# Mating Problems



## Joe_1974 (Feb 28, 2009)

Hi - I own 6 cockatiels (two males, two females and not sure what the other two are). Two pairs have been mating for a couple of months now (one pair more actively than the other). Neither pair have till a couple of months back visited the nest box (2 nest boxes mounted outside with entry holes inside the cage) nor laid any eggs.

Over the last couple of days, I have noticed a couple of things that confuse me.

1. The female of of one pair started visiting the nest box quite frequently. I have no clue what she does in there. The male usually just sits outside and occasionally enters the cage after the female enters (but that's rare...mostly she's the only one inside the nest box). The nest is bedded with dried straws (couple of months old) and I am quite sure there are no eggs in there (seeing by flashing a light at different angles through the entry hole). Does anyone know why the female goes in there but does not lay any eggs? Also, I thought it was the male who goes in first who is then followed by the female.

2. The other confusing thing that I have noticed recently (couple of weeks) is the mating behavior. I have seen several times that the female allows the male to mount her back and as he starts adjusting himself (no penis entry yet), she starts screaming and pecking him (to get him off her back). They then struggle for a bit until she moves away and throws him off. I presume that she still likes the male (why else will she let him mount her back), but then why does she start screaming and pushing him off (even before he has entered her)? Is he hurting her with his nails? I can't tell. Have any of you noticed such a behavior before? Let me know what needs to be done here.

Thanks all...
Joe


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

You may need to clip his toe nails. If his toe nails are too long and sharp then it will hurt the hen when the cock mounts her and she will usually nip at him to make him get off! This will lead to infertile eggs because the matings are unsuccessful. As far as her spending a lot of time in the nestbox, she is most likely preparing to lay. My hen stayed in the nestbox for hours each day for nearly a week before she laid her first egg. She is just getting cozy in her new nest. It may take around 7-10 days but don't worry, the eggs will come! Good luck! Hope you get lots of babies!!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Your hen is uncomfortable. If it's because of long sharp toenails then clipping them will make her more comfortable, although it might temporarily make it harder for the male to keep a grip.

BTW there isn't any "entry" with cockatiels because most male birds don't have a penis (swans are one of the few exceptions). Birds get the job done by simply rubbing their vent areas together. This doesn't seem like a very effective way to do things, but there are billions of birds out there so obviously it works pretty well.


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## Joe_1974 (Feb 28, 2009)

@tiel -  Thanks. I never paid much attention to animal/bird biology at School. Now that leaves me wondering...why does the bird owner feel the birds vent to determine their gender? What is he looking for?

Can someone explain to me with pictures on how to (a) determine if the nails are long (I can't tell..they all look the same to me) and (b) how to clip them safely. There are no bird vets in India. So I may have to do this on my own. Will putting a natural thick perch (wood) help trim the nails (just trying to make sure if there is any alternate way to get this done). I don't want to hurt my poor birds.

Joe


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## Joe_1974 (Feb 28, 2009)

One more query...The dried straws that I used for the nest bed (we don't get pine shavings here in India) were placed in the nest box several weeks (maybe months). Do you think I should change that and put in fresh straws? I don't want to upset the nest and cause the female bird to change her mind 

Do you think it's wise to change the straws in the nest just when the bird is getting comfortable inside? BTW my female bird has been doing this for several weeks now (not just days).

Joe


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> why does the bird owner feel the birds vent to determine their gender?


They're actually feeling the pelvic bone, which tends to be wider in hens than in cocks (so they can pass eggs). It's not a guaranteed way to determine sex but it works pretty well most of the time. 

A natural-wood perch with rough bark on it can help take the sharpness off the toenails. The wood should be some kind that is safe for birds to chew on because there probably will be some chewing.

Clipping toenails is tricky business because there's a vein inside the nail and if you cut into it there will be bleeding. I don't cut my own birds' nails (because I'm afraid to) but there are people here who can advise you.

The straw that's already in the nest is probably fine. The parent birds normally don't poop in the nest so it should still be clean.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Do you think it's wise to change the straws in the nest just when the bird is getting comfortable inside? BTW my female bird has been doing this for several weeks now (not just days).
-----------------------------------

If the environment is humid, or if the birds bath before they go in the nest the straw can get moldy over time. This can lead to health and respiratory problems, and also be absorbed into the eggs and cause death.

If the hens abdomen looks large and swollen and feels soft when it is touched this could be a sign of a problem such as peritonitis which can eventually kill the bird. This happens when a pair is set up and one bird wants to breed and the other doesn't and the nestbox is left up, it increases hormones and the hen may ovulate but the yolk goes into the abdominal cavity. I personally would take the nestbox down for several months and try again later on.

As to bedding you might check pet stores in the small animal section to see if you can find pine or aspen shavings (not cedar)

As to the males nails just clip off the sharp tips only.


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## Joe_1974 (Feb 28, 2009)

*Mating Problems...*

All - I really need some help here.

Its been several weeks/months now. My female cockatiel keeps going into the nest and the male only stands guard outside at the entry hole of the nest. He used to go in earlier, but off late I have never seen him go inside (only the female goes inside).

I have 2 nests mounted on the cage (one with a nest bed made of straws and the other one without any straws) and the female usually goes only into the nest with straws. The other day, I saw her go into the other nest for a while. Not sure why she did/does that. Have you ever noticed them going into another nest that is not their own. I have never had any of my 6 cockatiels enter the other nest (without the straws) till then.

What is really really confusing me is their mating behavior (lutino female with normal grew male). The female allows the male to mount her back. But at some point just before the mating, she starts screaming and pecking at him and throwing him off. I tried trimming his nails (was quite worried if I would get it right...so just took the tip off the nails with a regular nail cutter - Is that enough?). But that didn't seem to help at all. She still keeps pushing him off after he mounts her back. What else could be going wrong here?

Joseph
PS: Does anyone have pics/videos of cockatiel nails being trimmed/clipped. I can't seem to find anything decent or clear enough on youtube. The nails are dark so veins are not very clear.


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## Nighthawk82 (Apr 13, 2010)

Joe_1974 said:


> All - I really need some help here.
> 
> Joseph
> PS: Does anyone have pics/videos of cockatiel nails being trimmed/clipped. I can't seem to find anything decent or clear enough on youtube. The nails are dark so veins are not very clear.


for some videos of how-to's you could always check www.youtube.com i have found a few good one's on there (Not just nail clipping) but more cockatiel stuff in general. Start there and see how you go. remember that youtube is video's from normal people so you do need to search through a few to see if they all say the same thing and find one that works for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sdM5qfrT8g&feature=channel 
was one that i found quickly that looks to be ok. also didn't see the comment of youtube but all good. Good Luck anyway

good luck and hope she lets him mate soon


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## Joe_1974 (Feb 28, 2009)

Thanks Nighthawk. My female bird has been going into her nest boxes for several weeks now (maybe months). That's unusually longer than what I've heard most people say in this forum.

BTW, what breed is Daisy? One of my birds looks just like her and I've never been good at finding out what breed some of them are (other than normal greys and lutinos).

J


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Daisy looks like she's cinnamon pearl.


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## Nighthawk82 (Apr 13, 2010)

Joe_1974 said:


> Thanks Nighthawk. My female bird has been going into her nest boxes for several weeks now (maybe months). That's unusually longer than what I've heard most people say in this forum.
> 
> BTW, what breed is Daisy? One of my birds looks just like her and I've never been good at finding out what breed some of them are (other than normal greys and lutinos).
> 
> J


not really sure 
Jenny10 had told me my "bird is a cinnamon pearl pied, Pearl markings (speckles on wings) and cinnamon in colour"


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