Cockatiels Breeding

Question
Thank you for your advise.  Could you tell me how big the box should be. The man who sold the box to me said it was for tiels. I would like for them to be happy.  Do I leave the eggs, now two, on the bottom of the cage? They both keep looking into the box but just not going in. Once again thank you.
Lynn
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-----Question-----
Hi,  I hope you can help.  We have two cockatiels.  They are 2 and 3 years old.  They seem to be a pair.  Preening and feeding each other.  The cage is not huge but we attached a breeding box to it.  In November she kept laying eggs on the bottom of the cage so we then got the box.  They stopped mating  for awhile.  They have just started up again both showing interest in the box nibbling around the outside but not going in.  She laid an egg on the floor of the cage and today I notice she has a bald patch at the back of her neck.  We think he has been plucking her.  Is this normal,  if not how can we stop this,  poor little girl.
Thanks Lynn
-----Answer-----
Hi, Lynn.  Thanks for posting!

Your tiels will investigate the nesting box like they are doing until they are happy with the way everything is.  Then they should go inside and lay eggs.  If the female is still laying on the cage bottom with a nesting box present, something is wrong with the setup (she's not happy with the way things are).  It's normal for the male to be overpreening her.  I think he's likely trying to coax her to go to nest.  There's really nothing you can do to stop it except to separate them.  It's normal.  I have some female tiels who are bald completely on their heads, sometimes neck, etc., during breeding season.  The feathers will grow back with the molts.

Chrys

Answer
Hi again, Lynn.

A tiel nesting box should be about 12 inches long, 6 inches high, and 6 inches wide.  Both your adult tiels should be able to fit inside.  The ends of their tails might be curled up some depending on which way they are standing/sitting, but they both should fit inside.

Take a chance and put the 2 eggs inside the nesting box.  I seriously doubt they will incubate these eggs on the cage bottom, so they might be lost as it is.  Even if you put the 2 eggs inside the nesting box, they may not tend to them.  Either way, I think these 2 eggs might be lost, but you can try putting them into the nesting box and see what happens.  They may abandon these 2 eggs and start a new clutch once they are comfortable with the box and start going in all the time.  But then, putting the eggs in the box might coax them to go inside.

Chrys