May 6, 2025
Eggs
I can tell my bird is going to lay eggs. If I give her a nest box now, to lay them in, will she lay more then she all ready may have and should I be feeding her anything special?
Question:
Answer:
Hi,
Unless your bird has a mate and you are trying to breed them, do not give your bird a nest. This will only encourage more egg laying and can put her in a cycle of chronic egg laying. There are usually no out ward signs that a bird is ready to lay eggs, so I’m not sure what you mean when you say you can tell she is going to lay eggs. They only form one egg at a time, lay it, and the next egg begins to form. If you bird is exhibiting any unusual symptoms, you need to take her to an avian vet. There are changes you can make that can discourage egg laying.
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.
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 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 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 let her roam around, this mimics searching for a nesting site.
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
