I don't think egg laying is necessarily a sign that the bird is happy and content where they are at... birds have natural desires that some of them feel they must do.
I have one tiel that came from a situation where they tossed her eggs and she would replace them. In my home I removed her eggs but didn't toss them, I held on to them until I was sure she wasn't going to lay any more. The difference? My home was different, brighter, and I didn't keep her cage covered practically 24/7.
What she had... after I gave her a cage three times as large as the one she was living in.... at her old home.. plus new perches, toys and dishes...
When I brought her home, near 50% underweight and after removing everything from the cage except her and the eggs
She was so week and thin, she flew slowly and had trouble landing..
And after she has been with me for a while.
This hen that had come to me as a 'chronic egg layer' really doesn't lay eggs for me, and she appears to be quite happy in my home. And most importantly, not dead.
Here's a list of suggestions you could try to get a hen out of egg laying mode.
- 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
- Decrease 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
