Healthy Tiels...Male and Female, Yea!, Egg laying..Scared

So I took my birdies to the vet Saturday and got good news. They seem rather healthy overall. The doc said it's good that I'm bringing more pellet and less seed into their lives and that it should be find for me to introduce fruits and veggies into their diet now. She said they are young and that they are going through their first molt but looks like I will probably have a new male and hen. I'm very excited to see what they look like when they are done going through their major molt. On a side note, I don't want them to breed because I'm terribly afraid of the thought that Quinn may experience egg binding. I talk to my vet about this but I wanted to get some suggestions from people who've actually been through the egg laying process. Are there any suggestions on how to reduce the chances of her having multiple clutches throughout the year?? Thanks a ton!

Did the vet do any tests at all?

Pellets shouldn't take up more than 50% of their diet, at max. Too much can lead to health problems down the road - just like a diet too high in seeds.

A healthy diet along with daily exercise is the best way to prevent egg binding! A healthy diet will make sure she has the needed nutrients to form healthy eggs. A hen on a poor diet may lay abnormal shaped eggs or may have soft shelled eggs. Exercise helps to build muscles, and there's some belief that flight itself helps with the reproductive muscles, thus making it easier for hens to push the eggs out. An overweight hen or one lacking sufficient exercise may have a harder time laying eggs.


In the case that the hen does lay eggs, here's some suggestions.

• Remove Eggs
  • Rearrange the cage
  • Move the cage to a new location
  • Use a cage grate
  • Get a new cage/Use a different cage
  • 12-14 hours of complete darkness
  • Decreace calcium and protein within the diet (if she is on a high calcium & protein diet prior to laying eggs)
  • Remove anything that could be taken as a nest
  • Remove anything that could be used as nesting material
  • Don't allow her in any dark place or enclosed area
  • IMPORTANT: save the eggs in the fridge
  • If she lays more than 3-4 eggs, put them back in the cage
• Leave the Eggs
  • Leave the eggs alone in the cage
  • [Optional] Replace with fake eggs (prevent eggs from breaking)
  • Increase calcium
  • Let hen sit on eggs for 3-4 weeks or until she gets bored of them
  • Once done sitting, toss

Except for my bourke parakeet, I've never had to leave eggs in the cage and allow the hens to get 'bored' with them... I simply changed things around. Knock on wood, no chronic egg layers! Even from a hen that may have become a 'chronic egg layer' before I got her!

Oh Thank you soooo much for this MonicaMc! We are currently running some test just to make sure everything is good inside and out. But she said from the outside they look healthy and strong. Right now I have them roughly 1/4 pellet and 3/4 seed only because I've just started switching them and I don't want them to totally freak out. Any suggestions on how to incorporate veggies and fruits? Thanks a bunch.

Be creative with fresh foods!

You might try seedy vegetables such as broccoli florets, or maybe leafy veggies such as parsley and carrot greens! Try sprouted seeds over dry seeds... Try hanging the foods from the cage top or the side bars... try feeding leafy greens wet...

An example with carrots... try offering whole carrots, sliced carrots, diced carrots, julienned carrots, shredded carrots, etc. Sometimes, it's all about the presentation of the foods!


What worked best with my flock was actually making up a mixture of grains, legumes, vegetables and some fruits. After all, the more colors and textures, the more interesting it'll look! They might not take to it the first day, but most birds do after 2-3 days. If they don't, mix in a small amount of seeds!

One of the ways to try to stop her is sometimes you must separate the pair. BUT even then she might still lay eggs. Trust me, I've tried all kinds of stuffs. Cut their light hours, solitary, etc etc. They still lay on the grate but they tend to get bored with them pretty quickly since they are alone and the light hours are cut off. Males are part of the problem sometimes, they will force mate with the female, then come the eggs.

On incorporating fresh foods, IF you can get one to eat, they will all eat. That's how Cockatiels work. I just kept placing them into one of the dish, they'll get curious enough to investigate it.

I make a "birdie mash" in a food processor. It changes each week, but includes cilantro or parsley, green bell pepper, broccoli, carrot, chick peas, whole wheat bread, hard boiled egg with shell. No wet fruit or veggies. My tiels prefer a crumbly mixture. I feed it in the morning for three hours and then feed pellets and then seed. This way I know that they are eating all different types of veggies in the mash and eating pellets and seed. The mash will keep for 3 or 4 days in the fridge, even longer with vacuum sealed bowls. I'm withholding the mash for three months and reducing daylight hours to stop any breeding or egg production. In the spring, which starts in Feb. here in Mexico, I'll start feeding the mash again. The parents can feed it to the chicks without the eggshell. So far this program is working.

The birds also like chili pepper. I tried it once and licked the spoon. It's something you only forget once with fresh raw chili pepper.