Eggs, eggs and more eggs!

[Sjazzmean]

My 2 year old cockatiel laid an egg last month - 4 days ago she started nesting on the ground in her cage, and has laid an egg EVERY day since. She is putting the eggs under her and lays on them. I removed the eggs and tried getting her interested in other stuff, but it only last for a few hours and she goes down to lay another egg. I've reduced the daytime light since last month, but she doesn't seem to have changed her hormonal behaviour. She won't even leave the cage while it's open in the daytime.
She lives with another female in a big cage, so the eggs are not fertile. Also gets lots of minerals and vitamins.
What are your best experiences with cases like this? Should I keep removing the eggs? Let her have the eggs? What do you do when yours are in periods like this?

Thank you!

 

[Birdbabe]

Definatly do not remove the eggs, she will replace them with more. You dont want her calcium deficient. She will tire of them after a while. Try to get her to eat calcium rich foods now because she is producing eggs.

 

[JackDele]

Definitely dont remove the eggs. Once she's got enough, she'll stop laying and sit on them until they (fail) to hatch. At the very least, she wont lay eggs for the few wks she's sitting on them.

Reducing daylight hours is a great idea. You should only need to put her to bed a couple of hrs early each day to have an effect. Also, remove anything she can shred/nest in.

Another good idea is to purchase some fake eggs. If/when she starts to lay, you can add an extra plastic egg for each real egg she lays - she'll see she's got more than enough to sit on and stop laying.

Lastly, others have found their hens are less nesty in a larger cage - makes sense as the larger the cage the less nest-like it feels to them.

Good luck If all else fails and she doesnt stop laying, it's time to take her to an avian vet.

 

[Anne & Gang]

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT REMOVE THE EGGS..she is laying to replace at this point....put a little folded up piece of paper towel on top of the grate, put the eggs on top....leave the eggs for about 25-30 days or until she appears to abandon..you may even have to put her in a cage alone if she gets too nasty with the other female during this time.....(belie ve me, they do)--12-14 hours of night is good (with a night light of course)...extra cuttlebone etc and calci rich foods such as broccoli and kale...also plastic eggs come in handy at this time to replace any broken ones etc (you can buy them at birdsupplynh.com)...all eggs must be white round and hard...same size or she is lacking in calcium..if that happens then you must provide a calci supplement such as calci boost when, and only when has she abandoned the eggs, then you can take them out...and then change her cage around...change the toys, change the perches, even move the cage...good luck!!!!!!!

 

[Naiera]

Right, well as everyone else has said, I would allow your birdie to sit on her eggs. If you still have the eggs you've already removed, I would put them back. As also mentioned already, fake eggs rock! You can order them here: http://theeggshop.com If you get some (I would get two sets) you would simply replace her eggs with the fakes and she will sit on them instead like they are her own!

If you don't replace her eggs with fakes, I would check to make sure they aren't fertile and be sure they are formed correctly (because that indicates good health on your birds part). I know you said she is only with another female, but I'd say it's better to check the eggs anyway just in case! You never know

Also, a note of caution on how long she should be allowed to sit on the eggs. As mentioned above, *theoretically* you would wait until she abandons her nest. Well, I gave that a go with the female birds here and they ended up not abandoning ship, but after a few weeks laying more eggs right on top of their old eggs!! My birds are probably the exception and not the rule, but just so you are aware. If she still seems just as interested in the nest a week or two after the "expected hatch date," I would consider pulling the eggs and the nest all together.

And finally, a few things I've learned to help deter nesting:
1) Like you've already done, decrease daylight time. I just allow them to wake up and go to sleep with the sun so I don't have to worry about it.
2) Don't let them build a nest! We ended up having to remove ALL shredding toys here. Makes me sad but that was the biggest encouraging factor here - even just the act of shredding seems to play a big role.
3) Reduce 'nest like' spots - i.e., dark corners, under blankets, any type of sleeping huts or hide outs, mine will even try to stake out the darkest corner of the room on cloudy days, so I keep the lights on to try and make things seem less dark and cozy!
4) Some have luck with regular environmental changes like rearranging their cage or moving the cage all together.
5) Any toys or items they try to 'mate' with or regurgitate to can be removed. In the case of a pair of birs, that likely isn't the case though!
6) Diet - I have read material that indicates soft foods that are similar in texture to regurgitated food might encourage nesting? Some sources also indicate that excess protein might encourage nesting as well. Personally, I find that less free feeding of excess amounts of foods (especially high nutrient foods like pellets or high protein foods like seeds and nuts) helps to decrease nesting. The theory there is that if there is a surplus of food (resources), that excess might indicate to your birds instincts, "Hey, this might be a good time to make some baby birds!" If you don't weigh your birds regularly I would be cautious about reducing their food. If you do reduce, the goal is to find the amount of food that keeps them at their normal/target weight while having little to no excess food left. Spreading this amount of food out during the day, or even better, offering it through foraging, will cause them to take longer to eat the food and make it seem more 'scarce', thus resources will seem less abundant. BUT, since your bird is already laying, I would NOT do this until after she has finished laying and sitting on her eggs.

Sorry for writing a book, but I hope something in there helps. It's better to figure out how to manage egg laying from the beginning so that it doesn't become an issue.

One last thing - not sure if you are familiar with egg binding or not, but you should absolutely do some reading on that if your girly is going to be laying eggs just so you are aware. Healthy birds that are physically fit and have a good diet with enough calcium don't usually have problems, but it's good to know anyway.

Good luck

 

[Sjazzmean]

Thanks a lot everyone!
My two females take turn laying on the eggs for some reasons!
My pearl is the one laying the eggs, but when she leaves the eggs, my whiteface go down to take care and lay on the eggs. My pearl doesn't mind, she actually seems pleased with it. Haha, crazy birds. Both are females for sure, but oh well I'll keep an eye on them. Thanks again!