My tiel laid an egg today

[Mrs.Birdy]

and I never experienced this before, neither has she. I am wondering if there are more eggs to come soon...does anyone know? (p.s. they are infertile). I am glad to know she passed the egg ok because I was worried about egg binding...heard horror stories before. Anyway, if you have any comments, please feel free...:confused:

[birdygirl]

Well teils usually lay more than one egg. So be on the lookout. Your girl is grown up now.

[Mrs.Birdy]

.....and I have been told that tiels lay approx. 1-2 eggs a month. I will be sure she always has a fresh cuttlebone to replenish her calcium. Also, I heard that tiels can be chronic egg layers which can be detrimental to their health.

[Jenny]

Yes, that can be bad for their health, but I wouldn't think that one or two a month would do any harm as long as she's on a good diet and has plenty of calcium. Good luck! ;)

[Redstorm1721]

Thats so cute in a way you know! I had a budgie named minnie and she layed eggs all the time. She had Mr. Magoo with her. But as I checked the eggs they were also infertile. Some maybe not. But I didn't nest them had no idea at the time what to do? But she always layed them and seemed to be okay. She would sit on them,or maybe Mr.magoo would who knows but never did it last!

[dlaura]

Our parakeet, Tweetie layed eggs also. Upon purchase, the pet store told my son Tweetie was a male. So, when she started exhibiting certain behavoirs/dances (she courted our green cheek conure - who wanted nothing to do with her) I began to suspect the pet store had been wrong. Especially, when she hollowed out a log Jason had put in her cage and I watched - sure enough four eggs. The eggs were infertile and after several weeks I had to remove the eggs from the log. ( had J take Tweetie to another room when I did this)

Imagine our surprise, when a few days later she laid three more eggs. So, this time after a few weeks we removed both the eggs and the log. Since she had no where to nest - she stopped laying eggs. We were concerned for her health if allowed to keep on laying eggs.

Tweetie is very, very social and likes to be talked to and held in the morning - right before she is fed. She chirps and plays up a storm in the evening. I did not know how a parakeet could be
such good company!

Diane (dsimko)

[Redstorm1721]

oh yeah,I am not sure who did it, but one of them would eat the eggs? That made me sad. But you see Mr. magoo was minnie and minnie well you know.

[Love Bird B]

I'm glad I found this interesting, fun and helpful website.

I was recently given a Peached Faced Lovebird that has been an avid egg layer. I've read that unless you're planning on breeding, which I'm not, laying dud eggs is a just a waste of energy for them. At first I followed the suggestions of 'diverting her attention' by changing her cage around; leaving nothing around she could shred; taking her eggs before she got too attached to them. The book also noted that a hormone shot may be in order if none of the suggestions worked (which they didn't). I then asked a veternarian about the shot and she said 'laying eggs was natural' and that I should allow her to 'go through the motions.' Otherwise she'll keep laying eggs, thus defeating the purpose of trying to conserve energy in the first place, arrgh! So now she's a brooding little hen. I think it's been better for all of us. She seems happier and that has made me happier.

I'm now waiting to see how many more eggs she'll lay.

[Jenny]

Welcome to this site first of all! I also have a peachfaced, but don't know wether it's male or female. I guess if I find an egg one day I'll know! One thing that might possibly help is if you decrease the amount of daylight she gets. The increasing day length can stimulate egg-laying, and especially in captivity where there's lights on even after the sun's gone down. Maybe you've already tried that though, but if you haven't, it's worth a try. Make sure she's on a great diet as well.

[Love Bird B]

Thanks Jenny!

I have a cotton cloth over at least half her cage all the time to keep it dimmer and to avoid drafts. I also gave her a cuttlebone for calcium and I put a few vitamin drops in her water every night when I also give her fresh food. She's more tolerable at night. I also read they should be kept warm.

I hope to post her picture soon.

[Mrs.Birdy]

Hello Love Bird B:

Welcome to you and your birdie.

I started to worry about my tiel after her THIRD egg. It took approx. a week and a half between eggs. She was so irritable throughout this time. I was relieved she did pass the eggs ok since I heard about the dangers of egg binding. The eggs were soft because, so I was told, they were infertile.

So far, so good, no more eggs yet, but I was told to expect more next month.

1-3 eggs is ok, more than that is unhealthy and I plan on cutting down on her daylight if she has a problem.

I don't think I would get her involved in hormone therapy. I keep a cuttlebone at all times in her cage and I feed her nutriberries which is rich in vitamins.

Also, she does this little mating "dance", where she dances around her cage with her tail straight up in the air and makes a constant squeeking sound almost like shes crying or begging. What a sight. I am told that should subside soon as breeding season is coming to an end. I hope so....we want our sweet, lovable, cuddly cockatiel back again.

Talk soon,

[Love Bird B]

Thanks Mrs. Birdy!

I wish you luck with your little hen. Mine doesn't even want to come out of her cage right now because she's protecting her "family" and yes, she's does those cute dances too. Wouldn't be great if we could explain what's going on to them? I've tried. It didn't work, LOL.

[birdygirl]

Good Luck. I hope your tiel won't lay more eggs than nessecary.

[Mrs.Birdy]

I hope this is not a stupid question, but the 3 eggs she did lay this month were soft. They were intact but felt rubbery (as if we could put our finger right through them, and quite opaque). Is this a sign of a deficiency or just that they were infertile?

There I go again with my worries. :confused:

[Love Bird B]

Hi Mrs Birdy,

I would ask a vet about the soft eggs since I don't know, and I'd worry just like you. :eek: I've heard of this happening in the wild as well, and I recall reading that pesticides have been blamed, but don't know if it's been verified. Anyone know?

[birdygirl]

Ask a vet. Could be calcium deficiency. I think.

[Jenny]

Yeah, I've heard the same thing about chemicals and pesticides which have caused some wild birds's shells to be soft. :( But, I doubt that'd be the case in a pet bird. It probably does have much to do with her calcium, since most birds who are egg-bound get like that because the shells were too soft to pass...thankfully, your bird hasn't had that happen yet and she's able to pass them. So, like Birdygirl said, I'd call a vet about it. Hope you find the problem!

[Mrs.Birdy]

Thanks guys.

You know, I have been worried about calcium deficiency, too. She does eat her cuttlebone quite a bit. The nutriberries are calcium fortified. I will call my vet to find out how I can increase her calcium.

I don't think the chemical poisoning is an issue because I don't use any harmful chemicals or pesticides in our home.

Again, thanks for your interest and concern about my Snickers.

Roseanne:)

[Jenny]

Hmmm... then I wouldn't know why she'd be lacking calcium. Oh well, we'll be waiting to see what the vet says! :)

[Love Bird B]

Good luck with everything. I can't wait to hear how this turns out too! I feel like we're all family and one of our cousins needs tests done. It's interesting how these warm and fuzzy feelings happened so quickly, but then, that's how I felt about Perky too.