How old will my cockatiel be when she begins laying,should she be allow to set on the first eggs?

Question

How old will my cockatiel be when she begins laying,should she be allow to set on the first eggs?

Answer 1

generally cockatiels are good parents.

They mature sexually around 2 yrs old.  From the first egg, they will normally be able to sit well.

Answer 2

wan she starts laying she will be 1 year old and most of the time they start sit on the second or third egg

ADD: like i mean she lay's 1 egg and the next day she lays one more and than she will start siting on the egg's

Answer 3

If you know the eggs are infertile, like she is not in the same cage with a male/ her mate, you can replace the eggs with plastic ones.

DO NOT take them away.

Laying and setting are an instinct... she will keep laying and it can deplete her calcium reserves.

Join a Yahoo bird group, and you will get much info/ help... lots better than you will get here, lol.

I had a female cockie in with 2 males, one was her mate, but they never had any fertile eggs.

She would set for a week or 2, and then leave them, and then I would toss them.

It won't hurt her at all to set, think of it as practice for the real thing.

They can get very protective so be careful and try to not get bit!

Answer 4

No bird should be allowed to hatch the first clutch.  Some birds mature earlier than others, just like humans, I have seen cockatiels lay eggs as early as 7 months old.  They normally reach sexual maturity around 10 months old.  Don't allow her to breed until she is about a year and a half old.  If you are going to let her breed, only let her hatch two clutches a year.  Laying eggs and raising a clutch is very stressful on a bird.  Only allowing her to raise a certain amount of young will actually keep your bird in better health.  There is nothing you can do about her laying eggs, she will lay them with or without a male, but you can control how many clutches she actually raises.  Please read my profile.  

Answer 5

Hi,

Cockatiels shouldn't be allowed to breed only after a year old although they may lay before a year but the eggs should be taken away. One example is that a friend of mine breeds budgies, they shouldn't breed until 9months old but his were nesting and had chicks at 5months old with no problems. Its just that its not recommended.

Answer 6

General rule of thumb with Cockatiels is not to allow them to breed until they are at least 18-24 months old.  However, it depends on the individual hen and just because you have a hen does not mean she will automatically lay eggs.  I have several hens that are between 3 and 10 years who have never laid eggs, even though they have access to males and have lived with breeding pairs.

Cockatiels don't lay eggs daily, they lay eggs every other day and yes if she starts laying eggs let her sit on them regardless of whether they're fertile or not.  She'll start nesting usually about the 3rd or 4th egg depending on the size of the clutch and after 28 days she'll usually abandon them if they're not fertile.  If the are fertile gestation is 18-22 days, but definitely leave the eggs alone for that time.