June 8, 2026
First egg laid
Do I need to up my girls calcium, she has no mate, this is her first egg, infact I thought she was male so this has been a shock
Question:
Answer:
Thanks for reaching out to Ask Lafeber. This would depend on several things. What breed is your bird and how old is she? Also, what food is she eating now? If your bird is on a nutritious and well-balanced diet and not, only a seed diet there may be no need to add calcium to her food. They do need an adequate amount of calcium when they are laying eggs; however, you don’t want them to have too much either.
Certain species of birds can become chronic egg layers. This is especially true for cockatiels and lovebirds. The main concern is that if this is becoming chronic, you will need guidance to stop the laying cycle. It’s important to leave her egg with her if she didnt’ lay it off her perch and it dropped and broke. If that’s not the case, then it’s important to leave the egg where she laid it and wait to see if she lays another one. Either species will lay an egg every other day, so if she laid it today, she shouldn’t lay another one until Wednesday. Some species of birds have what they call a brooding pouch that determines how many eggs she anticipates for each clutch. If you remove them as she’s laying them, she will continue to lay until she fills that quota.
If you have additional information or questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out again.
Debbie
