# Help!!!



## Littlebigtiel (Sep 6, 2011)

My female cockatiel has been laying too many unfertilized eggs. She has 2 1 month old babies who have not left the nest yet. They are not handfed. I have been told to leave the unfertilized eggs there till she abandons them. But what do I do now that she won't stop laying unfertilized eggs?? I have shortened the light hours. I have not seen her mating. Should I take the Nest out and let the babies in the cage? They have begun to eat solid food and begin to fly. They have begun to explore the cage. Are try ready for cage? I'm worried for mama cockatiel health with her laying too many unfertilized eggs. Can she still be able to lay fertilized eggs right after having babies and without mating? She has laid 4 unfertilized eggs already. Help please!


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The babies have fledged (left the nest) so they don't need the nest any more. But before you take the nest down, candle the eggs to see if they are fertile - mama bird might have mated when you weren't looking. If the eggs are fertile you can see development after five days of incubation.


----------



## Littlebigtiel (Sep 6, 2011)

The babies leave the nest to eat, but then at night they go inside to sleep. Is it still fine for me to take the nest away? After I candled the eggs of course.


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It's common for babies to continue sleeping in the nest for a while, and when they first fledge they're so clumsy that they're safer inside the nest at night. But if they have reached the point where they can stand on a perch without having a lot of balance problems, they don't need the nest any more.

There are two schools of thought on taking the nest away from the mother. One is that you should let her sit on the infertile eggs until she gets tired of them. The other is that it's OK to take everything away and rearrange the cage and make other changes so she will be disrupted to the point that she loses all interest in breeding. You've already started giving her longer nights so this second approach might work, but I can't guarantee it.


----------



## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

hun i believe that a cockatiel can still carry fertile eggs for up to 30 days after mating.


----------

