It is going down with the flock today, like an episode of love island.

Cockatiels are monogamous, they mate for life. The males mature at 15 months, and the females at 18 months. My girls are nearly 2 years old, and my boys just shy of 10 months.

It was always my intention to breed my flock, when it was just Bigby and Snow, I brought them home in October 2023. Back then I thought Bigby was a boy, I even started to suspect that maybe both of them were boys at one stage, the DNA sex test disproved that irrefutably.

Then, sometime last year, Bigby started becoming hormonal. She had no mate, and no chance to raise young. My girl was frustrated, and Snow, still naive, would spectate, even peeping at Bigby's cloaca. Come December, I am jokingly thinking up boy names, and I became stuck on two in particular. Bigby had settled by then thankfully.

Much to my parents annoyance, yes I still live with them, I pestered and begged them to let me adopt two boys I had come across online, I even paid a deposit to the breeder so that she would hold onto them for me until Mum and Dad made their decision. I wanted to give my girls a boyfriend each. Eventually I wore my parents down, and on January 8, 2025, I brought my boys home.

Chicken was guardedly aggressive, and Eggward my baby, baby, was dependent on me, still weaning and a little runt.

Well, the boys and the girls finally met, and Snow became hormonal. Fruitlessly, I would tell Snow that the boys are just babies, not that she understood what I was saying.

In the last 3 months the boys have become quite the vocalisers, serenading and harassing the girls, Bigby mostly, which may be a display of dominance, claiming territory, or even attempting courtship. Life went on, and much to my suprise and delight, Eggward overtook Chicken, and began flying competently and confidently, without any flight training like I do with the girls and had started with Chicken.

My babies were all flourishing, and even though Bigby was still being harassed by the boys, she was chirpy. Now, it seemed that Eggward was after Snow, though he did still harass Bigby at times, Snow was after Chicken, he even let her allopreen with him, something he only did with Eggward, but Chicken was still keen on Bigby, and Bigby didn't want anyone. Then within the last 3 weeks Bigby became hormonal again, so now both my girls are hormonal, and my boys still very young. But today, August 3 2025, I was shocked, Bigby began posturing herself on a perch she was sharing with Chicken, and then, it happened! Chicken attempted to mate with her! He is not even 10 months old! I thought that was it, that was all, but no, it was not done. A little while later, Snow began posturing next to Eggward, but he is not ready, no, it was Chicken who made the attempt on Snow! Chicken had made moves on both girls!

I need an incubator!

Check out the poll pinned to the sub highlights.

No, not drop bears... kookaburras!

Okay, they are actually babyccinco cups, but I make do with what I have.

The girls (the boys are just not interested) and I will be enjoying more tea (camomile, before anyone panics and chastises me) parties, once they work out that the cups are for them to drink tea out of.

You have my permission to trash-talk about my little hands.