Cockatiel Lays One Egg About Every Two Weeks.

[DeputyMax]

I recently wrote about my cockatiel Peewee laying eggs in various locations of her cage.
Last night she laid another which is almost two months since the first one, which was around November tenth. She has now laid a total of seven. She seems to be spacing them about every ten days to two weeks apart. She shows interest in the new egg for a day or two then ignores it or almost uses it like a toy, pushing it around on the bottom of the cage.
I was wondering if this is something I should be concerned about (the time lapse between eggs) or if this is a somewhat normal occurrence.

 

[Kiwi's Dad]

I don't think this is normal but I've never had to deal with this so I can't help. @Icey might be able to

 

[Icey]

Did you replace the eggs with dummy eggs or does she have a partner?
If it's just her laying them, are you putting them together, or what are you doing with them?
Other members will be able to help more with this information.
My cockatoo had 2 eggs within days. She has no partner. I boiled the eggs and let them cool and gave them back to her. She has been laying on them for over a week now, so now that she's not bothering with them too much I will get rid of them. I only kept them as long as I did because I didn't want her laying any more. I have dummy eggs now which I can swap out.
In your case, it seems she may be a chronic egg layer. I believe cockatiels normally lay between 4 -6 eggs, so yes, I would be concerned if I were you.
@Tiel Feathers and @BrianB may be able to help also.
I would definitely think about an avian vet appointment soon. Too much egg laying is not good for her.
I am by no means an expert, but hopefully I was able to help you until a more knowledgeable member can reply.
Good luck

 

[Tiel Feathers]

If it’s more than a few days between eggs it’s a new clutch. Once she shows no interest in a clutch you need to take away all the eggs.
Make sure she isn’t thinking of anything in her cage as a nest, and rearrange it often. If she tries to mate with a toy, take it out. Try to give her 12 or more hours of darkness a night, don’t feed soft foods, limit baths, limit direct sun, get rid of dark corners or crevices that are in or even near her cage, and only pet her head.

 

[BrianB]

I would get her some supplemental calcium to keep her bones strong. Remove anything from her cage that could be viewed as a nest or a safe place to lay eggs. Take the real eggs out and replace them with fake ones, or boil the ones she laid and out them back. Leaving a few fake ones there might be enough to stop her from laying more. Cut back in her food some. An over abundance of food can stimulate egg laying. If she’s near a window I would move her away from it. The days getting longer each day stimulates laying so removing her awareness of it can help. Replace the sunlight with artificial light on a timer that gives 10-12 hours of light with no variation can help break the cycle. If none of this helps then a vet visit is in order. There are hormone implants that can stop it but they aren’t cheap. It’s worth it if the egg laying starts to impact her health. Keep us updated.

 

[DeputyMax]

I'm at my wits end. I don't know what to do.
I've rearranged Peewee's cage, moved her cage to another area in the room, and bought dummy eggs all to no avail as she continues to lay an egg about every 4 to seven days.
I'd remove the dummy eggs but I'm afraid she'll just start a new clutch.
Since the end of October she's laid 15 eggs despite everything I do.
I'm so worried that it's going to be too much for her and I 'm at a loss as to what to do.
Once she lays one she spends the rest of the day with them then the next day she completely forgets about them and goes about her day as normal.
Any other ideas as to what to do would really be appreciated.
HELP!!!

 

[Kiwi's Dad]

Has she visited the vet?

 

[Tara81]

If you can, move the cage to a new room. I would definately see a vet as well. Does she fly often throughout the day?

 

[Cat0611]

I am also at my wit's end with Lola's egg laying. After laying 9 eggs, Lola laid 2 soft eggs and stayed at the avian hospital for 5 days in January, when the vet surgically removed a soft, malformed egg. That vet did an implant and 2 Lupron shots. I followed the vet's advice to completely separate her from my 19 year old male tiel, and feed her carbs, e.g., rice and pasta, veggies and fruits, never pellets (which she said cause gout in tiels). Lola persists in doing the mating dance, so I took her yesterday to see a 2nd avian vet, who said implants rarely work and Lupron often doesn't work. This 2nd vet said to feed only pellets, no fruits or veggies, in direct contradiction of the 1st vice's advice. (After years of conflicting advice from vets, I have come to believe that vets know little to nothing about pet nutrition.) This 2nd vet gave Lola a Lupron shot, as a last ditch. This highly experienced avian vet told me there may be absolutely nothing to do about it, that cockatiels are being bred to be high egg layers for the purpose of hatching more cockatiels to sell. I've read, appreciate and tried most of suggestions. When these don't work, is the only option to watch our tiel girls lay themselves to death?

 

[Tara81]

I am also at my wit's end with Lola's egg laying. After laying 9 eggs, Lola laid 2 soft eggs and stayed at the avian hospital for 5 days in January, when the vet surgically removed a soft, malformed egg. That vet did an implant and 2 Lupron shots. I followed the vet's advice to completely separate her from my 19 year old male tiel, and feed her carbs, e.g., rice and pasta, veggies and fruits, never pellets (which she said cause gout in tiels). Lola persists in doing the mating dance, so I took her yesterday to see a 2nd avian vet, who said implants rarely work and Lupron often doesn't work. This 2nd vet said to feed only pellets, no fruits or veggies, in direct contradiction of the 1st vice's advice. (After years of conflicting advice from vets, I have come to believe that vets know little to nothing about pet nutrition.) This 2nd vet gave Lola a Lupron shot, as a last ditch. This highly experienced avian vet told me there may be absolutely nothing to do about it, that cockatiels are being bred to be high egg layers for the purpose of hatching more cockatiels to sell. I've read, appreciate and tried most of suggestions. When these don't work, is the only option to watch our tiel girls lay themselves to death?

I am so sorry to hear what you are going through! When your bird lays eggs, do you leave them all with her for a couple of weeks? Does your bird eat dark leafy greens high in calcium, like kale, collard greens, dandelion? Broccoli is a wonderful source as well. Carrots and red peppers can add lots of vitamin a. And so there is always sprouting. Sprouts are packed with nutrition, vit a,b,c,D,e,k, calcium, protein, depending on the sprout type. I believe, a Healthy diet should consist of vegetables ( no spinach/onion/mushroom ), sprouts, seeds and grains and a small amount of pellets. The reason you dont want to feed too many pellets is it is hih in protein and dry pressed. The dryness can be offset by the fact the bird eats wet veggies and sprouts during the day. If you bird doesn’t eat these foods, then you should start offering them daily. Have you tried moving your cage, changing the birds toys, moving around its perches and dishes? How often does your bird fly each day? How much sleep is it getting? When hormonal, try increasing sleep time for the bird to 14 hours for two weeks.s when your bird
Sorry I am not much help, have you heard of the flooding technique? This is where when your bird starts a new clutch, you replace her egg with a dummy egg, then place 5-6 more fake eggs in the.
nest. Sometimes it makes the bird think she is done of her clutch.my tiel does the mailing dance every few days, I just distract her with training or cuddles or just hang out time. She’s 5 and luckily, never laid an egg yet. Maybe now that she is separated from the male, she will stop laying. I wish you and Lola the best!