Hi,
Yes, remove the best box and discard the eggs and any others she might lay. Two clutches in a row is already one too many, as you suspected. Always remove the nest box as soon as the chicks leave it. This helps keep the parents focused on the chicks instead of making more! The chicks do not need to go in and out of the box. Once you remove these chicks, go ahead and make some changes to try to keep them from breeding again right away. Frankly if you don’t want to breed, don’t give them a nest or let them sit on eggs. Eggs do not begin to develop unless they are incubated, so you are discarding undeveloped eggs. It takes a few days for any development to even begin. The pair should always be rested for at least 6 months between clutches.
You need to do all of these things to discourage egg laying. This information applies to the pair. 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.
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.
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 handle her, limit any petting to only her head and neck – do not pet her 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
