My female is still laying eggs and the parents is still looking after a 2 week old baby . What can I do to stop her from laying ?
I am new with this and these are first time parents . I wasn’t even prepared for the first hatch. These birds were given to me and the original owners never had the female lay eggs.
I really need some advice please Debbie
Hi Debbie,
When a pair starts a new clutch while still caring for a clutch, then remove and discard the new eggs. The pair can’t handle both clutches, and what generally happens is they will let the current chicks starve of they may toss the chicks out or kill them. When the current chick leaves the box, take the box down, so the parents will focus on weaning the chick and not try to lay more eggs. You then need to make them rest for 6 months before giving the box back to them. There are changes you can make to discourage more egg laying, but not until the current chick is weaned.
You need to do all of these things to discourage egg laying. Keep in mind that to lay eggs, she needs longer daylight, warmer weather, abundant food, and a quiet, private environment. Your goal is to reverse these conditions.
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 her head and neck – do not pet her 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
