm lucky enough to have. Do some homework of your own before deciding you want to go down the breeding path, I didn't want mine to breed, but they did.

Also, there's every chance in the world that you could have two bonded males, or two bonded female if they aren't gender proven, it's not just as simple as putting two birds together and getting an instant attraction between them for guaranteed babies.


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## Daytontiel (Feb 24, 2019)

If you male bird masturbates while in the present of a female bird, that will be a bad news for you. This is due to male never realize the female is his mate, instead his is treating the item his masturbating on as his mate. You should consider pair the female with another male instead of this one if you decide to breed.


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## Smerft85 (May 18, 2019)

Daytontiel said:


> If you male bird masturbates while in the present of a female bird, that will be a bad news for you. This is due to male never realize the female is his mate, instead his is treating the item his masturbating on as his mate. You should consider pair the female with another male instead of this one if you decide to breed.


Kinda strange, I only ever saw my male masturbate yet I have 5 eggs that appear to be fertile.....

My eggs showed up with no nest box, no enticement to breed, and two other males in the cage. Masturbation doesnt necessarily mean he isn't after the female in my experience, so I wouldn't consider that theory absolute. Perhaps do like I did, give up on the idea of planned breeding and let the birds be birds?


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## Daytontiel (Feb 24, 2019)

Smerft85 said:


> Kinda strange, I only ever saw my male masturbate yet I have 5 eggs that appear to be fertile.....
> 
> My eggs showed up with no nest box, no enticement to breed, and two other males in the cage. Masturbation doesnt necessarily mean he isn't after the female in my experience, so I wouldn't consider that theory absolute. Perhaps do like I did, give up on the idea of planned breeding and let the birds be birds?


If you have two other males in the same cage, it is hard to say who's the father.


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## Smerft85 (May 18, 2019)

Daytontiel said:


> If you have two other males in the same cage, it is hard to say who's the father.


Nope, know exactly who poppa is, she won't let the other males that close and she is absolutely bonded to my whiteface, Mr. Branch.


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