# Cockatiel makes Nest & lays Egg on my Desk



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Well, some time ago some people found and gave to me a very pretty little Lutino Cockatiel who had been feral some while and was a little thin and having some health problems, and soon the little Bird was healthy, flying and eating well, holding her own with the Pigeons, and was right at home here.

Anyway, she had been shredding the edges of papers on my desk for some weeks now, as well as assumeing something of a rather low and dreamy pose when I would pet or 'preen' her neck, and doing some other odd posture things and display things at times...and I did not know it was a 'her' but was starting to wonder, then, a few days ago, she layed a perfect little luminous Egg next to my Computer in a little hollow where she tended to hang out.

...sigh...

And now, if I am greeting or 'preening' or petting other Birds in here, if one of the friendly Pigeons or Doves land on my shoulder to visit a moment, she gets agitated and comes running out with her Beak open and her Head Feathers all in the 'up' mode, and scolds me, and then lunges snarling running toward them as if to attack the other Bird who I am paying attention to, as if I were her mate and I were filandering or getting TOO 'close' to some rival or interloper...!


Oh my..what to do?

I sure did not mean for anything like this to get going...


I can not even feed the Baby Doves without her getting really upset and running out with the 'tude'...!


So, I sort of have to keep re-assureing her that things are allright...then she is good for another ten minutes or so...

She seems to put up a show last thing at night which I think might mean it is supposed to be my turn on the Egg, but I have to go to bed of course, and I prefer her to stay here in the Office on a tall horizontal part of the Lamp which has been her night roost.


All her tiny shredded paper bits were so small they get pushed aside from her feet, so, it is just her and her little Egg really, amid some papers...

She sits on her Egg most of the time, then if I am sitting here, she sort of indicates to me it is my 'turn' to sit on it, by walking out looking at me and chirping a little in her tiny Parrot voice, so, I sort of put my hand over it, then she flys off to eat and drink and so on for a little while then comes back.

What did I get myself into????


Lol...

Phil
Las Vegas


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Awwww, Phil .. that's really precious and very, very cute. Now you can add "Little Parrot Papa" to your resume  The cockatiels and lovebirds can be quite fierce little nesters as you are finding out.

Terry


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Phil, that is so cute. I was hoping the cockatiel would be a male to spare you the egg laying part but females have a special sweetness about them that's hard to resist. I enjoyed your post very much.

I'm not sure there is anything you can do about her being jealous. She sees you as her mate and will try to run off any rivals for your affection. I would make her a better nest maybe in a basket with shredded paper. That may make her more content.

Did you ever name her?


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## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Phil,

That is adorable....do you think she'd accept a "stand in" taking over "your" nesting duties? Like a toy stuffed bird? I did a quick look on Google for such a thing, but wasn't able to find stuffed Cockatiels....this Budgie one was the closest thing I could find quickly:

http://stuffedark.com/budgiegreen.htm

Who knows, maybe she'd switch her affections from you to "him" especially is she likes the strong, silent type. LOL

Linda


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Phil,

Congratulations on the new title, "papa egg sitter"!  

How absolutely adorable!! You got yourself a cute little sweetie there.


Linda,

"strong and silent type"..LOL...that is so funny, but the substitute stuffed toy is a great idea.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Phil, 

Very cute indeed What a protective little mom cockatiel. They really are not very different from pigeons that way except they have a nastier bite when defending their nests

She should lay more eggs though, cockatiels lay 4, 5 or 6 eggs! Better find some dummies suitable for her at the craft store

Phil, I know you're up to your eyes in poop, but does your computer have to be too? LOL. Clean that monitor off would'ja? hehehehehe


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Hi Phil!

I'm so THRILLED! You are gonna be a DADDY (well kinda!)   

You have NEVER told us HER name. Were you waiting to see if she was a "she?" I think SHE deserves a name now, don't you???

Great idea about the stuffed bird. However, your "hand nest" technique seems to satisfy her for now when she wants to take a break!

PLEASE DO keep us updated!


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

That is such a delightful little bird, Phil!

Really interesting that she has such an attitude - shows it ain't just pigeons. Our Poppet dove behaves much the same when I go to pay attention to other birds, and my little friend Chickpea (pigeon) does the thing with going to eat and stuff if I put my hand over her (plastic) eggs for a while. 

Wonder if other species of birds respond the same way in captivity ?

John


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

John_D said:


> Wonder if other species of birds respond the same way in captivity ?
> 
> John



Hi John, 

Most or nearly all species of birds, wild or tame are vigorous defenders of their nest/eggs and chicks Birds are remarkable animals and are very, VERY good parents But I'm sure you know this


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, Phil, I especially like the part of you being a "Phil-anderer"--sounds so appropriate, eh? That's something I usually only think of politicians and college professors doing. To everyone else, it's just "cheating".

Pidgey


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi all, 


Awwwwwwww...thanks...


She laid her second Egg this morning...

But, I am hearing, they can lay more than 'two' then????


Anyway, yahhhhhhh...it is AMAZING how well this little 1997 Toshiba Lap-Top has held up all these years!

It did get nailed a few days ago from a rather 'wet' poopie that ceom from high above, and I just had not got to getting out the Windex yet to clean off the offending spot or streak there...Lol...

I have never closed the lid on the poor thing, but usually I remember to set a notebook on the keyboard anyway...


Well, I never did name her I guess..!

I usually call her 'Yellow Bird!' so that is her de-facto name I suppose!

She is really a very sweet, self sufficient and all round wonderful little Bird in every way.

She flies well, holds her own well with the ambient others, and untill this 'Egg' business, has been overall quite calm and even tempered.

She loves to be a 'Shoulder Bird', and if I am in the Office here, that is usually where she will wish to be.

We have gotten it worked out so that if I do not feel like her being there, she is reasonable about not insisting and I can set her onto some other place and she will abide.

Really, I would like to either find her a nice Cockatiel mate, or find her a nice home where a nice mate and plenty of room to fly and goof off and so on would be in her future.

She has spent no time in any Cage, and has shown no interest ( as Pigeons do, ) to go into any of the empty Cages to day dream or see what it is like.

She is a polite and easy free-rover.

She is very tender with her Eggs, and I am sure would be a tender and devoted mom to her piplets, if she had a mate and had fertile Eggs to brood and have hatch.

Anyway, a couple more pics...!

These were both taken last night...

Love, 

Phil
Las Vegas


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Yellow-Bird reading 'Pigeon-Talk' last night, she seemed to approve...

And...my Desk is somewhat neglected, it is true! it is rather 'Wild' in here in some corners...!


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

She's just adorable, Phil! Thanks for the latest pictures! Truly, she can and probably will have a nest with 5 or 6 or more eggs in it .. 

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

TAWhatley said:


> She's just adorable, Phil! Thanks for the latest pictures! Truly, she can and probably will have a nest with 5 or 6 or more eggs in it ..
> 
> Terry



Oh my!


Well, I will gather some fine clean little Pine Needles and supple twigs them, and either hand them to her or array some of them myself.


She is a dear, to be sure...

If I take a little nap by day, she flies into the bedroom and perches on my shoulder or ankle...as do some of the others too, so I end up with several lined up on my length as I lay there napping...ankle, knee, hip, ribs, shoulder...next to my head on the pillow even, and most of these are the 'Wild' ones Pigeons and some Doves even, who will otherwise not let me near them during their free rove time prior to release, but somehow many of them like the 'nap thing' and want to join in...beats me! - Lol...

Originally she did not want to sleep at night other then 'on' my shoulder, which may have been her habit with whoever her original human was...but I could not dare risk that for night sleep times, she is too small and if I rolled over or something, it could be of course dangerous, even though I tend to move little when sleeping.

But anyway, it took a few days to get that worked out for her to night-roost in the Office on the high Lamp bar usually, or elsewhere in here.

She is smart...seems happy and easy with everything, is strong and muscular for her size...

Likes Pie Crust but not the rest of Pies...likes Plum peel but not the Plum part...very hard to find anything she does like besides Seeds!

Bread crust, Cake crusts, crusts I suppose...she likes...

No interest in leafy Veggies, or Fruits other than Plum peel...far as I can find out so far...

Rambley, 

Yours,

Phil
Las Vegas


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Phil, 

Very cute pictures of her, and I love the one of her "reading" pigeonlife, lol They are very endearing little birds as you're seeing and although very different from pigeons in their personalities. They are very smart and when tame, very "clingy"

You could offer her some non salted or even salted crackers for a once in awhile treat too and she should like these Easy on the salted ones though


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Looks like she is checking out PT to make sure you said everything to HER satisfaction!

Just a suggestion about her name...use Yellow Girl instead and Yellow for short??

Don't pay any attention to Pidgey! He's just jealous that HE doesn't have a hen who laid eggs where he can do a "hand nesting!" Of course, just as well as I do think we are lucky that he will sit still long enough to type a post or two! He can be such a busy Pidgey!

Mmmm, one wonders how she would take to being in a cage if she did go to a new owner as she is so used to flying free...

BTW, you had mentioned a seeming allergic reaction to her dander. Is that still true??


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Brad, 

Yes, she does in fact like Crackers very much...it is usually 'Ritz Crackers' that I might have, so these are the ones she gets, but she is a dainty eater, so the slight Salt content should not add up to much..she will eat one twentieth of a Cracker m-a-y-b-e and be quite content...


mr squeaks..!


Seems like I only had a reaction to her dander at the beginning, and not since...so, who knows?

She sits on my shoulder often, and of course preens all the time, and does that little after-preen 'shake', but it has not bothered me since that first time.

Curiously, she was hanging out quite close to one of the Pigeons today when I got home from work...up on the high slef in the Office here, and they both looked like it was 'Hanging Out' too...so that was kinda nice to see.

She also eats on the same one foot by a foot and a half elevated platform where common Seeds and Water are always available, eats at the same time as some of the Pigeons may be doing so, if maybe sort of like eight inches apart...Lol...but that is nice anyway that they ere easy with eachother to that degree.

Some of the Pigeons chase her off when they are on there, and some are easy with her...


Phil
Las Vegas


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Phil, I've really enjoyed your observations of this little cockatiel. Many people push animals into reacting to human actions rather than letting the animal just be themselves. They really are intriguing individuals in their own right. 

P.S. Congrats on "your" clutch!


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

My Walley like crackers too. All types so far. They also like Cheerios. He also like Life cereal. Just about anything crunchy they like. Try a little carrots and broccoli, noodles and peanuts......


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Oye...

Three Eggs now...!

Hmmm, 'Cheerios' are a nice Cereal...I will get some and see if she likes them.

Carrots, Broccoli and other Veggies have been a no-go so far...as have Grapes, Cherries, Peches, Apricots...

Now, when they do have fertile Eggs and Babys, how do Cockatiels feed their Babys?


Phil
Las Vegas


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Oh MY, Phil, such a cliffhanger! THREE eggs and still counting??? LOL

I DO hope you have a BIG hand to adequately cover all the eggs she may lay! I didn't know 'tiels laid that many either. Sounds like you da mate, like it or not! ROFL

Can't wait to see how many she lays. Wonder if she will sit for long periods at certain times like pijies...oh oh...she may want YOU to nest sit the REST of the time! Oh dear, this is just tooooooooo fuuunnnny!


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Well, looks like ( just?) three Eggs to her clutch...

...fine with me!

I feel bad seeing her expend all that calcium and so on making the little things!

Anyway, she contentedly broods them and takes little breaks now and then.

To-day, she was getting a drink from a common Water-Bowl, and she had that 'look' a Bird can get when they are thinking "Gee, I wish it was like raining or drizzleing or someting in here..!" so...

I rounded up a mister-bottle and started misting the air above her and...

Heres a pic of her enjoying it...


That was fun for me, and she loved it...she just kept the pose you see here, while emphaciseing variations of it to favor her neck or tail or wings, appearently wanting the light 'drizzle' to run into her feathers against their lay, so she just hung this way for the whole time and then some when I would take a little break then start misting some more!

...amazing how large her Wing span really is!


Phil
Las Vegas


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

pdpbison said:


> Now, when they do have fertile Eggs and Babys, how do Cockatiels feed their Babys?
> 
> 
> Phil
> Las Vegas



Hi Phil, 

They feed their babies just like pigeons do, with crop milk intially then partially digested seeds as they get older

Great picture of her enjoying a mist bath! They love a good bath too, just like pigeons


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## Feather (Dec 8, 2005)

Such A Lovely Bird Phil! I Hope You Are Taking Your Turn At Sitting On The Eggs.

Feather


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

She really is a pretty bird, Phil .. that's a great photo of her.

Terry


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Great picture, Phil!!

Glad to hear everything is going well!!

Keep us updated!!


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Very observant of you to register her interest in a shower. Beautiful picture of her wings spread - that light lemon color is very attractive!


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Well, a couple of recovered not-yet-released ferals had fallen in love and made a high nest in my Office here a while back, and by the time I was noticing their little secret hang out, they had some Eggs already, so I let them have them.

Anyway, their Eggs never hatched so they gave up, and I was candleing the Eggs to see, and yup, nothing there but liquid, so, I thought, "I wonder what little Yellow Girl would do if I set them in her Nest, with her three little perfect unfertile Eggs?"


So I did, and she took right to 'em, gently rolling them under her and has been sitting on all of them since...

I snapped a little picture or two just now of her brooding them...


She is such a sweetie...I wish she had some fertile Egges to brood and raise...


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

...and...( you know, when I had a CLEAN desk that was not covered in all these papers and notes and so on, no one ever made a Nest on it! Lol...)


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

She is such a DOLL! I just love her expressions!!

Phil, you are TRULY a "PIGEON WHISPERER!"  

Who needs a "clean" desk? Nothing interesting to gather, poop on, or drag around!


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Aw Phil, what a sweetheart. You know, all those birds you take in and care for and worry about could care less about how things look. You give them clean, nourishing food and water and a lot of love. To me, that's what counts.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Great pictures, Phil. Your little 'tiel is sure acting like she would like to be a Mommy .. she's just adorable trying to tuck those big ol' pigeon eggs under her.

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

I think she is starting to feel quite proud of these additional 'large' Eggs, figuring she must have laid them too but had sort of not realized at the time how big they were, and thinking, "Wow, I must be QUITE the little Tiel Hen to have laid THESE!"

Lol...

She is a doll for sure...

Now...I wonder, if a Cockatiel could foster say, a Baby Morning Dove? Or brood fertile Dove Eggs, and raise Dove Babys?

Or vice Versa?

They are d-i-s-t-a-n-t-l-y related afterall, the Psittaciformes and the Columbiformes...



Phil
Las Vegas


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

pdpbison said:


> Now...I wonder, if a Cockatiel could foster say, a Baby Morning Dove? Or brood fertile Dove Eggs, and raise Dove Babys?
> 
> Or vice Versa?
> 
> ...


Hi Phil, 

I'm not sure if this would work or not and for a couple of reasons. First, the design and shape of their respective beaks are quite different. And secondly, I would think that the nutrional composition of each's crop milk is somewhat different and would be specifically suited for the needs of their own babies. I'm not totally sure though but I've never heard of one species fostering the other.

GREAT picture of her on the pigeons' eggs though, lol! That is so cute and I bet she feels very proud of those eggs


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## Ryiinn (Sep 12, 2006)

Oh my goodness!!!! How adorable!

She definitely seems like she'd make SUCH a good mommy if the eggs were really fertile


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