# HELP! Cockatiel trying to nest in cupboard!



## Mandon (Feb 22, 2012)

We got a 3 year old Cockatiel a few weeks ago.. I don't really know a lot about the breeding process, but I know our 13 year old male previously tried to mate with her. I'm worried they already have, and if the male isn't impotent, the female's ready to lay her eggs.. The only problem is, she seems to have chosen our kitchen cupboard as a nest, and she freaks out and tries to bite my hand whenever I try to take her from the top shelf. Right now she's hanging out outside the cupboard, and we can't get her down. She's usually a sweetheart, so the only explanation I can come up with is nesting.

Sorry I sound awkward, but I'm very ignorant to how Cockatiel behavior works. Our male is an antisocial bird who came from an abusive home, so we never interacted with him much, making this the first cockatiel we've had who's somewhat normal.

So the question I'm asking is this.. What do we do? Let her nest and lay her eggs around our food? We put a box in her cage but she doesn't want to use it. I don't think she's lain her eggs yet, we've yet to find any.


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

Good morning! 

Not every time cockatiels mate.. do they produce eggs. And still, even though they have mated, does not necessarily mean the eggs will be fertile. I would discourage her as best you can from finding a comfy spot though, just in case. Block off the tops of the cupboards the best you can, maybe with boxes or towels.. Do not let her up there to begin with. You can towel her to get her down if she's that nasty about it. 

My reasoning is, there is a lot of work that goes into breeding. You need to do a ton of research on what you need to have as well as what to expect with dangers/problems, etc. Sometimes it can be just as simple as throwing a box in their cage..but this is rare and more often than not, this does not work. You want mom and dad and babies to all be healthy. 

In the event that she does lay, and they are fertile.. (which you will be able to easily find out by candling the eggs after about 5 days of incubation) then you will need to decide if you are going to keep them or swap them with fake eggs. If you are going to keep the eggs, you will need to JUMP on reading and getting what you need to have in a hurry!

Please read the sticky notes at the top of the breeding section to get you started. You will also need to make sure that your bird's diet is really good. So also read up on the Sticky notes at the top of the Nutrition section. I would suggest you also do a Search on eggbound as this is a condition that can occur with hens and can be deadly. So read up on this as well and look for signs of it.


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## Mandon (Feb 22, 2012)

Thanks for the reply. I found her missing in her cage and checked her usual spot in the cupboard.. she's there, and unfortunately she did lay an egg. So what do I do from here? She's very protective of it, and she definitely won't leave now. It would be irresponsible to just leave her and the egg unattended, in the off chance the male is fertile and the egg ends up hatching.. Granted, none of the food in that particular spot in the cupboard is something we planned on cooking with, so it's not a HUGE deal.. but still, this situation worries me.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Do you want to breed? Are you ready to handle the responsibility if something goes wrong? Those are the most important things to think about. If so, she can hatch out the babies there (giving her a basket or something with pine chips or aspen chips in it would help with success) or you can set her up in a "breeding" cage (a cage separate from her normal one) with the male and let her nest there. The only way to really prevent her from laying there is to NOT let her go there anymore. When I breed, I put my pairs in a breeding cage and don't let them out til the babies wean (the girls usually, the boys come out when they aren't being aggressive.)


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## Mandon (Feb 22, 2012)

She just left the cupboard after sitting on the egg for an hour. To answer your question, I don't know. We'll do what we have to do I guess, I don't know what else to do other than take the responsibility and see if it hatches. The egg was on a hard surface so I put it under some wash cloths for a temporary nest. I just hope I'm doing it right.. Whatever the case, it looks like this is her only egg, I didn't see a lump or anything on the bird, and she seems a lot calmer than last night before she laid the single egg.

We only have one cage, but the male sleeps on top of it.. so it's pretty unoccupied. so I suppose if I moved the egg she'd leave the cupboard alone. What materials should I make the nest out of? can it be in the open or should I put a small box inside for her to tend to the egg? What role does the male play in tending to it? he's quite mean, so I'm worried about letting him near the egg.. I don't know anything about Cockatiel behavior.


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

You can try to put a basket or box in the cage with pine or aspen shavings in it as roxy suggested, place the egg inside and see if she would sit on it.
Cockatiels lay eggs in 36-48 hours so it is possible that she will lay more eggs, please keep an eye on her 
The male cockatiels usually share the nesting duties but it depends on the bird. My male wanted to sit on the eggs but for a while the female did not let him in the nest  Later they actually shared the nest, took rounds etc. Generally the male sits on the eggs during the day and the female sits during the night.
What is she eating? Whether the eggs are fertile or not she needs nutritious diet with lots of calcium


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