Hello! I have only one female cockatiel. Few days ago my female cockatiel laid 2 eggs. I was waiting for the third egg, but did not get laid. There were no signs of egg being stuck. But then after 5 days she laid the third one. Does that mean it is a new clutch and a possibility of chronic egg laying? Also her droppings have a specific smell. Is it because she is holding her droppings or there is an infection?
Hi,
It’s normal for a hen to not lay right on schedule the first time. Since she isn’t showing any distress, I wouldn’t be worried. Just keep a close watch on her. It’s a bit early to worry that this is chronic egg laying behavior, but you can go ahead and make changes in her environment and care to help discourage future clutches. As for the droppings, yes, when nesting, the hen tends to hold her droppings especially if she has a nest, because she doesn’t want to leave her eggs too often. She will do a large dropping in the morning and it can have a strong smell. If she shows any signs of illness such as being fluffed up, not eating as much and generally looking tired or droopy, then you should take her to an Avian Vet because she might have an infection. Holding in the stool does have a risk of causing an intestinal infection.
Keep in mind that in the wild for breeding, she needs longer daylight, warmer weather, abundant food, and a quiet, private environment. The goal is to reverse these conditions.
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
