# Cockatiel retirement



## Bert (Jan 22, 2011)

A question I got recently: at what age do cockatiels stop reproducing?

Ofcourse there's not a fixed age for all cockatiels as this undoubtedly differs because of care and health issues, etc. 
but I'm curious about your experiences on this? 
What are the oldest cockatiels you still breed with, especially the females?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I've heard that females stop breeding around the age of 12 but I don't know how accurate this is. I'm not sure whether males have a reproductive shutdown or if they can keep going longer.


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## parsley (Oct 15, 2012)

My pair had their last clutch at age 16 and that was after 6 years of not letting them have any. But my Sid was intent on it so I let them. Momma sat well but didn't want a thing to do with the babies so I helped Papa keep them fed! He so loved being a daddy.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I've also heard 12 for hens, but I'm not sure if that's because they're older or if they lose fertility around then. I had a breeder in CA tell me that his most fertile male was 19yrs old and still producing babies. So it seems males can go longer.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

From Cockatiel Cottage:



> Female cockatiels are fertile up until 8-10 years of age and males are fertile up until 12-14 years of age. There are always exceptions and it's possible for a very healthy, well nourished bird, with a strong genetic tendency for breeding, to be fertile for even longer.


However, after reading other replies I am not sure how accurate this is.









ETA: Just read that whatever the age is, after this, the females can still lay eggs, but the eggs are probably going to just be duds.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Cockatiel Cottage is a good site in many ways, but not all of their information is accurate and some of it is outdated.


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## Bert (Jan 22, 2011)

Thanks for your responses!

Wow 19 that's a new record (for me)! The oldest I knew of so far was a male that reproduced at age 16.

I think that the numbers on the cockatiel cottage website could be seen as averages, ofcourse many exceptions will exist.


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