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female not laying eggs.

Taras

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hello. I have had a female cockatiel for already about a year now, but for some reason she isn't laying eggs even though we put them a nest box. could someone explain why? thanks.
 
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Ali

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Not all females will pay eggs.

1. Are you sure they are female?
2. Why do you want eggs? Are you trying to breed?
 

Taras

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no, I just wanted to make sure that she is healthy, because we were expecting that as a female she would still lay eggs. thanks any way.
 
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Laurie

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A healthy female bird without a nest and a partner will likely not lay eggs. This is good. Some single females will lay eggs but it is not unusual for them not to lay eggs.

Unless you are trying to produce baby birds then egg laying is just a waste of resources for the mother bird. It can be stressful and can lead to complications.
 

tka

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Like everyone else says, if you can prevent a female from laying eggs, you should! Laying eggs is immensely taxing for the female - it pulls huge amounts of resources like calcium out of her. You also risk issues like egg binding, which is when an egg gets stuck and is very hard to treat. It can be fatal. Laying eggs also means that a bird is likely to be hormonal and more unpredictable in her behaviours.

Take the nest box out and make sure she's getting enough dark, quiet time.

If you want to know whether you do have a female or not, DNA testing is much more reliable and doesn't come with health risks. Some tiel mutations show sex-based differences (like the presence of pearls in an adult).
 

Taras

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I do also have a pair of strongly bonded budgies who I’ve been trying to breed for multiple years now, there Ceres suggest that there in breeding moods but they just won’t breed,
 
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finchly

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I do also have a pair of strongly bonded budgies who I’ve been trying to breed for multiple years now, there Ceres suggest that there in breeding moods but they just won’t breed,
Maybe diet is an issue? Or lighting, do they have natural light?
 
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Taras

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Yes I’d say they have plenty of light, they live right beside a window.
 

Tiel Feathers

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I do also have a pair of strongly bonded budgies who I’ve been trying to breed for multiple years now, there Ceres suggest that there in breeding moods but they just won’t breed,
I’d say count your blessings and do everything you can to discourage eggs. The same for your cockatiels. Unless you know all about taking care of and hand feeding babies, you shouldn’t let them reproduce. Take any eggs they lay and replace them with dummy eggs. Too much can go wrong.
 

finchly

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Yes I’d say they have plenty of light, they live right beside a window.
An open window? They cant get vitamin D3 from a closed window. They have to be either under a full-spectrum light or in sunlight.

Do you give them vitamins? Or feed them pellets? (Most pellets have vitamins in them)
 
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Taras

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An open window? They cant get vitamin D3 from a closed window. They have to be either under a full-spectrum light or in sunlight.

Do you give them vitamins? Or feed them pellets? (Most pellets have vitamins in them)
Are pellets just your normal parrot feed?
 

Taras

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There diet normally consists of normal parrot feed and millets occasionally.
 

Shezbug

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There diet normally consists of normal parrot feed and millets occasionally.
When you say normal do you mean seeds? Or do you mean pellets?
 
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Zara

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Zara

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I’m pretty sure there just seeds
It´s worth giving pellets a go, feeding them alongside seeds and supplementing with fresh vegetables.
I hear you can sometimes find samples of certain brands - if you can, that is the best thing to do as some birds can be quite picky.
 
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