Male and a female cockatiel...will they breed soon?

Question
What are the signs of pair-bonding? The person that i got this from said that they were old enough to breed.Yesterday night i saw them sleeping together. Today when i came back from school the male was inside and i think* the female was either looking through(head inside but body outside) the hole or perching on it(the entrance of the nest). I also saw them eating together. But sometimes but rarely the male pecks her.I give them seeds,fresh vegie's,calcium bar and the other vitaman bar

One other question is why does my male cocakitel never sing?
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Followup To

Question -
I got a female cockatiel 5 months ago... i have bred finches before so i kind of got excited and got a male cockatiel for her 2.5 months ago. I had a small cage which i put both of them into(i didnt qurantine them due to the lack of research)so the first day i put them ,the female wasnt doing anything but the male was going around the cage wiht his tong out. Anyways after a few days they started to snuggle a little(mostly when its a little cold)and sometimes the male bowed his head down and went closer to the female(possibly asking her to preen him) but once he got close she didnt preen... but she pecked at him...?

2 weeks ago i got a new way way bigger cage for them and i put a nest box.The male (FOR THE FIRST TIME )entered the nest and started to chew on the hole. He also was moving the pine shaving in the nest. What i noticed is that the female also goes in alot. Sometimes right after the female enters the male goes in as well...as soon as he goes in she comes out very very fast.?why?

i am not sure if they are bonded because since i got the bigger cage the female sleeps on one side and the male sleeps on the other. The female still rejects when the male bows his head. i have heard that if they are going to breed they are going to eat a lot of the white calcium bar made with fish, my birds are doing that. They havent mated yet... if they are going to breed arent they suppose to mate? the snuggling stoped and rarely happens in the big cage.i put them back in the small cage to clean out the big cage for 1 hour....they were snuugling there, why dont they snuggle in the big cage? should i put them back in the small cage?sometimes when the female goes close to the male he pecks her by hissing?other thing i noticed is that when the male is in the nest he makes those little noises and the female replies back to those noises

So basically why are they so messed up?i mean good things are happening and bad things are happening...?DO u think they are really bonded?

thank you


Answer -
Hi, Birdlover.  Thanks for posting.

How old are these tiels?  I'm going to answer your questions, then elaborate on some other things in order to help you understand what is going on.

Why does your female tiel exit the nesting box when the male goes in?  Because she doesn't want to be in the nesting box with the male at that time.

Yes, they have to mate before eggs will come.  I don't know why they don't snuggle in the big cage.  Perhaps they aren't used to it yet.  Should you put them back in the small cage...depends on the size of the cage.  Is it big enough for both of your tiels, plus all their "stuff," perches, nesting box, and up to 6 babies (if you don't pull them for handfeeding)?  

Your tiels are not messed up!  To be honest, it's your lack of knowledge that is the problem here.    

A pair of birds will not mate/breed until they are pair- bonded.  When your tiels are pair bonded, they will preen each other, feed each other, and when everything is the way they want it for their babies, they will mate.  If they don't feel their environment is safe for their babies, they will not breed.  It doesn't sound to me like your pair is pair-bonded yet.  If you only acquired the male 2.5 months ago, it's not surprising they are not bonded yet.  Sometimes it takes months or even years, depending on several factors.  Just because we put 2 birds together and want them to mate, it doesn't mean they will like each other enough to mate!  This is a chance we take when dealing with parrots.  Also, are you sure you have a true male and a female?  I'd remove the nesting box until you see signs of true pair-bonding.  Otherwise, you're putting too much stress of your birds before they are ready.  

Chewing the hole of a nesting box means the male is preparing the box the way HE wants it to be.  This is normal.  Do not put any nesting material in the nesting box.  This is not necessary or desired by the birds.  You can add some pine shavings later after any babies hatch in order to keep the babies dry from their feces.

The cuttlebone you have in the cage is good...it supplies any calcium the birds need.  If they are chewing on it, they need it!  Their chewing on the cuttlebone doesn't necessarily mean they are ready to lay eggs.  It means they need calcium in their bodies.  This could mean a mineral/vitamin deficiency of some sort.  What type diet do you have them on?  All seed?...not good.

You have a lot to learn about parrots before you allow your birds to mate and have babies!  Visit my website for a taste of things you need to know:

http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Come back with any additional questions.

Chrys  

Answer
Hi again, Birdlover.

See my previous response for signs of pair-bonding.  Your male will feed the female (not the same as eating out of the same dish...the male will actually feed the female beak-to-beak), they will preen each other, and otherwise act like they are "in love."  Sleeping next to each other isn't really a pair-bonding sign, but it does mean they seem to like each other. Non pair-bonded parrots sleep next to each other, sibling parrots will sleep next to each other, etc.  If you're gone most of the day and/or not with your tiels all of the time, you may not see signs of pair-bonding.  

With them going in and out of the nesting box, this is a good sign!  This means they are trying to prepare the nesting box for eggs/babies.  They may be old enough to breed, but this doesn't necessarily mean they WILL breed.  However, like I stated, seems like they might be getting interested in breeding with them apparently working on the nesting box.  

Your tiels may peck each other as a means of telling each other that they don't like something the other is doing or to tell the other to keep it's distance.  This is normal parrot behavior in any species of parrot.

I highly recommend you provide pelleted food for your tiels and mix the pellets and seed together.  An all-seed diet is not a good diet and with babies potentially coming, your tiels need to be on a healthy diet not only for themselves, but in order to produce healthy babies and in order to be able to feed any babies healthy food (parent birds regurgitate food to their babies).  You can find information about good foods to feed on my website.  You should get them on a healthier diet BEFORE allowing them to breed.  Calcium and other bars are not part of their diet...they are supplements.  The veggies are good, but only if your tiels eat them on a regular basis!

I don't know why your male tiel doesn't sing.  Perhaps he does when you aren't around during the day.  Sometimes when they have a mate and are busy preparing things for eggs to come, they don't sing.  Singing is one thing male birds do to attract a mate.  Since your male already has a mate, singing isn't so necessary.  However, some males sing and others don't.

Chrys