cockatiel, behavior

Question
i adopted a rescued female last summer and she was great, loved to be held
and scratched, and has attached herself to me. i already had another male
who was rescued, ive had for 2 years and is doing better, but doesnt like to
be touched. [but lets me do things around him without being scared] she has
tried to get him to mate but he has no interest. and she has been spreading
her wings for dominance. she started laying clutches of eggs a few months
ago and chases him out of  the cage. i let her sit on them for a week before
getting rid of them.[when she loses interest] i have to separate them at night,
so he can sleep. now she has started screaming when i come home , even
though i pay attention to her, she wont stop. we've had the door open and
sometimes its about other birds, but mostly just random. like i cant leave the
room. ive been covering her early and making her sleep for 10 hours to
discourage the mating, and ive also tried to ignore her when she screams and
only talk to her when shes being good, but it doesnt seem to be working.  i
know she is mine for life, but this has to stop!!! is there anything a vet can
give her for the egg laying, do they do it forever? or does it stop when they
are older? she even screams in  my ear when on my shoulder@!! i have to go
away in a month for 2 weeks and my husband will be taking care of her so i
need to start doing something now! thanks.

Answer
Hello Christine and thank you for your post.
It is very difficult when you have an incisive egg layer (I know, I have one also).  There is a hormone shot that can be given to your bird to stop the egg laying, but my vets use it only as a last resort.
Try separating her from the male completely for a couple of days.  This should help to break the cycle.  Also, lowering the room temperature, and cutting back on sunlight as you've been doing all help.  Make sure to put a calcium block into her cage (you can get them at WalMart for a couple of dollars).  This will help her to keep from depleting her body of calcium that she uses up when she lays eggs (My incisive egg layer will go through one in about 2 weeks).  Sometimes just a change in the surroundings will be enough to get her to stop laying.
To help get her to stop screaming so much, try putting a couple of new toys into her cage (just no mirrors because they tend to frustrate a bird and make the bird mean).  You can also try using a radio in the room that she is in.  Sometimes this will help to keep birds a little more calm (my incisive egg layer, Louise, was also a rescue, and she acts the same way with me.)  I have found that the radio does help, as well as the change in her surroundings (we've just moved).
Have your husband start to take care of and interact with her now to get her used to him doing this.

Please feel free to come back with any more questions that you (or your husband) have.
Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna