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My cockatiels are laying eggs. Are they both female? How to tell & if fertile?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

I have two Cockatiels birds. One is yellow, I thought it was a boy and a gray one, I thought was a girl. However, they’ve only been together in the same cage for about a year now and I think both of them have laid eggs? Can male Cocktiels lay eggs? Are they both female and how can I tell? How do I know if the egg is fertile or not and how long does it take to hatch?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on January 11th, 2020

There are ways to determine a cockatiel's gender. The link below outlines several.

https://www.cockatiel.com/malefemale.html

The definitive method to determine gender is to have them sexed via DNA testing. This is done using blood or feather samples.
Male cockatiels do not lay eggs. Female cockatiels may lay eggs even in the absence of a male.
If you have 2 females, the eggs will be infertile and will not hatch. Fertilized eggs hatch after about 3 weeks of incubation. She may lay one egg every 24-48 hours until she has a clutch of up to 8 eggs. Do not remove any of the eggs. This will cause her to continue laying which can be dangerous.
If you have a confirmed pair, I would suggest getting in touch with an experienced avian veterinarian or breeder to guide you if you plan on keeping the chicks.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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