my cockateils

Question
Hello my name is Elise Viera and i have a male and female cockatiel. it looks to me they are ready to mate. my female has never layed eggs. i have a self made shoe box (just out of curiosity) the male knocks on it and the female peeks inside but she wont go all the way in i think its too small for them. right now i cant afford a nesting house so would it be ok to hang a basket its made from what looks like wood but could be paper but it can hold there weight. its my sons old Easter basket. if i put a cloth down in it do you think they will mate? they like to sleep on top of the box already have in there do you think its ok to do this with the basket?? please get back to me as soon as possible. thanks so much.. Elise

Answer
I'm so glad you asked this first - before they mate.  You need to be prepared for the emergency vet visits that can result when a young, new mating pair like this have chicks and some (or all) of the chicks fail to thrive.
 Are you ready to get their formula and equipment for incubation? These things are really, really important.  Nothing is worse (believe me) than having one of these wonderful little birds pass away in your hands and not knowing what to do, where to take them or having any vet interested in seeing them because you're not an established patient (it's happened to a lot of first time breeders).

The basket is not a good idea because of the chemicals it's been treated with or painted with - and 'tiels are chewers.  One little girl was devastated after a homemade little "house" of hers for her 'tiels was found to be the cause of the toxicity that ended both 'tiel's lives.  Many years later she's still not up to owning 'tiels (or any birds).

 Find out more about care here:

http://www.4animalcare.org/birds.html   

and more about breeding 'tiels here

http://www.cockatiels.org/articles/breeding/breed3.html