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Question:

February 13, 2023

Female finches laying unfertilized eggs


Hi there,
I have 2 female finches and one of them has been laying eggs since the last week and has laid about 7- 8 eggs so far. She sits mostly in the nest I’ve provided in the cage and not coming out much. To feed or drink water. She is groaning quite a bit which is the sound she makes before laying an egg. Is there anyway I can stop her from laying these eggs?
Should I remove the nest or the infertile eggs?
What food should I give her ? I’m mostly giving her seeds, fruit and vegetables and a mineral block is in the cage. Thanks!


Answer:

Hi,

You can discard the nest and eggs. She does not need a nest – this will only encourage her to lay more eggs. Female finches are going to lay eggs sometimes, with or without a male or a companion. But if she does this too often, it can eventually kill her, so it’s best to try to discourage her. Also, for her diet instead of seeds, pellets or granules would be a better choice because seeds have very little nutritional value. The rest of her diet sounds great – but also offer some leafy greens. There are some changes you can make to discourage her from laying eggs.

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 or any nesting materials.

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 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

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