Cockatiel About to Lay Eggs?

sprocket07

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Apr 24, 2017
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I have an 11 year old cockatiel who I adopted two years ago. The adoption place said that my bird's previous owner never mentioned her laying eggs at any point, so they assumed she hadn't. Throughout the two years I've had her, she has never laid eggs. I recently went on vacation and I boarded her for the time while I was away. Since she's been home, I've noticed her crouching on her perch and making a repetitive chirping noises while sort of bouncing around. She used to do this in her water bowl and she's done it before on the same perch, but not for a long time. Just now, she crawled to the bottom of her cage and started nibbling the papers there. She also backed herself into a corner with her tail feathers raised against the cage wall. When I moved the papers around to cover the poop that was there, she acted quite aggressive to my hand and the paper (which is normal), but didn't move off of the cage floor. She moved off of the cage floor by herself and is now sitting on the back of my chair as I type this.
She's been particularly loud the past few days and her poop was quite runny/liquidy before yesterday, but it appears normal now. Are the things she's doing the result of her being boarded and adjusting to being at home again or is she going to lay eggs? Or both? Thanks
 

texsize

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I have experience with cockatiels laying eggs.
The only time I have seen a difference in behavior with my female Cockatiels is when they want to mate (are hormonal). After mating I never saw any change in behavior before laying.
With that said I am going to give you the advice I think most of the people on the forum will give to you.

Any time you see a change in behavior of your bird. Take it to the vet.
It could be nothing... But it could be life and death. better to be sure.
 

thommo78

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Dec 15, 2016
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I have an 11 year old cockatiel who I adopted two years ago. The adoption place said that my bird's previous owner never mentioned her laying eggs at any point, so they assumed she hadn't. Throughout the two years I've had her, she has never laid eggs. I recently went on vacation and I boarded her for the time while I was away. Since she's been home, I've noticed her crouching on her perch and making a repetitive chirping noises while sort of bouncing around. She used to do this in her water bowl and she's done it before on the same perch, but not for a long time. Just now, she crawled to the bottom of her cage and started nibbling the papers there. She also backed herself into a corner with her tail feathers raised against the cage wall. When I moved the papers around to cover the poop that was there, she acted quite aggressive to my hand and the paper (which is normal), but didn't move off of the cage floor. She moved off of the cage floor by herself and is now sitting on the back of my chair as I type this.
She's been particularly loud the past few days and her poop was quite runny/liquidy before yesterday, but it appears normal now. Are the things she's doing the result of her being boarded and adjusting to being at home again or is she going to lay eggs? Or both? Thanks

Was she around other birds (male) while she was boarded? To me she is showing signs of wanting to mate and looking for things to build her nest out of.

Sent from my GT-I9507 using Tapatalk
 

itzjbean

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Jan 27, 2017
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Yes I'm wondering if she was around other birds when she was being boarded. She may have come across another male or perhaps seeing othe rbirds got her 'in the mood' and she seems to still be in that mindset, possibly looking for things to nest with. Keep an eye on her behavior, if you handle her avoid petting along the back, which may stimulate her even more. Encourage her to play with toys.
 
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sprocket07

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Apr 24, 2017
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Hi everyone, thank you for your responses. I'm not sure if my bird was boarded with males. I've scheduled a vet appointment for her this coming week, but her unusual behavior has stopped as of now. I think it's probably a good idea to get her checked out just to be on the safe side :) Again, thank you for the advice.
 

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