# time between mating and egg laying?



## Berdnerd

A friend of mine recently got a female cockatiel. He doesn't remember exactly when he got her but it was somewhere between 12 days ago and about 2 1/2 weeks ago. The bird surprised everyone by laying an egg this morning! She was with other birds at her former owner's house so it's possible she mated with one of them, but the egg could also just be unfertilized. I was under the impression that it's usually 7 days between when birds mate and when the first egg appears. So, what do you all think? Fertilized egg or not? How much time can there be between when birds mate and an egg is laid?

In a few days I'll stop by his house and candle the egg so we'll know for sure then, but in the mean time her owner is very concerned about the egg and really wants to know if the egg may be fertilized.

Thanks!


----------



## bjknight93

They usually lay within 7-10 days of mating. But if i remember right, she could lay an egg up to a month later and it still be fertile. Either way, the egg(s) should be left for her to care for until she loses interest in them.


----------



## Berdnerd

Yeah, for some reason I had it in my head that hens can retain sperm for quite a while before laying. We'll know in a few days for sure because we'll go over this weekend and candle the egg(s). When my birds had babies, I could candle the egg and tell it had been fertilized within a day because they sat on the eggs immediately after laying. Figure by this weekend I should be able to tell with their bird for sure, the friend said she's sitting on the egg so it should begin to develop if it's been fertilized.


----------



## roxy culver

Its very possible that she didn't feel comfortable until now to lay her egg because of the stress of moving and now that she's settled she has decided its time to lay...


----------



## DyArianna

The whole egg laying process only takes about 48 hours or less. The female hen can retain the semen in her for a good two weeks. Some females can be separated and lay eggs that are fertile after being separated.. and others you will find them mating with their mate while they are laying eggs. Some eggs can show signs of being fertile around 3 to 5 days. But a week is a good call.


----------

