If you keep cockatiels, you have to understand the process of their egg-laying. So, how long does it take for cockatiel eggs to hatch? If you want to know more about it, you have to keep reading this article. Here, I will review everything you want to know about the cockatiel egg-laying process.
How Do I Know If My Cockatiels Will Lay Eggs?
The female cockatiels will spend more time in the nesting box. They will also eat more to get the nutrients to form the eggshell.
If they have much larger droppings and their vent begins to swell, it clearly indicates that the eggs are on their way. The vent will look a round like an egg before the eggs expel.
The Fact: How Long Does It Take for Cockatiel Eggs to Hatch?
After cockatiels mate successfully, female cockatiels can retain the male sperms for 2 weeks. So, it can fertilize a complete clutch with one mating only. They lay eggs every 2 days. Most normal clutches have 4 – 6 eggs.
Usually, female cockatiels don’t start incubating their eggs until they lay the second or third. That’s the common cockatiel egg laying behavior. Normally, the incubation period is about 18 – 20 days. Then, the hatching begins. The eggs can hatch every other day.
However, not all incubated eggs are going to hatch because only about 90% of them are fertile. But you cannot remove the eggs that have not hatched. Sometimes, the incubation period begins later than you know.
Then, how long does it take for cockatiel eggs to hatch? Normally, it takes about 18 to 20 days. However, some cases take more days. If you are not sure, you can candle them.
What Does Egg Candling Mean?
It involves shining a light through the cockatiel eggs in order to determine the embryo development state. You can more easily candle pale or white eggs than speckled or dark ones. Sometimes, you need to have a high-intensity Candler for darker eggs.
If you have no candling device, you can consider the water candling method. Here, you just need to fill a glass with warm water for a half. After that, take the cockatiel eggs for one or two minutes.
If the cockatiel chick is alive, the egg will bob. Make sure that you will never candle the egg that has pipped because you risk drowning the cockatiel chick.
What Can You Expect Before the Cockatiel Eggs Hatch?
Before the eggs hatch, you will hear the cockatiel chicks inside peeping. They have a special egg tooth to peck at their eggs.
It takes some hours to 2 days to peck all the eggs. After a cockatiel chick pipped its egg, then it will break free.
What Can You Expect After the Cockatiel Eggs Hatch?
The process of hatching is really exhausting. It is normal to notice cockatiel chicks resting after the hard work to hatch themselves.
Then, their parents will provide the warmth the chicks need to survive. For your information, they won’t feed the chicks hours after hatching because they chicks get the nourishment from the yolk sac.
After 12 hours, the parents will start feeding the chicks. This will continue for a few months until the chicks get older and learn to find food for themselves.
What If the Cockatiel Eggs Don’t Hatch?
How long does it take for cockatiel eggs to hatch is generally within 20 days. However, there are some cases where cockatiel eggs not hatching after 21 days. This can happen because of some reasons.
First, it can be that your cockatiels are too young. Besides that, it may be that the cockatiel eggs are unfertilized. Or, the embryo inside is dead so that the eggs cannot hatch.
Usually, cockatiels are mature enough to breed when they are a year old. Younger cockatiels may lay eggs. However, they are usually infertile.
Sometimes, cockatiels lay infertile eggs even if they are fertile. Simply, it is because the sperm needed to produce a cockatiel chick is missing or did not make it where it needs to be.
For your information, embryo mortality may happen for different reasons. Commonly, it happens when the cockatiels don’t have the nutrients needed to produce healthy eggs.
Keep in mind that an egg that didn’t hatch within 21 days in the incubation period doesn’t mean that it is infertile. Sometimes, eggs take up to 25 days to hatch. So, you have to give some more days.
You may also read the following article:
Why Are My Cockatiel Eggs Not Hatching?
How Long Does a Baby Cockatiel Need to Stay with Its Mom?
After understanding how long does it take for cockatiel eggs to hatch, I will tell you how long a baby cockatiel needs to stay with its mom.
For your information, baby cockatiels will rely on their parents until they are about 1o to 12 weeks old. Generally, cockatiel pairs produce a clutch twice a year. So, both parents will have active roles in their babies’ lives. Usually, both will sit on the eggs and clean. Then, they feed the young cockatiels.
It is not easy to pair cockatiels. In fact, not all cockatiels will breed. So, the free mate option is important. The wild lets a pair of birds form a stable bond.
Besides that, environmental conditions will matter. They can deteriorate or improve the cockatiels’ reproduction activity.
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Bottom Line
Incubation is a difficult period for your cockatiels. Both female and male cockatiels will feel exhausted and weak. Of course, sitting on eggs and defending the nest is a mad demanding task.
In addition, cockatiels usually molt in spring. Therefore, you should support them by providing healthy, varied food.
Then, a well-balanced diet is also important. For your information, cockatiels need comfortable conditions to breed. In this case, a large cage with a beautiful nest box will make them feel safe. That is so, your cockatiels will feel happy and be healthy.
It is important to understand how long does it take for cockatiel eggs to hatch. However, you also need to understand how to care for them well.
Cockatiel breeding source: Breeding Cockatiels
