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I have a question. My neighbor gave my daughter eggs from his Cockatiel's he said they are both girls, do they lay eggs even if they have not mated or is my neighbor mistaken about them both being females? We currently keep and breed reptiles. My daughter has always wanted a bird and loves the Cockatiels. We just prefer to hand raise babies of any breed and have yet to see any of the Cockatiels as babies to hand raise. I do not want to get her hopes up but would like to try to incubate them if there is a chance they are fertile eggs.

Cockatiel hens do not need a male to lay eggs, only to fertilize them. Therefore, the eggs your daughter was given are infertile. Cockatiel eggs are seldom if ever incubated because it is extraordinarily difficult to handfeed such tiny babies from their first day. There's a greater chance of success with a considerably larger bird.

How old is your daughter and how long has she been wanting a cockatiel? They are a very inexpensive bird to buy, though vet care for them is as costly as for macaws and cockatoos. If these eggs interest you because they are free, please give some thought to what vet care for 15-20 years could amount to. Parrots are a very expensive investment even when there is no purchase cost.

Paca

My daughter is 10 and has asked about the cockatiels since she could speak. My husband and I keep and breed reptiles, I wouldn't imagine that hand feeding a baby cockatiel would be anymore or less difficult then hand feeding a newly hatched Leopard Gecko. We are aware of the high vet bills that come along with the exotic animal trade. We have a great vet and with all the animals we have he gives us great discounts when we do have to go to the vet. A majority of our animals are all exotics and require yearly physicals with blood panels to ensure over-all health. As well as most of our animals have a life-span of anywhere from 20 years to 50 years depending on the species. Cost with us is not an issue. Our animals are all well cared for and happy in their homes. My daughter (whose idol was/is Steve Irwin and wants to be an exotic animal vet when she grows up) has candled all of the eggs, and they all have pink veining, this is why we asked if they lay eggs just to lay eggs or if they have to be with a male to lay eggs. Some of our reptiles will lay eggs just to lay eggs, but there is never any pink veining with the unfertile eggs. Do bird eggs differ in that way?

If you have candled the eggs, and there are spider veins in them, the eggs are fertile. Chances of them hatching without a parent are very low, as the eggs must be turned every 45 minutes or so, and must be kept at very close temperature ranges as well as humidiy. An incubator is absolutely imperative. Since you deal with exotics, and I assume are hatching eggs, you are aware of the problems with tiny young creatures. My question is, why did the neighbor give the eggs away if they are fertile? Apparently one of the females is a male, or the eggs would be clear. I wish you luck in your attempts to hatch the eggs, but from what I know about it, it almost never works as nature intended.

Sam

I realize that you are very experienced with reptile eggs, but as discussed before, it will be difficult to hatch the eggs without parents and difficult to raise a baby without mom and dad for a while because the babies are so fragile. Be careful not to get your daughter's hopes up to much--she may be so upset if they actually do hatch and she and you can't care for the chicks.

It will be very difficult to find a breeder who will let a baby go at an extremely young age if these eggs don't hatch--they want to make sure the baby is healthy and strong before they give them up to a loving family. I was about your daughter's age when I got my cockatiel. I got him from my uncle who was breeding his birds. Mama started to pluck my Bubba's feathers trying to clear the nest, and his dad needed to feed and care for him until the next clutch was laid. My uncle gave the chick to me to hand feed and ween--but if he was a real breeder, I doubt that this would have happened. Moreover, I doubt that Bubba would have survived long if his dad didn't care for him. I had a similar experience rescuing a robin that was nearly killed by a cat and his mom and dad abandoned him. I raised him, but he was old enough that he had pin feathers (I have no idea how old that is for a robin). He survived and was eventually released.

Good luck,

Jackie and Bubba

I got lucky and found a tame female tiel (baby) in a pet store while I was getting food for my bugies-they were acctually getting ready to "get rid of her" in their words since they claim not have had enough staff for hand fed babies....I WAS SOOO MAD that I bought her ... We're now both very happy- Female tiels lay un fertile eggs so pls don't even try-chance is even if they were fertile they are dead by now .... IF you are a first time bird owner a budgie or a tiel are great- tiels need more attention and they really behave like an attatched child but they are VERY smart! A budgie is less work...in most cases....consider it very carefully- a bird is for life!