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Budgie mama overproducing eggs?

budgiebabe

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Hi! I'm new here, but I always end up here when I'm looking for answers.

I have had my budgie Opal for 4 years and she just laid her first clutch of eggs starting in mid january. She has laid 10 eggs total now. With the first 5 eggs, 2 were damaged by me (I feel so guilty), but the other 3 were pushed from her nesting area broken/cracked. I'm not sure if she was the one that cracked them or if it was her baby daddy or other flockmates. I removed them cause I didn't want her getting sick from rotting egg goo. So then she laid 5 more after that. These 5 are healthy and hard and she actually laid these ones in the nesting box instead of on the ground. 3 of these are fertile, the other 2 are too young to tell yet as she just laid another one today. Shes incubating full-time now. I've been giving her more calcium rich foods into her diet but idk if its enough to make up for how many eggs shes laying.

My concern is that everything says that she shouldn't lay more than 8 eggs total. Is she just replacing the eggs that were removed? Or is it chronic egg laying? Hormone imbalance? Should
I get dummy eggs? Should I just take her to the vet?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated as I'm very new to the whole egg situation and stressing out. Thank you!
 

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budgiebabe

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update - She hasn't laid another egg yet, but I ordered dummy eggs and they are gonna be delivered tomorrow
 

AussieBird

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Was there a break between the first and the second clutch? An average clutch size can be up to 6, so both her clutches are "normal" size. If she's incubating them she likely had stop laying for that clutch, are you letting her hatch? If you are she should stop laying while she raises the babies, though she may try to begin another clutch as soon as she can. That's when you need to be on top of swapping eggs/removing nestbox as she has already "double clutched". She needs a break from laying that's too much on her body.
If you're not letting her hatch I would really suggest just removing the eggs and the nestbox entirely.
These are tips that can be used to discourage laying.
How to prevent breeding and egg laying.

  • Reduce Daylight Hours.
  • Cover the cage so your bird(s) only gets 8 hours of daylight per day.
  • Why? Budgies naturally breed in the summertime when days are longer. This allows them more time to forage for food to feed their growing clutch of chicks. By reducing daylight hours, you will also reduce hormones that trigger a bird wanting to breed.

  • Do not Overfeed.
  • Do not completely fill up your bird(s) food dish, or feed high fat/high protein foods.
  • Why? Budgies naturally breed when food is plentiful and easy to find. Budgies only need 1.5 teaspoons of seed per day. The rest of their diet should be vegetables and pellets.

  • Re-arrange the cage frequently.
  • Move perches, rotate toys, rearrange ladders and swings, move food and water dishes. You can even move the entire cage to a new location in your house if you have the space to do so.
  • Why? Budgies will only want to breed when they feel safe and comfortable and have a stable environment. By changing things up frequently, you can reduce the chances of breeding behaviour.

  • Remove any potential nesting spots.
  • Make sure there are no nest box, coconut shells, happy huts, grass baskets, pottery bowls, or anything else that is not meant for a budgie’s cage that could be mistaken for a nesting spot.
  • Why? Budgies can be opportunistic breeders and may use items that you think are unlikely nesting spots.

  • Do not stroke or pet your budgie’s back, wings, rump.
  • If you want to touch your budgie, give it some loving scritches at the head and neck area. You need to avoid stroking your budgie’s back.
  • Why? Stroking a budgie’s back is like molesting your bird. It’s part of the mating process and should be avoided at all costs.

  • Separate Male and Female birds.
  • Place your male and female birds in their own respective cages, or use a cage divider to separate them.
  • Why? If they can’t mate, they can’t breed.


  • What happens if my bird accidentally lays an egg?
  • Don’t panic. Simply remove the egg from the cage and throw it out. You do not need to replace it with a fake egg! An average clutch for a budgie is 4-6 eggs, and she will not continue to lay eggs if you keep removing them. Budgies can’t count, and her body is not capable of producing an unlimited number of eggs.
 

budgiebabe

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@AussieBird

Thank you so much for replying! I really appreciate your help.

There was only like a 3-4 day break between the 2 clutches. She has started incubating full time now, she hasn't laid anymore since the last one on 2/3. We are planning on letting her hatch, theoretically the first one should hatch around 2/13-2/14.

Regarding the tips for preventing egg laying, should I start doing those steps now or wait until after shes done incubating and the hatchlings are weaned?

To add to my stress, my other female lemonhead is starting to show signs that she may be about to start egg-laying as well. double whammy. I do not want her to lay as well. (idk why this year they are doing this when the last 3-4 years they have all been egg free). they all share the same food and resources and cage and room and stuff, opals nest box is in the closet cause that naughty little mama decided to crawl under the closet door and lay in there away from her flock. So if I rearrange the cage and start doing these steps to prevent lemonhead from egg-laying, is it going to cause stress and not enough nutrients etc for opal who is brooding? Do I need to separate opal from the rest of them? would this cause her too much stress? During the first clutch, I tried to introduce their old smaller cage to see if she would go in so I could separate her, but she showed no interest and when she perched on my finger she would fly away before I could get her into the cage entrance. I could like... block her in her nest box and move it into the other cage while shes in there, but idk. if I do need to separate opal, do I also put her mate with her?

Sorry I am full of questions lol I just want to do what's best for them
 

AussieBird

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I'm not a breeder, so these are only my suggestions.
Regarding the tips for preventing egg laying, should I start doing those steps now or wait until after shes done incubating and the hatchlings are weaned?
I would not do anything that may interrupt her and the eggs or cause her to abandon chicks. I would think removing the nest box once all the chicks have fledged for a bit would be a good first step to discourage her attempting another clutch. Things like daylight hours could also be done at that time.

To add to my stress, my other female lemonhead is starting to show signs that she may be about to start egg-laying as well. double whammy. I do not want her to lay as well. (idk why this year they are doing this when the last 3-4 years they have all been egg free). they all share the same food and resources and cage and room and stuff, opals nest box is in the closet cause that naughty little mama decided to crawl under the closet door and lay in there away from her flock. So if I rearrange the cage and start doing these steps to prevent lemonhead from egg-laying, is it going to cause stress and not enough nutrients etc for opal who is brooding? Do I need to separate opal from the rest of them? would this cause her too much stress? During the first clutch, I tried to introduce their old smaller cage to see if she would go in so I could separate her, but she showed no interest and when she perched on my finger she would fly away before I could get her into the cage entrance. I could like... block her in her nest box and move it into the other cage while shes in there, but idk. if I do need to separate opal, do I also put her mate with her?
Honestly I would not try to do anything that may interrupt Opal.
I think you need to separate your other female. Especially if she's feeling nesty herself she could very likely cause trouble for Opal and the chicks, to the point of harming them.
Opal should be kept with her mate. He'll help her during incubation and the a little with the beginning of the chicks' care and later one will become the one mostly responsible for the chicks.


@Zara has a lot more experience and knowledge of chicks than I do and may have some useful advice, or may know who else will be best to tag to help you. Budgie breeding is not one of my strong points.
 

budgiebabe

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@AussieBird

Thank you for the help! I will let Opal do her thing uninterrupted. I'll keep an eye on Lemonhead, separate her if she keeps up the behavior. I appreciate the advice a lot.
 

Zara

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As said above, leave Opal be with her eggs, but separate the other female away - a plus is that hopefully the change of scenery will knock the broody behaviour on the head for your other bird.

It is important you add some wood shavings into the bottom of that nest box. It is likely that is why the eggs cracked.
Aspen shavings, about 3-4 inches deep. IF you can't get aspen, coarse pine will do - avoid fine pine as it can easily be inhaled. Cedar is toxic.

As for the ten clutch, sometimes a hen will lay a randomly large clutch. It happens from time to time. So either it's an accidental back to back, or it is a large clutch.
Definitely supplement with some egg food (a pre made mix, can be found at most pet supply places), or calcium rich veggies, or a supplement.

Usually budgies don't lay to replace lost eggs, but given you bought the dummy eggs, you may as well use them. Be sure to only allow her to brood the dummy eggs for the average incubation period (I believe it is just 18-19 days for budgies). Once you reach the end of that period, if she is still brooding, you'll have to remove the nest, the box, the eggs, and rearrange the cage (toys, perches, everything).

Do you know the dates that the fertile eggs were laid on?
 

budgiebabe

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@Zara Thank you so much for your reply. I am literally so grateful for all the help from this forum.

I will go to the pet store today and get some Aspen shavings! I was planning on cleaning the nest box today anyways so that is perfect!

I will also separate my other female from the flock today. It makes sense that it is what's best for Mama Opal and for Lemonhead to stop the nesty behavior, but it makes me feel so bad to isolate her. Should I pair her up with my other budgie who doesn't have a mate? Or not risk it because i'm not sure if that one is male or female?

As for diet, my budgies are on a zupreem pellet diet with lafeber nutriberries for their seed, and a daily chop mix. I have added the vitakraft egg food, dried mealworms and more broccoli to their chop. And I added cuttlebone to their cage as well. If you have any other ideas to add to this, I would love to hear! :)

From what I've researched for the dummy eggs, i'll replace any newly laid eggs with the dummy eggs correct? I don't want to replace the ones she has already laid as I want to give her the opportunity to hatch them, right?

Here are the dates and potential due dates (18 days):
  • Egg #6 - laid 1/26 due 2/13 - Fertile
  • Egg #7 - laid 1/28 due 2/15 - Fertile
  • Egg #8 - laid 1/30 due 2/17 - Fertile
  • Egg #9 - laid 2/1 due 2/19 - not sure, haven't candled
  • Egg #10 - laid 2/3 due 2/21 - not sure, haven't candled
If she leaves her nest box while I am in the bird room today, I will candle the other two and send an update!

Again, thank you for being so helpful!!
 

Zara

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Should I pair her up with my other budgie who doesn't have a mate? Or not risk it because i'm not sure if that one is male or female?
you can do if they are friends. If the other is male, it doesn't matter, you can remove any eggs laid.

i'll replace any newly laid eggs with the dummy eggs correct?
yes :tup:

Food sounds good.

If the two new eggs are non viable you can switch them for dummys to avoid them breaking.

First 5 eggs were non viable? Probably for the best - will save your hen being overwhelmed by ten beaks wanting fed.
 

SillyGoose

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budgiebabe

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@AussieBird - Okay cool, they get along fine so i'll keep them together so shes not too lonely. I'll get them into the spare cage today. How long should I keep Lemonhead separate? Just until her behavior changes?

If the two new eggs are non viable you can switch them for dummys to avoid them breaking. - I just got home from the pet store with the Aspen shavings! I'll candle them when I clean out the nest box to check for viability. If I cant tell yet, I'll leave them in and candle them again in a day or two.

First 5 eggs were non viable? Probably for the best - will save your hen being overwhelmed by ten beaks wanting fed.
[/QUOTE]
With the first 5 eggs, 2 were damaged by me unfortunately, but I learned from my mistakes. The other 3 were pushed from her nesting area broken/cracked, so I removed them.

@SillyGoose - I'll check it out! I've seen her posts on social media but didn't know about the consultations. I'll see if I can get one scheduled. Thank you!!
 

SillyGoose

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@SillyGoose the website says her client roster is full, but I added myself to the wait-list for a consultation
While you are waiting read some of her blog posts! Here is a seminar she did a couple weeks ago about hormone production and egg laying in budgies
She has a list of blog posts on her website that are super helpful. I am working to become a certified parrot behaviorist and work with her so if you have any immediate questions I’ll be sure to pass them along !
 
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