# Chronic egg laying



## Spongebob (Feb 16, 2010)

Please help!

My partner thinks we should rehome our 3 year old tiel as she has suffered with chronic egg laying for the past 2 years. We have been seeking advice from everywhere and have tried all the prevention techniques... less daylight, not overfeeding, not too much petting etc. Nothing as worked. The other option was to let her breed (or so I was advised) so we advertised her free to a breeding home. Somebody offered to take her but when it came to the crunch i got too upset and couldnt let her go.
This was a few months ago... on friday just past, we almost lost her due to her being egg bound. The vet managed to save her but said we really had to address the egg laying problem or we were going to be facing the egg binding again.
Now we dont know what to do.... she is staying at my friends at the moment as she was still acting very broody when we got her back from the vets and we thought the change of scenary would snap her out of it. It has worked and she isnt laying or acting broody at the moment as she is in a stranger enviroment but we are collecting her tonight and OH says she is only going to go straight back into laying eggs again and that we are best to find a breeding home for her. I am advertising but i really dont want her to go and dont like the sound of any of the people who have offered to home her. I feel she wont get a better home then the one she has at the moment.

Has anyone else had this problem?? is it true that once they get into the habit of laying it is impossible to stop them?

I really need some advice please!!! (sorry for the long post!)


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## Spongebob (Feb 16, 2010)

anyone?? I am going to collect Sponge in an hour and I dont know what to do!


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I would change things around in her cage even move perches, toys and where the cage is kept once a week. I would also not give her any happy huts or shredder toys, make sure she has a cuttle bone at all times though. Here is a few links I found about egg laying problems http://www.cockatielcottage.net/egg_laying.html and http://www.avianweb.com/egglaying.html I hope this helps.


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## Spongebob (Feb 16, 2010)

thanks for the reply.

i am going to collect her in a bit.... she will be coming home and going straight to bed, have told my OH not to uncover her until about 12 tomorrow. That way she will only have 8 hours of daylight. I also read somewhere that taking their food away at night when you put them to bed helps as they tend to get broody when there is a constant food supply. this seems a bit cruel to me but i will try it if its the right thing to do?

ive bought her lots of new toys and am going to replace her familar ones when she gets home. we are also going to put her another room for a bit so she isnt too comfy. we can only do this short term though.

OH is convinced this isnt going to work as it has never worked before but i want to try and see if she starts displaying 'broody' behaviour.


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## jc119007 (Dec 28, 2009)

I'm no expert but I just happened to be talking to my vet last weekend about hens & egg laying because my new cockatiel is quite likely a hen and until now all I've had is males. 

He told me that sometimes hens lay eggs while some don't, but if they do you should let them sit on the eggs for a min 15 days and max of 20 days before you take them away. My vet said that if you take away the eggs straight away then the hen will just keep on laying more 'till they become egg bound, or become really exhausted. Of course, you should remove anything in the cage which is potential nesting material- baskets, happy huts etc because it encourages egg laying as well as limited daylighthours (you know the drill). One thing though, he did mention that while you should make sure she has enough calcium you should also reduce her food slightly too, and make sure she has a well balanced diet.

He mentionned that he had a client who had the same problem as you, ie a chronic egg layer, but thanks to the above advice he broke the cycle. I'll be calling him this week for test results but if you want I can ask him for more details. Without a doubt you know most of this already but I thought I might pass on what he told me. 

Good luck!


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## Spongebob (Feb 16, 2010)

thanks for the advice.

We do leave the eggs with her until she stops sitting on them. Have never really counted how many days we have left them with her but i will now.

she has two eggs in there at the moment, she did lay 3 but the 3rd one got broken and the 4th one was the one that got stuck so when the vet got it out it was all soft and mishapen so i had to chuck it away. i have left the other two in there and she hasnt been near them. but i will leave them there for another week.

we normally know when she is getting ready to lay as her behaviour changes. next time we notice this behaviour should we just put a couple of dummy eggs in the cage in the hope that she will just sit on them and not lay her own. vet said this wont work but admitted she wasnt an avian specialist.


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## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

When you cover her, does she have a night light? If it's completely dark for her, it actually encourages her to see it as a nest.


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## jc119007 (Dec 28, 2009)

My vet is an avian specialist, and is a huge fan of cockatiels (he has some at home). I have seen some dummy eggs that you mentionned, I think some people swap these with the real eggs once they've been laid (no there's no breakage and egg binding)- but again I stress the fact that I'm just repeating what my vet told me.

Is there an avian vet in your region? You could just ring up and ask for some info if there is. I will ask my vet next time I speak to him, and let you know what he says.


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## Spongebob (Feb 16, 2010)

jc119007 said:


> My vet is an avian specialist, and is a huge fan of cockatiels (he has some at home). I have seen some dummy eggs that you mentionned, I think some people swap these with the real eggs once they've been laid (no there's no breakage and egg binding)- but again I stress the fact that I'm just repeating what my vet told me.
> 
> Is there an avian vet in your region? You could just ring up and ask for some info if there is. I will ask my vet next time I speak to him, and let you know what he says.


i did ring an avian vet but they didnt really give much advice over the phone. they just wanted me to bring Spongebob in for a health check and charge me £30. I declined as she is already booked in to see the vet on Friday as a follow up from the op she had. 

Mythara, she is never in pitch black as she is prone to night frights although we do put a heavy cover on her to muffle sounds so its dark and quiet.
Vet said she needs to be in a really dark warm room with no disturbances. Not an easy feat as we are in a small flat and she can hear us wherever we are but we will do the best we can.


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## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

What about a sleep cage? It can help a lot. It doesn't have to be big - only big enough for her to spread her wings and can go anywhere - preferably a different room to her normal cage.


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## Spongebob (Feb 16, 2010)

ok so the Sponge is home.. I have totally rearranged her cage and put new toys in. She is now in the spare room (instead of our bedroom) with the lights off and radiator on so it is dark and warm... nice sleeping place. Have also removed the food she didnt eat today.

OH will uncover her at about 12 tomorrow and give her some food and veggies. She has never eaten veggies up til now but will just have to keep giving them to her until she does eat them. Have put peas in there as i have heard they help decrease egg laying? I have even taken the paper out of her cage as she was shredding it up before to make a nest.

If all goes well and we decide to keep her I will invest in a little travelling cage to put her in at night time.

Fingers crossed this puts her off her egg laying!!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

There are medical treatments that can help when all else has failed. There's a hormone shot treatment, and if that doesn't work the bird can be spayed. This is a much riskier procedure in birds than it is in mammals, and is basically a last resort to save a bird that is endangered by egg laying.


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## jc119007 (Dec 28, 2009)

My vet also told me about an implant that they can put in hens to stop them from laying/make them infertile for 2 years maximum which can be used too.


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## Spongebob (Feb 16, 2010)

ok so she had her 14 hours of 'sleep time' last night. I have just got in from work and have been sitting with her. She is very restless and has done her mating call to me a couple of times, she also keeps eating her cuttle fish which is something she does when she is feeling broody. im panicking that she will try to lay an egg now. if she does OH is going to say she has to go.

dont want to think about spaying as it too risky and the injections are really expensive and have side effects.


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## jc119007 (Dec 28, 2009)

I think that any changes won't happen overnight, I think you'll have to give it some time for things to kick into place...might be difficult to reason with the OH though- but I think you're on the right track in trying to break the cycle, and even if she does lay, give the 15-20 day window a go and see what happens after- I mean you have to see if it works, right???


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It takes about a week for the long nights treatment to start having an effect on behavior. And it isn't possible to stop any eggs that are already "in the pipeline" - she has to lay what she's already building.


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## Spongebob (Feb 16, 2010)

I have posted this on another thread but we have found a new mummy and Daddy for Spongebob and they are coming to collect her on Friday.

I was just kidding myself thinking that I could change her behaviour as we have tried all these tactics over the years and they have had no effects whatsoever. She has even laid eggs in my lap before that is how determined she is to lay them! I didnt want to admit to myself that the only option was to rehome but thats how it is. I cant see anyother way. The lady who is taking her has lots of other birds and plenty of time and experience. If the complete change of enviroment with new people and other birds for company doesnt stop her from wanting to lay the lady is quite happy to breed her which is something we wouldnt be able to do.

Its going to very hard to see her go but i know she will be going to a happy home and the lady will be keeping in touch so i will know that she is being looked after. Thanks so much for all the advice though guys!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

i am going to collect her in a bit.... she will be coming home and going straight to bed, have told my OH not to uncover her until about 12 tomorrow. That way she will only have 8 hours of daylight.
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Nope...this is only going to encourage the problem, because it simulates a nestbox.


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