Cockatiels should be at least 18 months old before you breed them. Males younger than this can be infertile and females can suffer physical complications such as egg binding. Babies can be born weak and less healthy. Do not breed cockatiels that are related to each other and have the same bloodline. Inbreeding in birds causes the same problems as inbreeding in humans. Babies can be born with physical abnormalities such as missing toes, deformed wings as well as problems with their internal organs. Only breed birds that are from different bloodlines. Do not let your cockatiels breed more than 2 clutches of eggs a year. Laying more than this puts physical strain on their bodies and they can get sick. Breeding season is from Spring to early Fall when  there is a longer period of sunlight each day. Your birds need to rest during the remainder of the year to build up strength for the next breeding season.

The presence of a nestbox encourages breeding. Use the proper size, wooden nestbox for cockatiels. Eggs laid on the bottom of the cage floor rarely hatch. If your breeding pair does lay eggs on the floor, you can either put them in a small bowl that has been lined with cut up white paper towels or put the eggs inside of a nestbox which is lined with nesting material. They should nest on the eggs either way.  Do not use liter, corncob, cedar or pine chips/shavings as a nesting material. Use white paper towels that are either shredded or cut up into strips. This will give the babies a firm grip on the floor and help prevent splayed legs. Make a small dent in the center of the nesting material. This is called a nest bowl and will keep the eggs from rolling around. Eggs that are rolled or suffer trauma may not hatch

Eggs that are rolled around briskly or suffer trauma will addle and not hatch. Addle means that the contents of the eggs have been shaken or scrambled inside of the shell. When this happens the embryos are destroyed and won't hatch. Some breeders deliberately do this when they do not want eggs to hatch. If you deliberately kill a baby this way it's the same thing as a bird abortion. If done at all, I only approve of it when 2 birds that are closely related have started to breed by accident. Their babies are born less healthy and will be more susceptible to infections and illnesses. This is a moral issue and the decision to addle an egg rests with an individual's conscience. I personally do not agree with the practice unless the health of a chick would be severely affected, such as with inbreeding related birds by mistake.

Eggs are laid about 7-10 days after a pair mates and are usually laid every 48 hours until the clutch is complete. You should know and be able to recognize the symptoms of egg binding to get help for the female if she needs it. (Egg binding information can be found on the link at the bottom of this page). The size of the clutch can range from 2-8 eggs. The female will have very large and odorous droppings during this time. She will hold it in and wait until morning to relieve herself. Sometimes the parents will not start nesting on the eggs as soon as they are laid and will wait until 2 or 3 eggs are laid. The purpose of this is so that most of the eggs will hatch around the same time. Eggs do not start to incubate until they are nested on and get warm. They can stay viable for up to 7 days before they really need to be nested upon.

You must provide a bowl of water for the birds inside of the cage. The female will wet her lower body feathers and sit on the eggs. She does this to keep the eggs moist and maintain the proper humidity level so the embryo doesn't die. Your birds will also turn the eggs once every hour during the day and some pairs will also turn them during the night. This helps all of the organs to develop properly. If you notice eggs that are cracked you can safely repair them by applying a coat of white, non-toxic, water soluble glue such as Elmer's glue or school glue. Larger cracks can be repaired by placing a piece of sterile gauze over it and then applying several coats of glue. Wait 30 minutes between applications. Repaired eggs need to be watched closely during hatching. The chick may have trouble breaking through the seal and may need assistance from an avian vet. If the peeping sounds start to get weaker, it's time to take the egg to the vet for help or the baby will die inside of the shell from lack of oxygen.

Both the male and female birds take turns nesting on the eggs. Do not separate the pair. Sometimes fights can occur between the male and female, especially during the egg laying process, but this is normal. The female may get upset if the male wants to come inside of the nestbox. This usually changes once the babies hatch. She needs the father's help to feed the babies. You may see the parents squabbling for a few minutes then cuddling and preening each other a little later. Do not remove a partner unless the other is being injured from attacks or if one of them is severely plucking out the feathers of the babies.

Each cockatiel egg will hatch 18-21 days after it was laid. Candle the eggs to see if they are fertile. Either purchase a special candling light or hold the eggs up to a very bright flashlight in a dark room. Fertile eggs will have a red, spider like shape present. There will be a clearly defined, red circle in the center of the shape. Put a mark on each egg with a permanent, soft, felt tipped marker so you will know when the hatch date will be. As it gets close to the hatching date, candled eggs with chicks growing will appear as a large, dark mass. There will be a white space at the top of the egg. This is the air sac. You will also notice a small bump on the outside of the shell. This is called a pip mark. Babies have a tooth called a pip tooth which is used to help crack the egg. You may also hear peeping sounds coming from inside of the egg. Babies push on the egg with their backs up against the shell and their little feet pushed against the opposite side of the shell. This is what cracks the eggs open so the chick can hatch.

Babies that just hatch are usually not fed by the parents until they are 8-12 hours old. The baby already has enough nutrition from absorbing the yolk sac prior to hatching. Dehydration is the most serious complication during this time. Some breeders will give the babies 1 drop of warm Pedialyte every hour to help prevent dehydration. Do not handfeed the baby with formula during this period because the crop is so tiny. It needs to be stretched out gradually. As the bird grows and starts to consume more food, the crop will stretch out gradually by itself.