cockatiels + eggs

Question
We have a cockatiel we are getting worried about. She is about 4 & 1/2 years old. She is a solitary bird. Her usual schedule is to lay 3 or 4 eggs every couple months at the rate of one every other day. I usually take them away about a week after she quits laying.

This time she is up to 9 eggs and counting. At egg number 5, I took a couple away thinking it would be easier on her nesting.Right now she is sitting on 7. Is 9 eggs beyond normal? Any way to induce her to quit laying?  

As for feed, she has her mixed seeds, rowdybush, cuttlebone and a Manu Mineral Perch she pecks away at when laying. She will eat only very  little in the way of vegetables such as carrot or green peppers.

  Thanks, Gene


Answer
Hello Gene,

This can happen with cockatiel hens. Some find it worse than others. Now, 9 eggs is NOT a normal clutch, usually 5 is the most, and up to 7 eggs is maximum. I had a pair of whiteface cockatiels, and the hen always laid 9-10 eggs, she was a chronic egg layer and she just wouldn't stop. I continually gave her cuttlebone and everything else that she needed, fresh fruits/veggies, egg, etc. Even after I took their box down to rest them for 4 months and let them go again, she just kept laying and laying and unfortunately I found her dead on the bottom of the cage one morning. It was heart breaking.

Not trying to scare you, but egg laying this much is not good for her at all. First off, you shouldn't have taken the eggs away from her, so I suggest you not do that again because she will just lay more eggs to replace those that were lost. One thing that you can try is cutting down the number of daylight hours, sort of simulate the winter season. Keep her in the dark until around 8-9am and put her to bed at 8-9pm. You should actually cut it down to about 10 hours of daylight if possible. Less is probably better. Also try not to feed her an overabundance of food. That's difficult to do, but don't feed her more than she can eat in a day. When you give them more than they need it induces laying.

If this doesn't help, do you have an avian vet in the area? They can give her a special injection which will not allow her to produce eggs. I'm not exactly sure what this shot is all about, but I've heard of quite a few breeders using it with their chronic egg layers. I'm sure its fairly safe, but its probably best to talk to the vet about it. Its the best and most immediate / sure fire way to get her to stop laying.

Try cutting down the daylight hours first and see if that helps. Keep me posted!

Hope I've helped you out some,
Sarah