How Do Cockatiels Breed? A Detailed Guide to Breeding Methods and Tips

The cockatiel, also known as the crested parrot or weero, is a medium-sized parrot with high ornamental value. It loves to be close to its owner and is very popular among people. So how do cockatiels breed?

1. How do cockatiels breed?

The male cockatiel's ability to protect and nurture its offspring is very strong among known birds. If the female is unable to raise the offspring for some reason, the male will be responsible for raising the chicks. Cockatiels reach sexual maturity at around 8 months, when they can take part in breeding. The breeding season mostly begins in August of the year and ends around December, but cockatiels can breed at almost any time of the year, mainly depending on relatively suitable climatic conditions, and several consecutive breeding cycles are also possible. Wild cockatiels like to nest in relatively high hollow dead trees, and during the breeding period they show territorial awareness. Each clutch contains 2 to 5 eggs, and the incubation period is generally 19 days. Both the male and female parent birds take part in incubation and brooding. The young birds can leave the nest at around 5 weeks of age, and the egg size is about 24.5x19 mm in diameter.

When a nest is found in a relatively large aviary, cockatiels can easily start breeding on their own. The female lays 4 to 7 eggs, and the chicks hatch in 20 days. Generally, the male cockatiel incubates the eggs during the day and the female incubates at night. At 30 days old, the young cockatiels begin to leave the nest, but they will continue to be fed by the parent birds for some days. The nest box can be made with dimensions of 35×20×45 cm, with an entrance hole about 6 cm in diameter. The entrance hole should not be too high, because the chicks like to poke their heads out of the hole to peek and make calls at the same time. The bottom of the nest box needs to be covered with a thick layer of wood shavings.

Home-kept cockatiels have no fixed breeding time. Before coming into heat, they produce unique singing, fly sideways and suddenly turn around in flight to show off their flying skills. The male looks for a nest box, and the female lays one egg every two days, with 4 to 5 eggs per clutch, occasionally up to 8. The chicks hatch in 18 to 19 days. The chicks' initial growth period takes about 33 days to become young birds, and after that the young birds still need to be fed by the parent birds for about three weeks.

2. Can cockatiels talk?

Cockatiels are not good at talking, and female cockatiels do not have the ability to master a large vocabulary. In fact, many females never intend to learn to talk at all. Some male cockatiels are reported to have mastered a large vocabulary, but their voices are not really very clear to everyone. Compared with many other parrots, cockatiels are relatively quiet birds. It can be expected that all birds will call when they feel excited. Many people believe that females are noisier than males, but their pitch is not higher than that of males. Cockatiels are recognized as excellent apartment companion birds. Of course, the more you keep, the more noise there will be! The cockatiel's voice is melodious and varied, making it the best-sounding among parrots, but because the rhythm of its calls is too fast and it is rather sensitive by nature, it is not easy to become close to people. At least so far, there are no records of it successfully learning to talk.