# My female doesn't know how to mate?



## fuzzyfrogs (Jul 31, 2012)

I have been trying to breed my cockatiels Freckles and Jasper. The breeding box is in the cage and Jasper is constantly singing to her and courting her. Freckles does the thing where she puts her tail in the air and asks to be mated with HOWEVER, this is when the problem occurs. As soon as Jasper tries to mount her she bites him and chases him off, like she has no idea what he's doing. Jasper goes into the breeding box and taps his beak and sings for her, and whenever she tries to go inside when he's in there, he chases her off, and vise versa when she's inside! I know they're interested in each other and have know each other for almost a year. I have tried everything, soft foods, increased baths, it's the right time of year too. Any suggestions?


----------



## daverohmfeld (Oct 26, 2012)

A few questions:
1. How old are they?
2. Is this the first time for either or both to ever mate?
3. Check his nails. If they are too sharp he might be hurting her when he mounts.
4. Are you 100% they are male and female?


----------



## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Srtiels once gave me the advice of clipping Cupids nails because when he mounted Aero she screamed ( in a video I posted) so you may try that as well and see if its his nails that are hurting her.

Honestly( and someone can correct me if Im wrong) though I dont think there is anything you can do about it other than wait and see if they figure it out eventually. My female does the same thing, she asks to mate but when my male mounts her, she flies away and wont let him do it ( but she also tries to mount my male so shes wierd ), and this has been going on for quite a while and they act like a bonded pair. 


If they arent allowing one another inside the nestbox they might not be as bonded as you thought...do they follow eachother around? Preen eachother? sleep side by side? eat out of the same bowl together? (these are all signs of being bonded) Even if they have been together a long time and are mating it doesnt mean they are a bonded pair. 

Personally I would remove the nestbox until they figure out how to mate properly, a nestbox encourages laying but if they arent mating then the eggs will be infertile.


----------



## fuzzyfrogs (Jul 31, 2012)

Thanks for the advice. 

Freckles is 2 and Jasper is 4. Jasper has raised a clutch before. Freckles has never mated before. They preen each other occasionally and eat together. 100% Sure of their genders. I'll TRY and check his nails, but he doesn't like hands very much.


----------



## Debbie05 (Feb 9, 2010)

I have 8 breeeding pairs. One pair the female does the same thing. I have tried putting her with another male and they have bonded. Same thing. So I had another pair that do not sit on there eggs. What I do know is set them up at the same time and over the summer they fostered 2 clutches of 4 babies in each clutch. They are great parrents. I have tried cutting the males nails, she does the same thing. 

Good luck!!!


----------

