Cockatiel advice

[DizzyBlue]

My family got a cockatiel a couple years ago. We throught it was male right.?
But the past 3 days this bird has been laying eggs!!! We left the first one in the cage. We took it out because she wouldn't get off it to eat and she's laying 1-3 a day now. Could this be harmful. Does she need to be bred. I am in no way a bird expert so i have no idea what to do. And i feel horrible for stealing her eggs,but i don't want them to rot or her to starve. My main question I guess is, is this harmful, can having this many eggs make her sick? And we breeding her make her better or happy??? Also if breeding is the answer you all give, how hard is it for them to bond, or do they bond??

[Cottontail]

This can harm your bird. It's perfectly natural behaviour, though, it can be brought on by a number of things listed below.
Is she in a warmer room than normal?
Has she been moved to a brighter environment? She might be associating longer daylight hours (artificial or not) with it being breeding season.
Has she bonded with a human, toy, or mirror that she might be displaying courting behaviour to?
Does she have a nest or something similar to a nest?

Things like this can trigger a tiel to lay eggs.

I have read that it is best to not remove the eggs. She will just continue to replace the eggs until she gets the chance to 'hatch' them; this is bad for her. One method I heard was to let her keep the eggs until they'd normally hatch (up to 30 days or so), and you'd expect under 8 eggs.

If she lays another egg, put it on something soft (paper towel, perhaps) on the bottom of the cage so it doesn't roll around or break. If it/they do break, remove them, and replace them with a marble or something that she might think is an egg (this should stop her from laying another. Make sure the area is clean.

Most of all, you need to make sure she is getting plenty of calcium from cuttle bones and fresh food like broccoli and kale. She could become ill if she keeps laying eggs and does not have enough calcium in her diet.

Good luck.

[DizzyBlue]

its getting colder here, so we have the heat on. So it may be warmer. Should we buy her a male bird. She also does have a mirror in her cage. She talks to herself

[Tribbles]

Her hormones are in high gear so remove anything that could be used for nesting. Also be sure she is getting at least 10-12 hours of sleep every night.

For the eggs, boil them in water for 20 minutes, cool and put them back in the 'nest'. This will keep her from laying more and prevent them from getting stinky. She will grow tired of them and move on to other things.

She needs foods that are high in protein and calcium. For more information, there is a forum at Tailfeathers that addresses cockatiels, breeding, etc.

No-- she does not need a male or to be bred. She needs rest, more nutrition and lots to do in her cage. Be sure she has toys, a swing, but nothing she can shred or hide into as so it will prevent her from getting 'nesty'.

Also if you are not in the room, turn the radio on for her when she is awake. They love music!

[Artagiel]

They also sell fake eggs you can put in the nest for her to sit on to keep her from laying more.

Good advice from tribbles good luck with your fid!