Cockatiel laid an egg, tips?

[Briggan]

My cockatiel laid an egg a few hours ago and I was completely unprepared for this.... I don’t have any experience with eggs and she is my first bird,so if anyone has any tips on what to do that would help lots, thanks!

 

[CassCats]

Don't take it away, she will lay more to replace any lost.

If she's with a male but you don't want to deal with babies, you can boil it and place it back or replace it with a dummy egg (you can buy them).

Make sure she has good calcium foods. Leafy greens, broccoli, cuttlebone.

Let her sit on them for 28 days or until she gives up on them, otherwise she will lay many more.

She will lay between 3-9 eggs over the course of the next week, usually every 48-72 hours between each egg.

 

[Colin_T]

Make sure she gets some exercise too, otherwise they can become egg bound.

Give them green feed, in particular green grass seeds.

 

[Briggan]

Thanks so much!
I added a folded washcloth to the bottom of the cage per the advice from my mom, and the bird immediately moved the egg onto it and sat on it, is this ok?

 

[CassCats]

Thanks so much!
I added a folded washcloth to the bottom of the cage per the advice from my mom, and the bird immediately moved the egg onto it and sat on it, is this ok?

Yep thats fine, prevents the eggs from breaking. Just make sure the washcloth is one of the flat fabric type and not one with loop fibers as those can catch toes

 

[Briggan]

Yep thats fine, prevents the eggs from breaking. Just make sure the washcloth is one of the flat fabric type and not one with loop fibers as those can catch toes

yep,it’s the same kind of washcloth I’ve been using around her for as long as I’ve had her.
Thanks!

 

[Colin_T]

I hope the wash cloth is disposable because they get pretty dirty.

 

[Briggan]

I hope the wash cloth is disposable because they get pretty dirty.

yep it is

 

[Briggan]

So there are currently 3 eggs and she’s been looking extra tired the past two days..this is normal right? She’s eating and drinking normally but has gone back to extra aggressive behavior and doesn’t want to leave the cage. I’ve been leaving the door open just in case she wanted to take a break but so far she’s wanted to stay with the eggs.

 

[CassCats]

They won't want to leave the eggs for awhile but if she's lethargic that may be an issue

What are you supplying for extra calcium?

 

[Briggan]

Cuttlebone and trying to get some broccoli, the only other leafy green I have in the house at the moment is spinach and I read to limit that so I haven’t offered it yet.

 

[corylover5]

Cuttlebone and trying to get some broccoli, the only other leafy green I have in the house at the moment is spinach and I read to limit that so I haven’t offered it yet.

I'm not sure if you are in the US or not but my Lovebird laid an egg a while back and I fed her some of this. She seemed to perk up a bit after eating some https://www.chewy.com/quiko-classic...KEJQdsYZDYXIsq5-ZvVNfkzArJu1ttLBoCdGwQAvD_BwE

 

[Colin_T]

Spinach and Kale are fine in small amounts and can be increased over time. Lettuce has a lot of water and can give the bird the runs if it gets too much green food too suddenly.

Most female parrots become broody when incubating eggs and won't leave the nest unless they have to. Normally the male will take over incubating the eggs for short periods of time during the day but if there isn't a male in the cage, she will stay on the eggs 24/7.

The aggressive behaviour is simply her protective mode and she doesn't want people or animals coming near her. Give her some space and let her be.

Keep the cage door open and let her fly around if she wants to.

 

[Briggan]

Hi guys it’s been a while!
So she ended up stopping at 8 eggs total and this week she has paid zero attention to them and has even started accidentally kicking them over. She is also back to her normal cuddly self
Since she no longer sits on or even pays attention to the eggs, can I start removing them? Should I do it one at a time? All at once? I don’t want them to break when she knocks them over..seems like a pain to clean up lol

 

[Colin_T]

If she is no longer paying attention to the eggs, just remove them all and clean the cage.