Cockatiel laid eggs in cage

**maf101** · 05-09-2006, 09:00 PM

I have 2 pet cockatiels. My female bird has laid 3 eggs on the cage floor. The first egg was laid on Saturday. I didn't think she was old enough to breed. She is 14 months old and the male is only 8 months.

She spends all day and night sitting on her eggs. I have no idea what to do. She tries to scare me away if I go near her. The male occasionally spends time with her and has sat on the eggs.

Is there any chance the eggs will become fertile?

**Finch** · 05-10-2006, 12:23 PM

They mostly likely are fertile. The best bet would be to boil them for a minute because the pair arent old enough just yet and they dont have a box either.

**cosmo** · 05-10-2006, 02:03 PM

IF u dont wanna boil them and to see if they will hatch just get a cockatiel nest box and put bedding in it, not cedar or pine chips i am using critter care or u can go to petstores and get beddging and put the eggs in there, then they should go in the nest box and sit on the eggs..

**love_none7** · 05-10-2006, 02:16 PM

uhh....they are most likely fertile and I also suggest boiling them....They are too young to raise them....what happens if they don't seem intersted in feeding them? The babies would either die, or you'd have to feed them.....and they eat.... A LOT....hope everything works out well tho

**Little Cricket** · 05-10-2006, 02:23 PM

Boiling them would be the best. Breeding is not an easy thing to do. You're female needs calcium in some form, since she's laid eggs.

**Finch** · 05-10-2006, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by cosmo

IF u dont wanna boil them and to see if they will hatch just get a cockatiel nest box and put bedding in it, not cedar or pine chips i am using critter care or u can go to petstores and get beddging and put the eggs in there, then they should go in the nest box and sit on the eggs..

They would most likely not take to the eggs if they were moved.... they laid them on the bottom and they expect them to stay in that "nest"

**maf101** · 05-10-2006, 06:56 PM

Thank you for all your suggestions. I don't know if I'm ready to boil them. It's seems a bit cruel to me.

I do have a nesting box. I bought it when she laid the first egg. I also bought some soft feathers for the box. I put the first egg in the box and I lifted the female bird into the box and she freaked-out and climbed out of it. I then put the egg back in the cage with some feathers and she went back to laying on it.

We do have a male cockatiel who is 14 months old, but they don't really know each other. Is it possible to swap male birds?

She has been eating lots cuttlebone. Is that a source of calcium? If the eggs were to hatch, what would be involved in feeding them?

**Finch** · 05-10-2006, 07:37 PM

Swapping males is a no-no. Cuttlebones do not provide calcium, they are mainly for beak shaping. For nesting box material, wood shavings are best, not feathers. If the eggs hatched and they didnt feed them, they would most likely die because it is too hard to feed a newborn chick.
Do us all and especially your birds a favor and boil the eggs.

**Lynn99** · 05-11-2006, 01:44 AM

Alot of times first time parents or birds that are too young won't feed the babies because they don't know what to do. It is very hard to feed such a young, tiny baby and the babies would probably end up dieing. It is more cruel to let the babies starve to death. I would boil the eggs. Sorry I know that sounds mean but it is better than watching a baby starve.

**maf101** · 05-11-2006, 05:27 PM

I spent all day yesterday thinking about this. I decided I'll do as you suggest and boil the eggs.

There's a couple of things I would like to know.

Will they attempt to breed again? Should I separate them until they're older? If I decide I want to breed them, how old should they be?

**JaneJacinto** · 05-12-2006, 04:31 AM

Just wanted to set something staight cuttlebones do provide calcium. The major component of cuttlebone is calcium carbonate (85 percent).

Many pet owners think a cuttlebone is for sharpening the beak. Cuttlebone is provided to birds as a source of calcium and other necessary minerals. It is especially important to breeding hens.
Jane

**Little Cricket** · 05-12-2006, 06:53 AM

Jane, I don't think birds actually absorb the calcium in a cuttlebone though.

**Oh Mowsie** · 05-12-2006, 08:52 AM

I actually put a cuttle bone AND a mineral block in my bird's cages. Can't be too safe, now can I? LOL!!!

As for your pair trying to breed. You're making the RIGHT choice by boiling the eggs. I know its difficult!!! But.. take it from personal experience here. My hen was about your hen's age and my male was 10 months old when they decided to have a family. I had a soft heart as well and decided to allow them to raise their family. They had a clutch of four chicks and not ONE of the babies lived past four days of age.

It was VERY painful. I did everything I could but my parents were just too young.

I would boil the eggies and then let mom sit on them until she abandons the nest. This could take up to a month because the natural cycle of laying/incubation is about that long. She will figure out that her chicks won't hatch and come off the nest on her own. If you try to take her eggs before then, she'll lay more to replace them and run into problems with calcium depletion. (egg binding is a problem). Dad should be put in the cage with the other male if they're on good terms and let Mom have her own cage. Start hormonal therapy with Mom and cover her cage early in the evening so she's getting 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night. Keep them in seperate cages to discourage breeding (the two males together, the female seperate) to avoid this in the future. If you want them to have time together, that's fine. Allow them out to interract, preen, socialise and bond. No need to completely cut them off from one another over the coming months.. but she should have her own cage and the males should have theirs to sleep and eat in. IF you decide to let them breed again, wait until HE is at least 18 months old. Then you can allow them to court again, (and trust me.. now that they've struck up a relationship.. he'll go back to her).. set up a cage for two with a nest box already installed. They'll take it from there.

**maf101** · 05-13-2006, 04:23 PM

She abandoned the eggs. She stopped sitting on them on Friday morning. On Friday night she laid a forth egg away from the others, but she hasn't sat on it. It is now Sunday morning and she has no interest in the eggs. She only wants to play.

I moved the male into his own cage last night. Is there any limit to how much time they can be together out of cage? I usually let them out in the morning and they climb back in at night.

Oh Mowsie, I'm sorry to hear about your baby chicks. I couldn't imagine how bad I'd feel if that had happened to me. Thank you for sharing your experience.

**Oh Mowsie** · 05-13-2006, 07:55 PM

Aww.. thanks Michelle.

It was VERY sad. We all got through it (my parent birdies, myself and my daughter) but it was difficult. Fortunately, the story has a happy ending.

A year later, Patchie and Silver nested again and all four of their chicks entered this world and stayed. They're big babies now, going on four months old and all look like their daddy. LOL

As for your eggies, Mom may appear uninterested in the eggs, but don't take them from her. No matter how she ignores them, removing them still may stimulate her to lay more. She may not sit on them, but she knows they're there. LOL And.. tiels can count. Mark my words. If you remove even one.. she will replace it with one. I actually sat and watched my hen count her eggs once. She always sat on three and Silver sat on two... She entered the nest box and rolled the eggs gently with her beak.. 1, 2, 3 and she left 2 for her hubby. It's amazing!

As for your birdies... She should really be spending time away from hubby right now. She's hormonal and his presence is keeping her in that that state. So... regulating her time out of the cage is important. She should be sent to bed early (covered, with her eggs) so that she gets that crucial 12 hours needed to reset her hormonal clock. Also, the more she's out with the boys right now, the more she may start looking around for alternative nest sites within your home to lay where she's "in contact" with her mate. Once the hormonal time has passed, you can let them out again for normal amounts of time, but if you notice any symptoms of hormonal / courtship type behavior starting up again, you need to be vigiliant and start up hormone therapy again and limit their time together.

**ladybluewings01** · 05-21-2006, 03:00 AM

My birds have always laid eggs on the floor and thoroughly refuse the nesting box. they did lay when they were too young and I did boil the eggs, but at the beggining of this year I decided to let them hatch their eggs. My birds trust me so much that they let me move the eggs long enough to put a plastic tray lined with shavings down and put the eggs in so that the babies wouldnt fall through the grill when they hatched and so the cold air wouldnt get at the eggs from underneath. I dont suggest touching or moving the eggs at all unless it is absolutely neccessary. as for now, you made the right choice boiling the eggs. I hope all goes well for you!!