Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a colony of cockatiels set up for breeding. Today, I caught one of my other males in the nest box with my 4 day old tiel. Both parents were out of the nest box eating. Not guarding the box as they normally do. When I opened the nest box, my 4 day old baby tiel was dead ! I was so upset. He was the only one baby that hatched out of 4 eggs. The parents are both first time parents. Could this be the reason they left the nest box unprotected? Is it common for another male kill other babies? As I was passing by the aviary, I heard this sound inside of the nest box, like aggressive pecking on the wood. I could see both parents were eating, so I ran inside the aviary to investigate. And, that is when the other male came out, and I found the baby dead. Any advice?

I do know some people have really good luck with colony breeding but I have also heard other stories the same as yours. I don't know if it is normal for another male to come in to kill a baby unattended but it does happen. You could try removing this male from the colony when you know breeding and hatching is taking place (as long as he is not involved LOL!). Also are you sure that was the cause of death or is it possible the baby was already dead and the other male just went in because it was unattended??