2 cockatiels- supposedly females- mating?

[clucknpeck]

A few months ago we got a standard grey female cockatiel from the local pound. We later got a Cinamon pearl pied cockatiel at the pet store for a companion. I posted on a cockatiel forum with pictures and everyone agreed it is female.
Well just a little bit ago I heard sounds I have never heard coming from the cockatiel cage- I thought one of our birds was dying, it was so loud! Well I see the pearl pied bird on top of the grey, biting her neck, and it appeared to be mating with her.
So what's going on here? Gender confusion or is it a male? And if they did mate, what next? Do I need to get a nest box?

 

[latrine]

I don't know the sexes of the birds without seeing them but even if they are both female, it is very normal for them to 'mate'. Especially if they are closely bonded to each other. I had two female cockatoos who did this all the time and they had me wondering at first too, but they were definitely both female I've had parakeets who did this as well and have heard from lots of folks with tiels doing this.
I don't know how close you were able to get, to be able to 'see' what they were doing but I was able to get right next to my cockatoos and the one bird REALLY looked like it was a male 'doing it's thing' even though it was a female. (both had laid eggs before)
They actually looked ridiculous as the one playing male was a Goffins cockatoo and the one playing female was a huge umbrella cockatoo, so very mismatched
As for the sounds.. well.. you know.
If it did turn out you have a male and a female, you can provide them with a nesting box, but just because they mated, it's still no guarantee the female will lay eggs. A nest box can be a fun place to play even if they aren't planning on laying eggs but i worry with female cockatiels taking the nest box thing too far.
Has either bird laid an egg before? It seems like lots of tiels tend to get into an egg laying problem where they will just keep laying and laying, so if you don't plan on allowing them to reproduce, if they do lay any eggs and go broody, I'd remove the eggs and replace them with the same number of look-alike eggs (so they don't keep laying).. let them sit for as long as they want (making sure they are not neglecting themselves to care for the 'eggs') and hopefully get it out of their system. Regardless of the birds gender, sounds like a happy couple..
Best of luck!!!!

- Sarah

 

[aaabirdman]

Just curious, do all birds do that when they are kept in the same gender? chickens,pigeons,turkeys,ducks??

 

[Nambroth]

Just curious, do all birds do that when they are kept in the same gender? chickens,pigeons,turkeys,ducks??

By no means do all birds do it, no. It depends on the individual.

 

[clucknpeck]

Later today I will try to post some pictures of the tiels on here. The pearl pied has molted since we were told it was female so maybe it is a male, maybe its not and they just get along very well lol.
Neither one has ever layed an egg. I have no idea of their ages. We have a little cozy tent thing in there but I don't know if they would lay an egg in that. Do they only lay eggs in nest boxes?

Thanks for the helpful info latrine!

 

[aaabirdman]

Doubt it.I think most caged birds need to lay their eggs in a nest box.

 

[Nambroth]

Later today I will try to post some pictures of the tiels on here. The pearl pied has molted since we were told it was female so maybe it is a male, maybe its not and they just get along very well lol.
Neither one has ever layed an egg. I have no idea of their ages. We have a little cozy tent thing in there but I don't know if they would lay an egg in that. Do they only lay eggs in nest boxes?
Thanks for the helpful info latrine!

Cockatiels will sometimes lay eggs on the floor of the cage, or even in food bowls if large enough. I wouldn't encourage breeding unless you are really prepared and heart set to breed them. I'd absolutely discourage egglaying (if it is two females) as cockatiels can be chronic egg layers, which nearly always results in a shortened lifespan or worse if not corrected. Unlike our chickens, they have not been bred for hundreds of years to lay eggs regularly, and cockatiels are especially prone to egg binding, vent prolapse, and calcium deficiency amongst others when they lay eggs in a chronic fashion. Sadly, this condition was largely created by the pet industry, where the hen cockatiels that laid the most eggs (therefore made the most babies to sell) were the ones that were bred the most. Thus, the genetics are passed on and emphasized through breeding and the result is a lot of female cockatiels become chronic layers, much to the distress of owners. This is the #1 ailment treated by vets for hen cockatiels, and it's extremely upsetting to people that are attached to their birds. This is one reason I am such an advocate of responsible breeding only-- where you know the history of the genetics of your birds, meaning good record keeping at least a few generations back.


If you want to discourage breeding or laying (if two females), make sure to:
1. Limit photo-period (amount of light the birds get) to 14 hours a day. If you start to get eggs, you may need to reduce to 12. This may not sound important, but it can be one of the biggest triggers, especially in our artificially lit homes.
2. Do not provide easy nesting areas, such as breeder boxes, or anything the bird can crawl into /dark spaces. The happy hut (cozy tent) might be something to avoid.
3. If you pet your birds, don't pet below the head on a female. Petting her back can be a hormonal tease-- it's akin to the male mounting her.

Best wishes!

 

[Birdmoma]

By no means do all birds do it, no. It depends on the individual.

We used to keep ducks with our chickens. But the males were breeding our chickens so we separated them. I have had female green cheek conures that mated and both laid eggs.

 

[Wanderers tales]

Just curious, do all birds do that when they are kept in the same gender? chickens,pigeons,turkeys,ducks??

No as far as I’m aware only cockatiels will mount one another with both being females. With chickens you’ll sometimes see a bonded pair of hens that preen eachother defend each other co brood and share the same rooster yes they’ll basically stay as a pair and share everything and even defend eachother. These interesting pairing behavior is usually seen with the two dominant matriarchs or ironically be seen in the two lowest ranking hens. But they’ll never attempt to mate with each other. They’ll actually wander off searching for young Roos to seduce or one will keep an eye out for matriarchs and the other will seduce the dominant rooster they may take turns in this process. Once the matriarchs arrive the lower ranking pair will run off or just try to challenge them for the dominant rooster. Yes hens will also fight for mating rights and the dominant hen that’s favored by the alpha rooster will have a higher rate of hatching eggs thus more offspring. Pigeons only pair If of opposite sex. So no this sexual confusion behavior is mainly seen among cockatiels.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

No as far as I’m aware only cockatiels will mount one another with both being females. With chickens you’ll sometimes see a bonded pair of hens that preen eachother defend each other co brood and share the same rooster yes they’ll basically stay as a pair and share everything and even defend eachother. These interesting pairing behavior is usually seen with the two dominant matriarchs or ironically be seen in the two lowest ranking hens. But they’ll never attempt to mate with each other. They’ll actually wander off searching for young Roos to seduce or one will keep an eye out for matriarchs and the other will seduce the dominant rooster they may take turns in this process. Once the matriarchs arrive the lower ranking pair will run off or just try to challenge them for the dominant rooster. Yes hens will also fight for mating rights and the dominant hen that’s favored by the alpha rooster will have a higher rate of hatching eggs thus more offspring. Pigeons only pair If of opposite sex. So no this sexual confusion behavior is mainly seen among cockatiels.

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