# pregnant older cockatiel



## missmaggs (Jul 10, 2011)

Hi everyone,
I inherited my 2 cockatiels after my Mother's passing. They are atleast 15years old that I know of. My husband and I assumed by all the info we found that both birds were male. 
As of late I noticed that things were different. They always loved shredding their boxes, not this time. "Coto Rico", the grey one, is showing signs of being pregnant. The large poops, the bump in front of the vent. Staying for long periods of time in the box and gently going side to side. Coto's eyes seem to just go large and black. 
Aren't they too old to have this happen and trust me this behavior is totally new.
"Pretty Baby", the yellow one, who is always masturbating, picks on poor Coto and that is another sign.
I have put shredded paper in their cage. There has been no loss of appettite.
I have also read that if the egg doesn't pass that the bird could possibly die.
Any suggestions? or helpful hints?


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## crazybird93 (Jul 5, 2011)

Is his body all grey with a bright yellow face?


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## crazy4tiels88 (Aug 10, 2008)

If The Birds Are 15 Years Old Then Mostly Likely They Are Infertile As Males Can Be Fertile Up To 12 Years And Females Only About 8 Years Old. Just Leave The Box In There Untill Egg Passes And She Will Lay Up To 8 Eggs And If You Take Away The Box She Could Stop Laying And Get Egg Bound So Dont Do That They Will Lay Every 48 Hours As Other Info I Will Let The Breeders Come On And Tell You What To Do As To Stop Her From Laying.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Hello and welcome to the forum

How long has she been like this, make sure she has a cuddle bone 
running the hot tap in the bathroom and let it fill up with steam will help her pass the egg,
also dampen her vent with warm water that help her


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## missmaggs (Jul 10, 2011)

white face


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## missmaggs (Jul 10, 2011)

She is in her box right now and lolling back and forth. I put my hand in earlier today and I got bit.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

sounds like you have a whiteface male


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

have you got any pics that will help us


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## missmaggs (Jul 10, 2011)

Unfortunately no pics to help out. If it is a male he sure looks pregnant and then acting most peculiar.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

http://www.cockatielsplusparrots.com/genome-whiteface.html does your tiel look like the 1st pic on there or look like any of these http://www.talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=7227


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## luffy3001 (Sep 1, 2010)

i heard that when nesting the male is the first to go in and he does the behavior of opening his wings alittle and move side to side so that is definatley a male


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## TielTide (May 26, 2011)

Sounds like a male to me... When I first put my nestbox in, the first was Dante. He climbed in, pecked around, sat low and wide, swaying from side to side. He did that for DAYS before he let Whisper into the box.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

With cockatiels, the male and female take turns incubating the eggs so sitting in the nest is not a specifically female behavior. Both sexes have the large poops too, since they hold it in while they sit in the nest. Males wouldn't have an "egg bump" but I suppose it's possible that the abdomen could bulge from a large unreleased poop. Swaying from side to side is a defensive posture and both sexes will do it if you disturb them in the nest. 

We need to figure out the sex of the bird. If it's a male, then taking away the box and shreddable paper will help stop the nesting behavior, especially if you use other hormone reduction techniques at the same time. If the bird is female the situation is more complicated because she might actually lay an egg.

If these birds never engaged in breeding behavior before, then your house must have better conditions for nesting than they had in their original home. Cockatiels are opportunistic breeders who go into breeding mode when conditions are suitable.


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