Hi Tina,
The other eggs are definitely no good, so you can go ahead and throw them away. My concern is why is the hen only laying a partial clutch, and then getting ready to lay again? Is this a pair that has raised chicks before, or was this their first clutch? Are the birds old enough – your hen should be at least 2 years old, and the male 18-4 months old. If this pair has been doing this for a while, then it sounds like they have been over bred. If this is the first time, it is either due to inexperience, or they are too young.
In captivity, cockatiels will breed all year round, which is not healthy for them. In the wild, a pair only breeds once a year, and then the weather changes, signaling the end of breeding season. So to keep your pair healthy, it is very important to limit them to no more than two clutches of eggs per year, whether the eggs hatch or not. Each time the pair breeds and lays eggs, the nest box should be removed as soon as the chicks have left it, or if the eggs do not hatch, as soon as the eggs are overdue. Otherwise the pair will try to nest again too soon. The pair needs to be rested for about 6 months in between clutches. When you remove the nest box, you can make other changes to discourage breeding again right away. Limit their light to 8-10 hours per day, by covering the cage early each evening. Move the cage to a busy area in the house. Rearrange toys in the cage and even the perches. With some pairs, you need to move the cage around every couple of weeks to keep them distracted. When there are a lot of changes, the pair doesn’t want to nest because they do not feel their environment is stable enough. After their 6 month rest, you can give them the nest box again and then move the cage back to a private area.
If your hen lays eggs again now, and still ignores them, then take down the nest box and rest them as I described. Some birds do not make good breeders. So if this happens again after they have rested, then it’s best not to breed this pair again. It’s also very important that they are getting a nutritionally balanced diet like pellets or our foraging diets. Also give them dark leafy greens and chopped veggies. A loose seed mix is not enough nutrition for them, so if that’s what you are feeding them, that may be part of the problem. And when the pair is set up for breeding as they are now, you should also offer cooked eggs, with the shell washed, crushed and cooked with the eggs. This provides extra protein and calcium that the hen and her chicks will need.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
