hormonal cockatiel - constant

[Frogpasta]

hello everyone, i need help.

i’ve seen lots of posts like this, so forgive me for sounding repetitive, but my female cockatiel (around 4 years old) has recently become hormonal on and off for months and it’s honestly becoming so stressful for my whole house.

what happens is she starts going crazy searching for cavities literally everywhere. on the couch, in your lap, on the floor. you name it. it’s to the point where i spend every waking second trying to keep her away and distracted. it’s so exhausting.

once i notice her behaviour changing, i’ll decrease her daylight hours, change where her cage is, remove any toys that could possibly be causing the behaviour etc. i feel like i’m doing everything and still it persists. BUT, when and if the behaviour finally stops, i’ll give it anywhere from 2 weeks to a month for it to start up again. even if nothing about our routine has changed. it usually lasts a week too. whats worse is this last couple of months she’s been laying a large amount of eggs.

i’m so concerned and i don’t know what i'm doing wrong. i would love some advice. i feel like i’ve tried everything and nothing is working.

 

[Rebel]

I was/am in the same boat. First of all make sure she gets plenty of calcium. Its best to buy a liquid calcium supplement.

For example
https://www.chewy.com/morning-bird-...9198?utm_source=app-share&utm_campaign=749198

She’ll chew on these when shes about to start and is in egg laying mode but i recommend the liquid calcium over these.
https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-bird-...6611?utm_source=app-share&utm_campaign=126611

Just like you , i tried EVERYTHING to stop the hormonal behavior and egg laying. The only thing that works is taking her to the vet for Lupron injections. Sometimes an injection will work for a few weeks, sometimes for a couple of months or so.
Spring , summer, winter or fall. It makes no difference with her as far as egg laying goes.

 

[Finchbreed]

If a bird is laying - sometimes the best cure is to let them sit on the eggs in a nest and complete the natural cycle.
Then it has happened and they can move on - some do need to do this a couple of times to complete the natural cycle.
Agree 100% with increasing their calcium.

 

[Rebel]

If a bird is laying - sometimes the best cure is to let them sit on the eggs in a nest and complete the natural cycle.
Then it has happened and they can move on - some do need to do this a couple of times to complete the natural cycle.
Agree 100% with increasing their calcium.

We shall see what the OP has to say about their bird. In my case she next to never sits on the eggs. She may sit for a few minutes shortly after laying an egg but thats it IF the egg happened to be laid in the cage. No nest building at all. Shes not picky where she decides to drop eggs.

 

[Frogpasta]

thank you so much for your reply! i have been using things like cuttlefish and other forms of calcium but i will try the liquid calcium!! thank you! and i will talk to my vet about shots potentially. it scares me a bit but we shall see

 

[Frogpasta]

We shall see what the OP has to say about their bird. In my case she next to never sits on the eggs. She may sit for a few minutes shortly after laying an egg but thats it IF the egg happened to be laid in the cage. No nest building at all. Shes not picky where she decides to drop eggs.

yeah mine never sits on her eggs and never builds nests either haha she’ll often pop an egg out while “asleep” and it’ll crack on the cage floor. she has absolutely no interest in them. its bizarre

 

[Rebel]

yeah mine never sits on her eggs and never builds nests either haha she’ll often pop an egg out while “asleep” and it’ll crack on the cage floor. she has absolutely no interest in them. its bizarre

Mine has laid eggs everywhere. Back of the couch, while on perches, on the living room floor , in her food dish, even while sitting on my leg.

If yours continues to lay an over abundance of eggs you really need to get the lupron. Being egg bound or prolapsing is a horrible death if you cant get into a vet immediately. Theres almost no risk to the injection compared to what could happen from egg issues.

Even though you’re providing her with cuttlebones, she may not be eating enough of it to keep up with her egg production.