Mating ???

[SuzyLRah]

There is no doubt that my male tiel was trying to mate this morning. Can anyone help me here?? Do they have a certain position? I thought that the male gets on top of the female's back and the female spreads her tail feathers. I'm not sure so if anyone could let me know. He was just on the side of the other tiel. Does this mean that the other is definitely a female? Thanks for any info on this!! I DON'T want babies. The pet store suggested that if there are eggs to take them out right away. They said as long as they don't get attached to the egg it doesn't hurt them.

[flyingduster]

yep, the male, or dominant one, will mount the female, often holding the feathers on the back of her head for balance. if he wasn't on top, he wasn't mating....
and no, it doens't mean the other is female.... i know of 2 males that have tryed mating with each other, for lack of anyone better!
and do NOT remove eggs if you ever get them!! never ever just remove the eggs!!!!! they may pay no attention to it at first, that's quite normal as they usualy don't sit on them until they have 2 or 3 in the 'nest'..... if the egg is removed the female may try to replace it, and every egg you remove... so she'll be laying eggs constantly!
what to do if you do end up with eggs: boil some water, and remove the egg and boil it for a few minutes, cool it in cool water, dry, mark a dot on the end with a pen, and put back. and any more eggs that are layed, do the same thing. that's the easiest way to make sure they won't hatch (as you can't be sure if they're fertile or not) and marking with a dot means when another is layed you know which are boiled and which aren't!
the result is they can sit on the eggs and will try to incubate them, but no chicks will result. they won't mind, as often a clutch is lost naturaly anyway, after the normal incubation time (about a month) they'll give up and leave them. only when you know for SURE they've abaondoned them, can you remove them. ie: haven't sat n them for a couple of days.
of course, they may never get sat on, and in that case if it's just one egg and it's been there a week or so, and they haven't shown any interest in it, ya can remove it.
good luck!

FD

[SuzyLRah]

Well, then he was on top of her and she was willing. I called Superpetz and explained that I didn't want eggs. They said they would take her back but no refund. So I gave her back and today I am broken hearted. I miss her but can't handle the mating and eggs. My male seems calm now and he is still singing. He is not hand trained but I think I may have a chance now that the dominant female is gone. I guess you think I am cruel to give her away. :-(

[flyingduster]

well i wouldn't say you're cruel, but really there was no need! if you checked the FAQ forum you'd find a post about hens laying, and how to stop/prevent it, it's quite simple really... and many tiels though they mate may not lay... or they may only lay a few eggs, sit on them and then not lay again... there are ways to get around it, and it's not that much bother... but i guess all that's too late now.
good luck taming him!

FD

[SuzyLRah]

Thanks! I realize that I made a mistake here. I am going to find another male ( and I will make sure it's a male this time) I will get one that is hand trained. My male is lonely so I think another male would keep him occupied!