I have a 5 year old Cockatiel and she had never laid an egg until 5 days ago. She has laid 2 eggs but still acts as though she doesn't want us around her. Since she is alone I removed the eggs. Do I need to do anything else for her?
There is no need to remove the eggs. They are not fertile. As a matter of fact, removing them could encourage her to lay more. Constant egg laying can deplete her calcium. If you just leave the eggs there, she will eventually abandon them. www.LaziBirds.com
There are a few things that you can do to naturally discourage egg laying. Make sure she is getting more than enough "night time" by covering her cage a little longer to mimic longer nights. Don't inadvertently stimulate her by too much petting, especially on the back and under the wings.
Otherwise keep a close eye on her for any behavior out of the ordinary. If she seems at all "off" take her in to the vet. She can get egg bound, or if she lays too many eggs, calcium deficient.
My female cockatiel laid two eggs when we first got a male. She was like "Eeewww that came from where?" And after we implemented a longer night and cut back on fussing with her for a while the egg laying stopped, thankfully. My female sun conure also went through a big egg laying period. Same treatment helped. No eggs since. Good Luck!
I have had cockatiels for years. The eggs won't be "fertile" unless you add a vitamin mix to the food. It's a powder you can get at the pet store(sorry I can't recall the name). I did this for a long time and a few of the eggs hatched with babies and several didn't make it. I also had what looked like nice healthy babies and then the died weeks later. I got tired of it so I stopped feeding the powder.
I have four birds now, two of them females. One lays eggs constantly, the other doesn't. One of the males seems to be her"partner", they actually take turns sitting on the eggs. They will sit on them for weeks and then suddenly kick them away. I gather them up and toss them at that point. I have had so many that I saved them and let them dry up and painted them for Easter. So it all depends on if you want babies. If so get some powder, if not just toss the eggs or use them for crafts. Good luck with whatever you decide.
We had 2 Cockatiels when I was growing up. The one laid eggs and one didn't (both female). She would "guard" them ferociously. When we removed them, she would linger in the are for a about a day, then get over it.
Login using the form on the top of the page to post feedback (if you are a registered user). If you have not yet registered, click here to do so. It's FREE!.
