What if I don't want baby budgies?

[Tally]

My girl has been laying about one egg a week for a month. I find them broken at the bottom of the cage. What should I do for her? I do not want any babies but I don't want to harm her. She has an excellent diet with fresh salad greens, broccoli and apples along with seed. She also receives a daily supplement.

 

[SilverSage]

I have an article on hormone control hopefully these guidelines will help your little one.

http://www.silversageaviaries.com/handlinghormones/


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[Tally]

Very good information in Handling Hormones. I'm guilty of not providing them enough darkness in the evening and I'll correct that. I feel badly because the eggs I've found are broken and lying on the cage floor. They haven't had any babies in them only yolks. Is there something else I should be doing about the eggs? These are rescued birds and they had a very hard life before I took them in so I'm extra protective of them.

 

[SilverSage]

They are lucky to have you

The babies take a few weeks to develop so they would just look like yikes to start with.

Is there a male with her? If there is no male you might give her a small open top box to lay her eggs in. No nest box or dark box, you don't want it to stimulate her hormones, but if you give her the chance to sit on them she might get it out of her system.

If there is a male, you will want to either freeze or boil the eggs and then allow them to return to room temperature before giving them back. Do it immediately after they are laid and before the egg has a chance to develop.



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[Tally]

I read the hormone control article and I am trying to give them more hours of darkness but with the way my house is that's not easy. I'm now putting a dark cover over the cage at night. There is a male with her. Should I just provide a small open box on the cage floor for her eggs? I worry about her laying egg after egg. I've ordered a calcium supplement for her in case she's not getting enough from the greens and broccoli. She does use her cuttle bone and loves it. Yipes this is worse than worrying about your child. Any suggestions as to what kind of box and how large? Will she allow me to take the egg from the box so I can freeze it? Love these little guys.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Thank you for caring, and for reaching out.
I like your openness.

 

[SilverSage]

Yes an open box should be fine, but I would separate them. Keeping him from her physically for a while will likely help her hormones calm down, or at least he won't be riling her up.

Calcium for eggs actually comes from the long bones in her body, so it's imperative that she get a lot of calcium ALL THE TIME, not just when laying. But I wouldn't over do it or you could cause a whole bunch of other problems. If she is eating her cuttle bone and her greens then adding a supplement could be dangerous.

She may or may not "let" you take the egg. You may have to gently move her with a cloth or a rolled up newspaper.


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[Tally]

Well it's been 2 weeks and no more eggs. I've been very careful in seeing that they have darkness and quiet for at least 10 hours a day. I ordered come calcium but I think she does receive enough via her diet. She especially loves her broccoli and salad greens. I've put an open box at the bottom of the cage but so far she has ignored it. Thanks for the information. I'll keep you posted. Love these little guys.