Hi,
A single bird should never be given a nest. It encourages egg laying and this is very hard on a hen. They lose a lot of calcium, protein and other resources to form each egg, and then there is the physical strain on her body to pass each egg. This is a difficult process from start to finish and with no positive outcome, it is undue stress for her. Take the nest away. You may have to use a towel or gloves to get her out, but the nest and eggs need to be thrown away. Then you need to make some changes to discourage future egg laying. Cockatiel hens are known for becoming chronic egg layers which will eventually kill her, so you need to make changes to try to discourage or minimize egg laying. Otherwise she will need to be taken to a Vet for hormone treatments which can be very expensive. She will be much happier and healthier without laying eggs and without having a nest(which triggers he hormones and makes her lay eggs).
Keep in mind that in the wild for breeding, they need longer daylight, warmer weather, abundant food, and a quiet, private environment. The goal is to reverse these conditions.
In the winter, indoor birds are often triggered to nest because of having the heat on in the house.
Limit their light to 8-10 hours by covering the cage early each evening
Do not give them 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 them 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 they show 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.
When they are let out of the cage, do not let them get in any dark cozy places and don’t give them free roam. When you let them roam around, this mimics searching for a nesting site.
When you handle them, 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
