Ask Lafeber

My cockatiel keeps laying eggs

Hey there, my 2 year old cockatiel layed eggs for the first time on the 11th of Oct last year and after laying a full clutch I waited three weeks until she’d lost interest when I removed them but then she layed another clutch. She hadn’t layed anymore until Tuesday this week (25th Jan) she has layed two and a half clutches now in the span of 4 months and it’s beginning to worry me, why has she layed so many? How often do they lay eggs each year?

Hi Nina,

It’s time to make some changes to try to get her to stop laying eggs. Otherwise you will need to take her to an Avian Vet for hormone treatments. It’s best to make some changes to discourage egg laying. She can actually die from laying too many eggs, too often. But if these changes do not work, the hormone implant has been working well for most cockatiels – it’s just expensive, s making these changes is best.

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.

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.

If 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 her head and neck – do not pet her on the body.

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