Hello. I have a female cockatiel, Im not sure of her age. But shes nesting in a trashcan in my room, Im not sure what to do here. Will she lay eggs? Or is she just scouting a nest? She’s also being very hormonal recently, asking to mate at least 10 times a day and we have no males. What does this mean and what should I do?
Hi,
The first step is take the trash can away and do not let her nest in anything. This will only lead to egg laying, and without a male, there is no reason for her to lay eggs. It takes a toll on her health, and there is no need for her to go through the stress and trauma of laying eggs if she isn’t a breeding bird with a mate. Egg laying can also have health complications, some of which can be fatal. So for her health, it’s best to do what you can to discourage egg laying and avoid hormone triggers.
Keep in mind that to lay eggs, they need longer daylight, warmer weather, abundant food, and a quiet, private environment. The goal is to reverse these conditions. In the wild, they get signals from nature to end breeding season, but in captivity, if ideal conditions continue to be provided, a hen will literally lay eggs until it kills her. In the wild they only breed once a year, and typically only raise one clutch per year.
Limit her light to 8-10 hours by covering the cage early each evening
Do not give her anything to use as a nest – no bird huts or tents, no box, bowl, etc. If she decides to sit in a food bowl, remove it and replace with smaller cups.
Do not give her anything to shred such as paper or cardboard.
Rearrange the toys in the cage frequently.
Move the cage to a different place in the room. Move the cage about once a week, or whenever she shows signs of nesting – settling on the cage floor for example. This disrupts her idea of having a stable place to lay eggs and raise chicks.
If you feed a lot of fresh foods, stop offering any for a couple of weeks, and then only offer them in small amounts about 2 or 3 times a week. You can resume normal feeding later when the birds aren’t being hormonal.
If she is let out of the cage, do not let her get in any dark cozy places and don’t give her free roam.
When you handle her, limit any petting to only the head and neck – do not pet a bird on the body. Only a bonded mate is allowed to groom the body. We can’t be a mate, so touching the body is off limits.
If there is no metal floor grate, then do not use any bedding or paper in the cage tray – leave it bare and clean it daily.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
