Female Cockatiel laying unfertilized eggs

Question
Chrys,
Thank you for your prompt response.
I got an error message trying to respond back, so I'm trying again now.
I want to clarify that my birds enjoy all three brands of pellets.  They are about the same size and neutral color, and my vet agrees the variety is ok.  The also have both cuttlebone and peanutbutter/lava stone.
My male seems to prefer humans over other birds.  Maybe from being without another bird in the house for almost 7 years?  Anyway, I hope they will atleast become friends after some time.  Right now the female seems to like him quite a lot, but he is not nearly as smitten.  He'll share his food and let her in and out of his cage, but he likes his quiet time alone or just with me or my husband.
Unfortunately I don't know a lot about the female.  She's banded and was purchased at a Petsmart, but I haven't been able to read what's on the band.  Should I have it removed at some point?  It doesn't seem to bother her, but she does pick at it once in awhile.  It's plastic and not tight but I do worry it might get caught on something and she could injure herself.
I will check out your other sites and work of socializing her.  She has a forever home now and I am quite determined to provide her with a long, healthy, happy life.
She was previously with 4 other owners, in a cage that was too small, not on the right diet, likely not allowed to bathe, probably wasn't let out of the cage, and had minimal attention.  
Thank you very much again.  Your insight is truly appreciate.
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Hello Chrys,

I've recently adopted / rescued a female cockatiel - approximately 2 years old - from an unhealthy and very sad life.

She is doing well after nearly 6 weeks with me.  She's in a new, large cage.  I have a 7 year old male (in a separate cage) who I believe was a great help in converting her to pellets in just two days.  I'm alternating feeding her Harrison's Organic, Zupreen, and Exact ... and supplementing with The Missing Link.  She also has small portions of whole wheat bread and pasta, fruits and veggies.  She's bathing regularly, enjoys flight, sleeps 12-15 hours daily, drinks bottled water, cage is clean, droppings are normal, nares have gone from red to normal with improved diet and vitamins, etc.  (She is not socialized yet so I consulted with my vet over the phone a few times - rather than causing additional stress trying to get her in a carrier cage.)

My husband and I both work at home so the birds are out of their cages all day.  They have a play box, and plenty of toys and treats.  They have not mated.  

According to what I've read the female was showing signs / vocalizing the desire to mate, but my male isn't interested.

In the last 10 days the female has delivered 5 eggs.  Should I be poking a pin hole in either end of them even though they aren't fertilized?  How many eggs will she lay before she's done with this clutch?  How many times a year will this happen?  How long before she loses interest in the eggs?  When is it appropriate to discard them without upsetting her, causing her to lay more, and overtaxing her body?  Is there anything I can do to stop her from laying eggs?  What is the impact of her laying eggs but not producing any babies?

I am fine with her and the male mating - if that happens, but do not want to breed.

As noted above, she isn't socialized yet - won't get on my finger or even stick train.  I am trying daily, talking sweetly to her, offering treats.  Progress is very slow.  She'll land on my hand or dish if I'm eating, or on my shoulder if the male is there ... but not much more.  Any suggestions?  What else can I do?  The house is peaceful, quiet music playing, appropriate cover for cage.  

I've had birds a good portion of my life - but this is the first female I've had, and the first time I've had trouble socializing one.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide, and for any feedback other readers may have.


-----Answer-----
Hi, Lisa.  Thanks for posting!

I wouldn't alternate feeding her the different brands of pellets.  I recommend placing all the different brands at the same time in a dish and allow her to pick the ones she wants.  She may not like one brand or one color, etc.

It's not necessary to poke a hole in an infertile egg.  It won't hatch, so no purpose.  Tiels usually lay up to 6 eggs per clutch.  Your tiel can lay a clutch of infertile eggs about every 2 months.  Birds lose interest at different times, depending on the bird.  Just leave them where she has laid them until she abandons them on her own.  Then you can remove them.  Your bird vet can give your female tiel a hormone shot to stop her from laying for several months.  You can remove anything from her cage that resembles a nest/nesting box and keep her light exposure down to 8 hours per day.  Her hormones are running rampant because of the male tiel in your home.  Excessive egg laying can result in a shortened life span for your female.  Make sure she has plenty of calcium (cuttlebone) available to replenish her calcium loss from egg laying.

Birds prefer other birds to humans.  As long as the male is present, she might not want your company, especially when she is laying eggs.  When she's not laying eggs and you want to work with her, you'll need to take her away from the male or she will keep her focus on the male bird.  Take her into another room (or take the male into a separate room) and just interact with her as best you can.  You want to build trust with your bird...a bird who trusts it's human will allow it's human to do just about anything with the bird.  If this bird wasn't allowed to imprint on humans as a baby, it will most likely keep a basic fear of humans, especially if the bird wasn't a handfed baby.  It helps to keep a bird's flight feathers trimmed so the bird can't get away from you all the time when you want to work with her.  This will cause her to have to rely on you to get from point A to point B.  

My website has some ideas on taming if you want to visit:

www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Another good site:  www.birdchannel.com

Chrys

Answer
Hi again, Lisa.

I wasn't saying to stop feeding the pellet variety...I was merely saying to feed the variety at the same time and not put the Zupreem pellets in the cage one day, a different brand in the next day, etc.  

It's up to you about having the leg band removed.  It's a form of identification for your bird.  It's year of birth might be on the band, as well as the ID of the breeder.  Sometimes a bird can become injured with a leg band on and some birds never have a problem with their bands.  

Much success with your birds.

Chrys