So after laying over 40 eggs....

My cockatiel has FINALLY STOPPED laying eggs!!!!

Wholy cow!!!

She started laying eggs end of last year and I came here for advice. She laid 3, then 4 then 5...and I thought...okay, she's got her clutch, she'll stop...nope...6, 8, 9, 12...and so on.

Not only did she not loose interest in them, she continued to lay and lay and lay, and set, and sort...finally a few broke..and eeewww they stunk. I went through her eggs, and tossed all but a clutch worth...HOPING she'd stop it.

I tried moving her cage decor around, separating her, not giving her attention, taking out all mirrored and preening toys. I even put her cage in a different room out of sight of the other birds in the home.

Still she layed and layed and layed.

I made sure she had cuttlebone at all times, healthy diet of fresh and steamed veggies...which she so loves. None of her eggs were ever soft shelled.

I lost count somewhere over 30 and I'm sure she's closer to 50 eggs and I had resorted to the fact that she's NEVER going to stop laying...EVER!

People told me to let her have a clutch, that'll get her to stop laying...I thought..no way...I'd get to attached.

So my husband was at the pharmacy around Easter time. He picked up a little fake yellow chick and he brought it home and said..."A baby for Sweet Pea, so she'll stop laying eggs."

I chuckled at him, especially because this "baby chick" he picked out is almost as big as Sweet Pea! Hahahahaha!!!

But none the less, I set it on her cage...and she hasn't layed an egg since! It's been 2 weeks and no new egg!

After trying everything and more...it was a simple fake chick she wanted.

Awww...bless her heart!

Toni

that's awesome it's better. I would of been so worried if that happened to my galah O.O

Awww, she just wanted a baby of her own!

Oh, ill have to try this.

Thanks!

Omg, I mean i've heard of giving them a baby from a different pair but never a fake one! I cant believe she is still healthy after all that, I thought my feamale looked tired after 7 eggs, but 40! More power to her.

I'd never experienced a tiel laying eggs...I've always had male birds.

It seriously freaked me out. Nothing I did got her to stop laying eggs I never removed a one and at one time she had over 15 in her cage before I removed 10 of them...quite a sight to see her trying to take care of them all I tell ya! I wish I would have taken a picture.

She finally started sorting out some to a different side of the cage and a few times I even found eggs in her food dish...HOW she got them in there, I have NO idea..but she did! Anyway I discovered that the ones she'd sort out were generally eggs she decided were "bad" and so I started removing them when she'd sort them out.

Every day I'd tell her...STOP laying eggs, it's going to kill you! or "Sweet Pea, you're going to die if you keep laying eggs!" But she'd just look at me with her sweet face and let me know...she didn't care one bit what I was saying, and I don't have the right to tell her what to do! And sure enough, that afternoon, there would be another egg! She started out laying every other day...religiously for almost 4 months.

If my math is right, she layed 45 eggs. UGH! And I counted them up to 30.

The last time I thoroughly cleaned her cage, I got frustrated with all her eggs and I tossed every single one...she had 9...2 days later she layed another egg and then hubby brought home her "chick" and she hasn't layed since.

I've left her one egg in the cage, afraid to remove it as she might decide to SHOW ME and lay another one! LOLOL

As for her health, she's healthy as an ox and looks wonderful! I'll take some pictures of her so you all can see She's in the cockatiels rule slide video clip in my signature line. Those pictures were taken around egg 25 or so...LOL!

Have a great night all,

Toni

Interesting! I'm curious...does she try to feed the chick? preen it? does she seem upset that it doesn't move?

BillsBirds said:

Interesting! I'm curious...does she try to feed the chick? preen it? does she seem upset that it doesn't move?

Click to expand...

Nope, at this time, the "chick" is sitting ON her cage, she can see it, if she wanted to sit next to it she could, but when I first went to show it to her, it sort of freaked her out! :11: So I just set it on the cage and she hasn't layed an egg since. I figure if she lays another egg, then I'm putting the chick IN the cage..thought about zip tying it to a perch.

As of now though, she's shown no interest in it other than "OMG! What the heck is that?!?!!?" When I FIRST showed it to her. LOL

I guess she thinks if THAT is what comes out of all those eggs...she wants NOTHING to do with it!

I'll take a picture later and upload it.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Toni

many yearsw ago I had taken care of a White cockateil for a freind for a couple of years till she moved to a place where she could have it back They thought it was a male because fof the bright cheek markings. he started to lay eggs and I got wooden balls the same size and substituted them. when she had enough eggs she sat on them for a while then it ended that till the following season. the only other birds I had at the time were some zebra finches in their own cage, and chickens ,ducks,and geese outside. I don't know if that would help but it might be worth trying next year. Alison and sweetie pie

Sweet Pea probably thinks she's a chicken !! hahaha

& that's super cute that your husband even thought of that <3