Cockatiels behavior questions

[mama_nana]

I have a male & female Cockatiel that seem to be smitten with each other, according to everything I've read. He follows & stays beside her constantly, he shows his dominance if my other male comes close to her, grooms her, etc...The first problem I have is that he grooms her so much that she is actually losing the feathers on the back of her neck. She has a bald patch there now. He constantly picks at her and at times it hurts her so much that she cries out. She bites him when he does this, but then he does it again, over & over. He never learns not to do that even when she bites him. I've tried separating them, but then they both scream until I let them back together. What do I do?
Secondly, I haven't actually seen them mate yet, but when she lays eggs they take turns sitting on them. He stays by her side and guards while she sits on them during the night, and then in the morning she gets up and he sits on them all day. They both get very aggresive if anyone goes near the eggs, and they never leave them unattended. The thing is none of them have ever hatched. So if they are not mating, would he still take such a strong role on the egg sitting and protecting? If they are mating, why would the eggs not hatch? Please if anyone could help me with these two questions I would be so grateful!

 

[mama_nana]

Hmmm......nobody has replied. I guess that means noone knows the answers to my questions. I guess I'll look for answers elsewhere.

 

[Aquila]

The eggs are probably not fertile, the age of the birds are important and I would recommend separating them even though they scream. Your female needs more calcium for sure if she keeps laying eggs.

The female might also need to see the vet because of the feather loss and egg laying, by leaving them together you could be endangering her health.

 

[mama_nana]

I actually already separated them yesterday. They are having a fit, because she is sitting on eggs now, and he was sitting on them during the day giving her a break. But since I separated them he can't. He is constantly screaming now...and I mean constantly!!

 

[mama_nana]

Hmm...not much help here like I hoped and thought there would be. =(

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hmm...not much help here like I hoped and thought there would be. =(

Patience is the name of the game. This forum is super busy, tons of members, but oftentimes threads can get buried under new threads. So gently bumping it up has never hurt anyone.

Sorry you feel disappointed, nothing I can do about that.