Ask Lafeber

Cockatiel

How do I know when she is pregnant

Hi Camilla,

Birds do not technically get pregnant, since they lay eggs and incubate them outside of the body, so there is no gestation. If she is with a male and they have been mating, it does not always mean she will end up laying eggs. There are no obvious physical signs that a bird is about to lay an egg. She only forms one egg at a time, so she does not get full of eggs – when she lays her first egg, the next egg begins to form. She will usually start nesting behavior, where she chooses a place in the cage to nest, or starts spending time in her nest box if this is a breeding pair that is set up with a nest box. But single birds can lay eggs – they just will not be fertile, so they will never hatch. With many single birds they may suddenly just lay an egg without having exhibited any nesting behavior.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda