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The following question and answer was originally published on Bird Talk's website, BirdChannel.com under the
Breeding Tab on the navigation bar in the "Ask the Experts" column:

Q. My pair of cockatiels keeps laying eggs but nothing’s hatching. What’s going on?

A. Cockatiels require several fundamental conditions in order to reproduce successfully. It’s likely that your birds
are missing something that they need, such as extra daylight hours, a comfortable ambient temperature,
satisfactory humidity levels, dietary supplementation, an appropriate nesting site and a suitable mate.

Breeding birds need additional protein, fat and other nutrients in order to be in healthy breeding shape and to feed
their chicks.

In addition to seeds and pellets, provide a daily supplement of eggfood (mashed hard-boiled or scrambled) or a
corn/rice/bean mix lightly dusted with a quality avian multivitamin/mineral supplement containing vitamin D3. Offer
plenty of fresh, dark green leafy vegetables – cockatiels love juicy stalks – and loads of carrots, which are high in
vitamin A. Also give them whole-wheat bread and other nutritious commercial nesting foods.

All cockatiels, especially breeding pairs, require added dietary calcium and should always have access to fresh
cuttlebone. Many also enjoy mineral block, oyster shell, and chicken eggshells dried and roasted at 350 degrees
for a minimum of twenty minutes to remove salmonella bacteria.

Have you offered your birds a cockatiel nesting box and an undisturbed environment in which to breed? Breeding
pairs also need access to a daily bath, so they can return to the nest, dripping wet, to sit their eggs. This added
moisture allows the parents to control the humidity levels necessary for chicks to rotate inside the egg, avoiding
adhering to the egg membrane, so they may successfully hatch.

Cockatiels lay eggs approximately every other day; the average clutch size is four to six eggs. Candle the eggs to
check for fertility.

Are you sure that you’ve paired a female and a male together? Did you DNA-sexing or did you guess? Most
cockatiel color mutations are sexually dimorphic, showing some variations between males and females, with the
exception of lutinos, white-faced lutinos and pied mutations.

You can also look for behavior clues to determine gender. Check for the following clues. If both of your cockatiels
act “broody” and rather quiet, laying an abundance or double the amount of eggs expected within a short period of
time – that are always infertile – and neither bird is actively singing and courting the other – you might have two
females.

"Providing Resources
to the
Cockatiel Community"

The Cockatiel
Foundation, founded in
June 2007, began out
of a growing need in
the avicultural
community to offer its
members programs for
pet owners, breeders
and exhibitors, in
addition to services
never before
addressed in the
cockatiel community.

CF is establishing a
Cockatiel Adoption &
Placement Program to
hrlp in the placement
and rehoming of
cockatiels to new,
permanent
"forever" homes.

CF offers a wealth of
information on color
genetics, mutations,
and breeding research.

CF is addressing the
needs of our Youth
Members in the CF
Youth & Education
Program developed for
tomorrows' next
generation of cockatiel
afficionados.

Please visit our unique
LOST & FOUND Center
to report and reunite
birds with their owners!

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Linda S. Rubin is an aviculturist, lecturer and avian educator of 30 years, with an international byline in avicultural magazines around
the world and author of several books at www.CockatielsPlusParrot s.com. She is the cockatiel expert columnist for Bird Talk’s
website, BirdChannel.com, writes as an overseas columnist for Cage & Aviary Birds (United kingdom), and she serves on the board of
directors as National Specialty Vice President for the American Federation of Aviculture, Inc. She is the founding president and genetics
consultant of the Cockatiel Foundation, Inc. Linda is a certified panel judge for the Cockatiel Foundation, and the Society of Parrot
Breeders & Exhibitors, judging shows throughout the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada since 1984.

Disclaimer
Articles on this website are not meant to take the place of proper veterinary and other medical care. If your bird appears ill or shows
symptoms of illness, please contact your avian veterinarian as quickly as possible. Birds are prey animals and hide their symptoms in order
to survive; by the time owners see symptoms, a bird may have become extremely ill. Owners are advised to seek medical attention
immediately. To find an avian veterinarian in your area, contact the Association of Avian Veterinarians at www.aav.org.

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For more information on breeding, go to the Breeding Center on the navigation bar. And, join now to receive
the download information by Linda S. Rubin on: "Hobby Breeding Cockatiels," as a free gift while still available,
when you join online..

c. 2005 Linda S. Rubin