# Breeding Newbie



## Moi (Mar 12, 2018)

Hello, I am new to the board & new at breeding. I have 4 cockatiels in 1 cage. (1 Male grey older bird age unknown, 2 yellow lutino birds about 2 years old & 1 albino bird about 2 years old) I noticed an egg in the birdcage on 3.27. someone built me a nest box that is too small for 2 cockatiels to comfortably be in there at the same time, they also nailed it all shut, I used it anyway and I used newspaper as bedding as last resort, not being prepared for them to start laying eggs. I tried to separate the birds in pairs. I have never seen them mate, so I dunno who paired up with who or who the father & mother of the egg is. a few days later there were 2 more eggs so a total of 3. So I took one of my lutino birds knowing he's a male & I put him in a separate cage with the nest box inside the cage & eggs in the nest box. So I put the other lutino bird in the cage & the male started attacking the other lutino bird that I put in there. So I took that bird out. I then put the albino cockatiel in the cage with the lutino bird & the lutino started attacking the albino bird too, so I took the lutino out & then I put the grey male cockatiel in there with the lutino bird & it started attacking the grey male. So I just left the lutino cockatiel by itself in the cage with nest box & 3 eggs. The other 3 cockatiels in the other cage. So then I noticed a few days later that there was an egg in the cage where the 3 cockatiels are housed on the floor of the cage. I put a small temporary nest in the corner of the cage & nobody was sitting on it.. 2 days later no bird had shown interest in the egg. I was sitting by my birdcages & I had just taken out the egg. I finally got some pine wood bedding chips for my other cage where the nest box is in from Amazon to replace the newspaper I was using as an emergency as bedding. I took the nest box out of the cage & since my hand doesn't fit in the 3 inch hole I had to pry open the wooden nest box from the top to replace the newspaper with the pine wood chips. I noticed a 4th egg in the nest box. So I was thinking all along that the lutino bird in that cage is a male but its a female because of the new egg. So I put the egg from the other cage in the nest box & I put it back in the cage. I noticed that the lutino bird wouldn't go in the nest box anymore. I was still sitting by my bird cages texting & checking emails & all of a sudden I look over to the cage where my 3 cockatiels are in & I saw a new egg on the floor of the cage. It had been just bearly been laid & I didn't see who laid it. Hours & hours passed by and my lutino bird had not gone in the nest in the other cage. What did i do wrong? did i disturb the nest when I replaced the newspaper with the pine chips? Did the bird loose interest in the eggs? What should I do? I tried to get a proper size nesting box but my local Petco & pet smart did not have any in stock. I also tried calling the stores in the next town over & nothing either. I also went to another local pet store but they only had parakeet & finch nest boxes, witch, they are too small. My last resort was to drive to the next pet smart about an hour round trip. Which I didn't do. I also looked on Amazon for cockatiel nesting boxes & the prices are so ridiculously expensive. $30 & up. I'm having a friend build me a proper nest box for the other cage. might as well he's at it he's gonna build me 2. $10 worth of 4 feet by 4 feet plywood from home depot & some nails & make a 3-inch hole with a small dowel sticking out of it, Shouldn't be too hard to construct having the proper tools (table saw & 3" hole saw) should take no time at all. Anyway, what do you guys recommend me to do in my situation with my birds & the eggs? Like I said, I am new to breeding & this has gotten me confused & stressed on who's eggs they are since I did not see who mated with who & who's a male & who's a female now. I know for a fact that My grey cockatiel is a male & my lutino bird that has been solo in the 2nd cage with a nest box is a female but I thought it was a male. & as far as my other lutino & my albino bird I dunno if they are male or female now. The wird thing about my grey male is that he's a weird bird. He always sits in the corner of the cage on the floor & everytime one of the other cockatiels gets close to him he wants to bite them and or get away from them. I also noticed my albino cockatiel getting hormonal at times & it was following my grey male around the cage & the grey male would be trying to get away from my albino bird lol... so I figure he's out of the picture from being a dad. But I did notice he was sitting on the 2nd egg for a little bit when i was sitting by my bird cage when the 2nd egg was laid. Im confused, Please help, from a newbie. Thanks


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Welcome to the forum!

Pictures would help us help you. The grey male sitting at the bottom of the cage, that's a very female/nesty thing to do. It could be that he knows the egg is supposed to be incubated but is not sure what else to do. And honestly, if you haven't seen them mating, the eggs probably aren't fertile. Tiels are not quiet about sex, like at all. They are so loud and obnoxious that you wouldn't miss it, I promise. 

You need to start hormone control. There is no need for them to be laying eggs in the first place, especially if none of them are bonded pairs and they aren't mating. Your girls are just laying eggs for the heck of it and that's very unhealthy. Lutinos (which you have three of) are more commonly female because it's easier to get a female lutino than a male. Your "albino" is what's known as a whiteface lutino.

When your friend makes the nest box, make sure the wood isn't cedar. Cedar is not good for tiels. I would start hormone control immediately to get them out of breeding mode: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330 Make sure they are getting plenty of calcium and sunlight.


----------



## Moi (Mar 12, 2018)

Got it, Yeah, I know the grey is a male & the other 2 lutinos I know one is a female but not sure about the other lutino. How I can tell them apart is that one lutino the back feathers are more yellow than the other lutino. That's how I can tell them apart. and as far as the lutino white face I am not sure of. I will post pictures asap. I did check out that thread last night on the hormone control. Also, I am sure my friend is making the nest box out of plywood. 



roxy culver said:


> Welcome to the forum!
> 
> Pictures would help us help you. The grey male sitting at the bottom of the cage, that's a very female/nesty thing to do. It could be that he knows the egg is supposed to be incubated but is not sure what else to do. And honestly, if you haven't seen them mating, the eggs probably aren't fertile. Tiels are not quiet about sex, like at all. They are so loud and obnoxious that you wouldn't miss it, I promise.
> 
> ...


----------



## Moi (Mar 12, 2018)

This one is one of my lutino birds. & this is how I can tell them apart. This one has yellow marks/spots on its back. The other one doesn't. I am not sure what the gender of this bird is. This bird is currently housed with my grey & lutino whitehead. look at its butt compared to my lutino whiteface.


----------



## Moi (Mar 12, 2018)

this one is my grey male. I am 100% sure it's a male. This grey male is always biting the other cockatiels when they get too close to him. I don't think he likes it when they are too close to him & he is always just chilling in the corner of the cage. is he gay lol? I noticed the other day that the lutino white face (albino) bird was being hormonal & it was chasing the grey around the cage with the grey male bird always running away from it lol


----------



## Moi (Mar 12, 2018)

this one is my lutino bird whiteface. Looks like this one has been the one that's been laying eggs on the 2nd cage where there is no nest box by the looks of its butt. This one is currently housed with my grey bird & my lutino bird that has yellow spots on the back.


----------



## Moi (Mar 12, 2018)

This one is my other lutino that has been caged separately by itself & that's where the nesting box is inside the cage. I believe its a female because there were only 3 eggs in the nest box but when I got the pine wood chips as bedding there was a 4th egg in there. & this is the bird that has been sitting on the eggs. So I tried to individually put each of the other birds inside the cage along with this bird & this bird started attacking every other bird. So that's why I am housing it by itself currently. also ever since I replaced the newspaper bedding yesterday with pine wood chips it has not gone in the nest box to sit on the eggs. Did I disturb the nest box did this bird abandon the eggs? what did I do wrong?


----------



## Moi (Mar 12, 2018)

Update.. so the yellow cockatiel went in the nestbox in the cage after I removed the pine wood chips & replaced it with the newspaper again. It took a few hours for it to go back in but it did.


----------



## Moi (Mar 12, 2018)

any help identifying my birds gender with the pictures i posted above?


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

So the first lutino, the one with more yellow? Female. She's actually a lutino pearl, that's what the yellow spots on her back are. If she's over a year old, she's for sure a girl. Which means that you probably have two or three girls to your one male. 

Newspaper is not good bedding. You want to knock them out of breeding mode anyway, so I would put the pine back in and hope that she abandons the nest. You want to get them out of this as soon as possible so they stop laying eggs.


----------



## Moi (Mar 12, 2018)

gotcha thank you




roxy culver said:


> So the first lutino, the one with more yellow? Female. She's actually a lutino pearl, that's what the yellow spots on her back are. If she's over a year old, she's for sure a girl. Which means that you probably have two or three girls to your one male.
> 
> Newspaper is not good bedding. You want to knock them out of breeding mode anyway, so I would put the pine back in and hope that she abandons the nest. You want to get them out of this as soon as possible so they stop laying eggs.


----------

