My (unmated) baby is laying eggs!

[Cockatielier]

First time! White Bird is new to me since May, they said she was hatched July a year ago, and here it is October and she has made a nest in one of my baskets above the kitchen cabinets and has 4 eggs in there at the moment. She's a diligent and devoted mother, but I am so sad for her that those eggs are not going to hatch. Also, I'm worried that maybe she won't quit laying eggs, apparently that's a thing? I have visions of the basket filled with eggs... hopefully she will stop now with 4 because I'm worried about her sustenance if she keeps laying.

I have a male cockatiel just a few months older than her, but they have never gotten along, and so have never mated. They hiss at each other. She did the mating call to me and to my son (she loves him), and the male is in love with my daughter, so the two of them have just never seen each other as the same species. Ugh. They would be such a perfect couple. But no, her eggs are not fertilized, and they have separate cages, which she is not using now, because she's has made her home in my kitchen for now.

 

[Shezbug]

@Zara

 

[Tiel Feathers]

She’s definitely not too young to be laying eggs if she is 17 months old. Once this is over I would not allow her to make a nest in the cabinets, or anywhere else, because these dark places will encourage her to lay. I believe a normal clutch for cockatiels can be up to seven eggs. She might abandon them after three weeks from when the first egg was layed, and that’s when most people take them away. You should replace them with dummy eggs or boil them, and make sure she has a good diet with pellets, and that she comes off her eggs several times a day to fly, eat and get exercise. I actually don’t let my hen stay on her eggs when she lays them. I move them from day cage to sleep cage and make things rather uncomfortable for her, and I also make her leave them to go outside, etc. I feel this keeps her hormones in check and makes her give up the idea of laying eggs sooner than otherwise. I know the standard is to let her get it out of her system, but I think this works better for us. When she looses interest in the eggs you can take them away.

 

[Zara]

If this were me I would get those eggs and put them on her cage floor. The kitchen really isn´t a safe place for her to be living.

The next time she is looking for dark nesting spots (This is called cavity seeking), be sure to cut her off. Keep cupboards closed, block off any small nooks and spaces. You can use cardboard, blankets, boxes anything to block those small spaces to keep her out.
Try to always bring the interest back to a playstand, or play area, or an area on your desk etc with foraging opportunities, rotating toys to keep her interested, and treats.

I move them from day cage to sleep cage and make things rather uncomfortable for her

Having a sleep cage is a great idea, as is rotating her day cage frequently, moving all the perches, food/water bowls, toys etc Even moving the position of the cage can help curb laying.

You may want to look into pellets that have vitamin D3 and calcium in (if you don´t already).

 

[Cockatielier]

Why would you boil the eggs? I don't get that part. And how frequently do cockatiels go broody? Not sure how often we're going to be faced with this issue. I remember Bertie's breeder saying that cockatiels are getting harder to breed/raise their chicks naturally because they've lost their natural instincts, having had their eggs and/or maybe it was chicks taken from them by breeders so frequently. Hens are the same way, I have chickens, and you don't often get a good broody hen, it's kind of been bred out of them.

She's a beautiful white/silver color (I waited for just the right girl for him) and he's the handsome guy to the left here. I imagine letting cockatiels breed is probably a complicated and time consuming task. But anyway, yeah, these 2 are not in love.

I don't have room for any more cages, already have 2 rather large ones, and the birds are out of the cages most of the day. I guess you could call the house their day cage.

 

[Zara]

Why would you boil the eggs? I don't get that part.

1. just in case she did mate with the male
2. it is less likely to break if boiled (´Tiels have a bad habit of laying to replace broken eggs)

 

[Cockatielier]

2. it is less likely to break if boiled (´Tiels have a bad habit of laying to replace broken eggs)

Ah. That makes sense.

 

[Kiwi & Co.]

You seem like you want tiel babies in the future, so I‘m posting a link to a thread you should read before trying anything.

Should You Breed?

Are you ready to breed? So you want to breed. I get it, trust me. Baby birds are adorable, you get to see the circle of life and provide your friends with beautiful birds. Plus it seems like you could make some money. I’m not writing this to dissuade you from breeding, I’m writing this so that...

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