# Is my female bonded to humans too much to breed?



## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

Hi everyone! 
I have a 2.5 yrs old female cockatiel, Skye. She is really social with us, and in last december she started a mating behavior with my husband...then she started laying eggs, she could not stop, so we got her a very pretty, nice and patient male, Sam  Only 4 days ago by the way. They get along well, spend time in the cage together, eat together etc. Sam really wants to be friends with Skye, however Skye usually runs away from him and wants to be with us.

Is that possible that after 2 yrs with us she will never recognize the male as a mate? What could we do to help?

Thank you very much
God bless


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## artistchan (May 22, 2011)

i had this with my handreared female chewy.
honey (the male) chased her around the cage alot, and having her retreat to me made him even more fustrated with her. 
but eventually they got along, and she let him mate her. now they have a chick together.
don't worry, she'll eventually get it.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

it will take time for them to bond ....4 days is not enough time to tell if they are truly bonded
some pairing take months or even years to see if they are truly bonded yetbut have patience...
good luck with your new pairing
post pics/updates soon


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i agree with mitch. 4 days is too soon to tell.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

but keep watching/observing how they respond to each other
congrats on the addition
post pics soon please of the lovely couple


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

Thank you 
I know it is very early I was just wondering if Skye is too human bonded to ever accept a male cockatiel 

They get along in the cage, Sam is mimicing Skye a lot, so they groom or snooze in the same time, very cute, here is a picture


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

no its not too late she can love/be attached to humans 
and still be able to fully bond with a male cockatiel too
she already starting to bond with your male cockatiel as you said in begginning of this thread
their bond will get stronger the longer their together
congrats and good luck if you breed them .....if not enjoy their company great birds to have:thumbu:


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## MommaBird (May 19, 2011)

Make sure she gets enough calcium, as every time she lays it takes alot out of her. Has she stopped laying since you got Sam? How many eggs did she lay?


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

oh a little off topic but...
and i don't know cause you didn't mention this 
but when a new bird is bought and your already own one they should be quarantined from each other for 30 days in seperate cages in different rooms (if you have one) .
i say this cause you said the groom each other and such but you only bought the new one 4 days ago ....at time of beginning of this thread 

for future information i figured i mention this because the new could be sick and get your current bird sick too.


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

MommaBird said:


> Make sure she gets enough calcium, as every time she lays it takes alot out of her. Has she stopped laying since you got Sam? How many eggs did she lay?


Oh yes, she eats a lot of calcium...eggs, oyster shell, cuttle bones, fresh food with calcium. Yes she has stopped since we got Sam, however we started to see her making the mating position when my husband is around... For some reason she picked him earlier as a mate. She laid 30 eggs since Xmas


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

mitch2006 said:


> oh a little off topic but...
> and i don't know cause you didn't mention this
> but when a new bird is bought and your already own one they should be quarantined from each other for 30 days in seperate cages in different rooms (if you have one) .
> i say this cause you said the groom each other and such but you only bought the new one 4 days ago ....at time of beginning of this thread
> ...


Oh I have not heard about this, but we bought him from a breeder we know and observed him for a while before we got him home.
Thank you anyway, I guess now it is too late


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

mitch2006 said:


> no its not too late she can love/be attached to humans
> and still be able to fully bond with a male cockatiel too
> she already starting to bond with your male cockatiel as you said in begginning of this thread
> their bond will get stronger the longer their together
> congrats and good luck if you breed them .....if not enjoy their company great birds to have:thumbu:


Thank you Mitch


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

you are very welcome 
HAPPY BONDING TIMES AHEAD


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

Szafije said:


> Oh I have not heard about this, but we bought him from a breeder we know and observed him for a while before we got him home.
> Thank you anyway, I guess now it is too late


we all learn something new each day
that's our goal here to always learn something new we didn't know before
and its never too late for future note....but whats done is done:blush:
not all diseases are visable/noticeable it could be blood related or internal which can't be seen.

good luck and congrats once again


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## MommaBird (May 19, 2011)

Oh wow 30 eggs is a lot. Have you looked into her perhaps being a cronic egg layer? I know one thing I was told was if she lays, leave the eggs in with her until she gets bored of them, even if they aren't fertile. That way she shouldn't lay too often and rearranging the cage should help. Also if she is already acting like she is toward him, I would say it was basically love at first site LOL because mine took way longer.


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## 4birdsNC (Dec 4, 2010)

One thing that may also help bring her egg laying under control is cut back her natural sun light. Good luck.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

are you planning on breeding them?
anytime soon or researching first?how old is Sam aprox?
if you are just starting out breeding please do plenty of reading here its great
but try do not to introduce a nest box until you want them to have babies 
it only encourages nesting behaviours/eggs/mating more or even babies 
if babies/eggs are not wanted by you...
if your not planning on breeding now 
it doesn't hurt to be prepared and research breeding anyways...for future knowledge of the info needed to breed
if they should breed in near future you'll be prepared for it.
sometimes they have other plans then you...lol 
either way there is still great threads on all topics of cockatiels here
welcome


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> One thing that may also help bring her egg laying under control is cut back her natural sun light. Good luck.


I wouldn't cut back on her natural sunlight just cut back on the amount of daytime hours she gets....she needs as much natural sunlight as she can get when laying.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

you could cover the cage with a sheet for 10-14 hrs nightly... as much hours as she needs to kick her out of breeding mode ,
but give natural sunlight when not covered


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

Oh yes, she is a chronic egg layer, I know  We tried everything...we left the eggs with her for 21-28 days, we re-arranged her cage, kept her covered for 14-15 hours...nothing helped...she kept laying...that is why we got Sam to help out hopefully. I do not mind having babies at all, we do a lot of reading too on breeding.

Right now, after only 1.5 weeks Sam started acting really brave towards Skye, he follows her everywhere and even if Skye is only hissing at him, he does not give up  On the other hand, we removed the divider in the cage and every morning when i uncover them i find them sitting next to each other

Thank you fo all the advice, this is a great place with great people!!!


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