Cockatiel Breeding?

Question

I have a pair of Cockatiels they groom each other they sleep next to each other they are always together. When it comes time for breeding the female does her breeding stance the male fixs the nesting box. I have never actually see the male mount her but I am not around 24hrs a day. The hen will lay eges one everyother day just like the books say. They take turns sitting on the nest the dip there under sides in water they do all the things the books say but the eggs are never fertile. What is going wrong? How do I encourage the c**k to mount the hen? Thanks for any help .

Answer 1

Besides asking the obvious- are you absolutely sure you have a male and female?

Are there ample different sized and shaped perches? The male might be having a hard time if you're only providing the circular wooden perches that come with a cage.

Do they have good materials to put in the nest so they can incubate it properly? Without a decently deep (2inches or so) of good soft nesting material the eggs might not be staying warm enough.

Are they old enough? Too old? Generally over a year, but under 8-10 years are prime breeding ages.

Are they healthy? If your birds have never been to a vet, there could be an underlying condition. There are a few bird illnesses that won't overtly affect the parents, but can prevent any viable eggs from forming.