My 2 Cockatiels laid eggs last week and today the male died from unknown causes.?

Question

What do we do, Get another male or leave the female to do the parenting? Since the male died she has stayed in the nest since this morning and not eaten or drunk for over 12hrs. Am not sure weather she is waiting for the male to do his stint like they did before. Will she come out and feed as looks like she is concerntrating in keeping the eggs warm as she is on her own now? This is her 1st batch and am not sure how many eggs there are. She is in a nest box in a large cage.
All answers would be appreciated and noted. Thanks.

Answer 1

You may want to take the male bird's body in for a necropsy. If it was something contagious, you'll want to have the female checked as well. I would not let her do this alone unless you plan on handfeeding the babies while she rests and basically co-parenting, but that's a lot of work, and if you've never bred them before, I advise you not allow her to hatch babies.

What you can do is wait until she gets off of the eggs (because she will get up to eat, though that may change now because
1) the male isn't there to relieve her of responsibility anymore
2) she could be sick as well
3) she could be upset/grieving because she knows the male is gone, often makes birds lethargic
but keep your eye on her), take them and bring a small pot of water to a boil, and set the eggs in to boil for a couple of minutes. Take them out and return them to the nest and let the female return. Make sure she does not see any of this or she'll get very stressed out, but all you did was make them infertile so babies won't be an issue and you and the hen won't have to be exhausted by 2 hour feedings and keeping them warm for at least 8 weeks.

Do not get another male because the female could wind up disliking the next one, rejecting him, and she'll be very territorial of a new bird coming near her nest and eggs so she'd be alone in the parenting process anyway.

Then after about 21 to 30 days, she'll lose interest in the eggs and stop being all nesty and broody, and that's when you can remove them and throw them out. Much easier on you and her than sitting on eggs for, like, 22 hours of the day, feeding babies every 2 hours for a few weeks, fledging, taming, handling every so often (which requires a LOT of trust and bonding between you and the hen), etc. Much safer, as well. There's no loss of life risk associated with infertile eggs unless an egg gets stuck, which apparently hasn't happened since you say she laid them a week ago.

Answer 2

Don't add another bird now; she would probably abandon the eggs.
She will eventually come out to eat and drink. When my cockatiels had eggs, the hen hardly left the nest the first 2 or 3 days because the male didn't know how to sit on them yet.
She can raise the chicks on her own, though it means extra work. Just don't take her out of the cage as long as the eggs or chicks need her to keep warm.
When the chicks hatch, you might give her a dish of baby bird formula besides her regular food, to make the job easier for her.
Part of the male's job is to protect the cage from intrusion, and you can take care of that yourself.

Answer 3

Give the mama teil either crushed egg shells or crushed oyster shells for calcium. I have a female and male conures. Chiquita my female has laid eggs about three times over the past 2 years. The first time she only laid three eggs, but there was no male to fertilize the eggs. The last two times she had mated with Buddy, both times laying five eggs. None of which had hatched : o (. The vet recommended giving the oyster shells. As far as the female regurgitating and feeding it to the male, that is natural. Actually he should be feeding her. LOL She is the one carrying and laying the eggs, and sitting on them. LOL Wazy guy! You might want to seperate them , especially if he gets too demanding of her. She needs all the strenght she can get.

Answer 4

Don't worry, she can cope on her own, we women often have to!!
She is grieving her partners lose, they have feeling too, and remember cockatiels are monogamous, they mate for life. This doesn't mean you can't introduce another male, but not now!
She will come out eventually, you have to help her with her diet as she will be doing the job of two. Some egg and biscuit to her food,
fresh fruit and vegies. When the eggs hatch give her plenty of soft food, some 9 grain bread soaked in milk early in the morning this will help her feed the chicks.

Answer 5

If both your cockatiels laid eggs then they must have both been female as males don't lay eggs,as for getting another male - bad idea, the other mail may kill the chicks when they hatch as they are not his, the female is quite capable of hatching the eggs herself as she would have done in the wild if her mate was killed,as long as you leave plenty of food and water the female will eat if she wan'ts too,also did you know that you will have to provide different food for the chicks when they hatch as they dont eat the same food as the adults,that would be like giving a newborn baby steak and chips,good luck with the eggs

Answer 6

I would definently leave her alone and not bring in another male yet. I would put millet spray inside the box with her so she gets something to eat all the time and she can come out for some water. But by all means leave her alone for now and do not get another male yet until she is done with these eggs.

Answer 7

PinkDagger is absolutely correct. Place the male's body in the refridgerator until you can get him into the vet for a necropsy. This should be done today. Explain the situation to them so they know why you need the information.

Whatever you do, do not get another bird until you know what killed the first one. If your hen does sucessfully hatch the eggs, you need to be prepared to handfeed the chicks. If anything, just to help her out. You should ask the vet to show you how to do this and to give you any tips or suggestions.

Answer 8

Don't get another male, as he will quite likely destroy the eggs, as they aren't his.
She should come out and eat and drink, once she realises she's on her own. Put her food and water as close to the box as you can. She won't starve to death.
There is a possibility that she'll abandon the eggs, since she no longer has a partner. If she does this, then get in another male and try again.

Answer 9

As a bird breeder, I dont know, I would call the VET ASAP or she and the chicks will die. All my birds love the yellow part of hard cooked eggs mashed up. Call the Vet.

Answer 10

i wouldnt get another male it might not be the same. Try hand feeding her and let her do all the parenting. hope i helped :)
(im so sorry about the male btw)