# Walked in on them..how long until I can tell if she's pregnant?



## RuledByTiels (Aug 8, 2013)

I have a room where I let all 5 of my birds (3 tiels and 2 keets) in to "be free" from their cages and get some exercise, the door to the room has glass so you can see in and we check on them every 30 minutes or so. I went up to my room for a quick nap and came downstairs afterwards, opened the door to spend time with them and saw my male (Mítso) on my newest female's (Dots) back stroking her and she seemed to enjoy it..I just left the room cause I was half asleep and thought my headache aspirin was causing me to see things..but 5 minutes later there was a loud scream and I noticed that she was pushing him off her.

I don't know if anything actually "happened" but I've never bred tiels before so I don't know how long I should wait until I can tell if she's pregnant, I would love to learn how to hand-raise baby tiels and I don't have the heart to kill the eggs.

If I should be expecting eggs, what kind of supplies will I need? How do I tell if there's a baby inside the egg? Is it as simple as using a flashlight? I'd like to be prepared just in case.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Make sure they are in a breeding cage. Only the breeding pair should be in there because the other cockatiels can disturb the parents and take over the nest and kill the eggs/chicks

Are they bonded? There is more information about that here
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?p=340169

If yes you can put in a nest box with nest box bedding, there is more information on nest bedding here http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27688

Let them examine the nest and prepare for the chicks, you should do the opposite of hormonal reduction which is found here http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330

Take a good look in the sticky library, which is found here 
Informational articles in the sticky library

Cockatiels don't get pregnant, they get eggnant 
It takes about a week of mating sevaral times a day to get her to lay eggs


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

First off, birds do not get pregnant. The bird lays eggs, once every two days until a full clutch is laid.

Also, just because a pair of cockatiels mate does not mean they want babies or that they will lay eggs. Birds have intercourse for fun and 'feel good' just like humans do. 

You do not need anything at this point, and if you have never bred birds before then I don't suggest you begin trying that until you do lots and lots of research (and only if that is something you want to do). Many things can go wrong during breeding, including the death of the hen from egg binding, the death of the babies/eggs from improper incubation, inexperienced parents, and from other problems in the nest. 

Most likely, you do not need to do anything. Plus, there are way too many birds that need rescuing to justify people encouraging their birds to make more, in my opinion. 

Here is a link for hormone reduction, to help your birds lay off the mating and prevent future egg laying: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330


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## RuledByTiels (Aug 8, 2013)

I didn't know the proper term so I just said pregnant. Thanks for correcting me, I guess.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

I agree with Bailey. There's no guarantee there will be eggs or even fertilization. The same thing has been happening with my pair.


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## RuledByTiels (Aug 8, 2013)

It's the first time my tiels have done this, so I don't know what to expect. I'm not clueless, I'm just inexperienced with tiels mating.


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Ya, it's most likely she isn't fertilized; birds need to mate several times to get something going. I really wouldn't worry. But, I would consider hormone reduction techniques, they really do help with hormonal birds


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## dshiro2012 (Feb 4, 2013)

Sorry for some being...blunt. -.-*

But, when I got my breeding pair (they were 5 years old and experienced breeders) and they began their mating in February. They didn't really pick up until May and June. I put a proper box in the cage in July and soon after had my first egg. But I must say, it's tricky business! Stuff can still go wrong with experienced birds because of inexperienced breeders (me)...Too low humidity took 3 of my 4 eggs with them, the last being a replacement lay because they cracked the first egg (so technically there were 5) because I didn't put enough bedding in the box. :/ I'm raising the one chick who did make it through. They're on their last (2nd) clutch. I've bought a humidifier, so now it can't be because of low humidity. But I pull the chicks at 2 weeks (they start trying to mate again around this time) and this time will be when I begin hormone reduction. It will disallow them from laying another clutch, as well as me ensuring that the chick is taken care of properly, because the parents would become disinterested once their out of 'breeding mode'. Make sense?

So, if you don't plan to breed, try more 'night time' than day time, and maybe make it a little cooler than usual (not too cold ) and try a little less seed than usual (don't starve them though, lol). If they don't feel the place is secure enough to raise chicks, they won't lay. 

And, sometimes people don't breed birds simply just to get money (even though there ARE some people out there who do it JUST for that - Patience and Jersey can show that with their 4 clutches a year before I got them!)...Some of us breed them to share the joy of owning a good, healthy bird with others, like family or friends, or simply to keep them for ourselves (like this chick I'm raising will be mine, and one of this next clutch will be my husband's). So, yes, although there are many birds out there needing saving, it's not every breeder's fault, because those babies more than likely came from someone who just wanted the money.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Another thing I want to add here...tiels will mate for fun, just like humans do. Its not all about making babies for them either, so just because they mate occasionally, it doesn't mean you'll get any eggs. How old are the two birds? That's the first important piece of info we need, because breeding birds that are too young can turn out badly. My birds will mate maybe once a week and I don't get eggs. For now, I would wait and not run out and buy anything, because I don't think you'll need it. Its best to make sure that they're a bonded pair before you go any further!


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