my pair of cockatiels have laid 2 eggs since monday after mating with the male tiel
i have got a cardboard box and made a hole in it for them to come in and go out
they are going in the box and coming out of it
the second egg as the first one was given on the cage floor under a paper ,
i had moved it into the box by holding it with a tissue paper ,now today had to move the second egg in the nest
the size of the box is 12 x12 by 11 inches
on the base i had put some 14 white paper towels which are textured ,
the pair had gone in and thrwn one paper towel out under which the second egg was laid
i have started to feed her corn ,millet ,and cuttle fish as well as the normal diet which you buy from the pet shops
was going to give some fruits
they are chewing on the cardboard box and had made the entrance bigger ,and the pieces are in the next ,is that ok
1)what you guys recommend regarding the diet .
2)how do i handle the egg if i need to put it again in the next if she lays more eggs ,she is doing it after every other day
3)is the base ok casue its only less than an inch high ,should i put some more paper towels in it to make it to 2.5 to 3 inches as mentioned here ,can i do it with the paper towels .
3)the tiels keep moving the egg with there beak like turning it over .
i have also put a pot with luke warm water for her to have bath ,in the cage .
4)she is coming out of the cage and taking things from my hand as she used to do before ,
5)if they chew the box nest can i change it with a stronger cardboard box and do the same setting ,will it distrub them or should i change the nest now ,when they are not sitting on the eggs ,they keep coming in and out of the nest in turns
any suggestions
yes i want to breed because my kids are very excited and want to raise them and have got enough time to look after them
thanks

It's OK to handle the eggs. Lots of people think the parents will abandon the eggs if they get human smell on them but this isn't true. It's best to wash your hands before you handle the eggs though because egg shells are porous and it's possible for bacteria to pass through the shell. The risk of this actually happening is low, but if it does happen it can be disastrous.

It's normal for the parent birds to chew up the entrance to the nestbox. If they chew it up to the point that it won't hold the eggs and babies safely you'll need to give them a new box.

It's also normal for them to turn the eggs over. This is actually essential for normal development of the embryo. If the parents didn't turn the eggs periodically the embryo could get stuck to the inside of the egg shell.

I talked about replacing the nestbox in the other thread so I won't repeat it here. Some pet stores sell cockatiel-sized nest boxes and they're also available online, so you can buy a commercial nestbox if you're interested. It's not essential though, many people have successfully raised babies in homemade nestboxes. The most important thing is to make sure it's designed so the babies can't fall out before they're ready to fly.

An inch of paper towels will provide a decent amount of cushioning and I don't know whether adding more would make a difference or not. Heat retention is important and I don't know how effective paper towels are at that - I always use wood shavings. Some people still use paper towels for nest bedding so it's possible to have breeding success that way.

The father bird likes to make a hollowed-out bowl in the bedding to keep the eggs and babies together. This is easy for him to do with wood shavings since the pieces are small. If you decide to stick with the paper towels you might want to tear some up on the top layer so he can dig. Or maybe he'll shred it up himself.

Here are some recommendations on breeding diet: http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.com/i ... l#breeders Most cockatiels don't like fruit so you don't have to offer that. Most of them will eat leafy green vegetables and those are more nutritious than fruit anyway, but it can take a long time to convince the bird to start eating them. Red chard is an exceptionally good veggie for breeding birds and mine go crazy for it when they're breeding.

Thanks for the reply
Can I use shredded paper from a shredder on top of the paper towels for him to easily make the hollow bit for eggs to sty
The male threw them out as they were big long entangled papers strips
They will have ink because are printed, will be harmful
I will get a strong cardboard box next time am planning to do it over the week

You could run some paper towels through the shredder and put that in the nestbox. Some parent birds seem determined to nest on the bare floor of the nestbox and will throw out the bedding. But a nice thick layer of bedding is usually too much work for them to get rid of it all.

Just found the 3rd egg on the cage floor broken with lot of poo around it, just under one of the perches. Did she gave egg while pooing on the perch, should I remove it from the cage or what, how can ensure that this doesn't happen again, yesterday I cleaned the cage base and put new paper on the base, did it cause it, I've haven't changed any settings

They were moving the egg with their beak and the mail even started to eat the white on the floor, so I have removed the broken egg, they are going in an out of the box, I have reinforced the entrance by another cardboard piece and put grey duct tape on the entrance so they can't chew it, they seems to be on with this change,
Next will add some more paper towels, the male is trying to throw another paper towel out of the nest.

I'm giving her corn kernels from a can, bread with butter, which they are liking, won't take any chick peas from a can or green leafy coriander,
Wanted to put food in other new utensils but won't go near the new utensils with corn kernel in them

Broken eggs should always be removed. They're a bacteria hazard.

It's very possible that she laid the egg from a perch. I think you said that the other eggs were also not laid in the nestbox. It's possible that she's not completely comfortable with the location of the current nest and would rather lay her eggs somewhere else. Where is the current nest located? Cockatiels usually prefer to nest in a high place, so if you can hang the nest high up in the cage she might like it better. Provide a perch close to the door so the parents can get in and out easily. If your cage has a nestbox door you can hang the nestbox on the outside of the cage, using bungee cords or something similar to secure it in place.

I use manufactured nestboxes which have built-in holes for screws to attach them to the cage. But I also like to install a shelf perch under the box for extra support.

The eggs were laid on the cage floor first one on 14nov.
The nest is on the side of the cage where the lift up door is its on the middle of the cage, there is perch next to it which they use to go in.
At night when I put the cloth on the cage they were sat on the highest perch and that's where the egg was laid and broke.
They have spent most time in the nest today. How many more eggs she will lay before she starts the incubation.
If I move the nest higher it will touch the exits top of the cage, it is secured to the base which is just under a foot in height,
What you recommend for the nest place.
Thanks

I would suggest that you move the nest higher if that's practical. If the nest can't be moved, you can move the sleeping perch lower or take it out. This is probably your hen's first clutch, and maybe she doesn't realize that she can go inside the nest to lay her egg. Or maybe she couldn't find her way to the nest in the dark. But if her sleeping perch is right outside the entrance to the nest then maybe she'll be more likely to go in when she needs to. If the room is very dark, a night light will help her find the nest.

Birds who wait to incubate will frequently start incubating after the third egg has been laid, although some will wait longer. Your hen has already laid three eggs but there are only two in the nest, so that might make them wait a little longer. Is the nestbox designed so you can look inside to see what the adults are doing? Since they spent most of the day in there, it's possible that they've started incubating already.