# Removing nest box?



## Frostwish (May 10, 2014)

Hey, y'all! So, I have a pair that are currently on their third clutch of the year. This is the first year they've laid eggs and they've been going since May. They are raising all of the chicks themselves. The current clutch consists of 3 chicks which are around 3-4 weeks old. I have seen all of them out of the nest box. My question is: is it ok to remove the nest box now? I'm scared that the pair are going to lay another clutch and I really don't want them too. I want to discourage them as much as possible, a huge part of which is removing the nest box. But I'm worried about the chicks. They are still spending their nights in the nest box with mama. They come out quite frequently during the day (I never see the cage during the day without at least one of them out of the nest box in recent days) but I'm mostly worried about the nights. What do you guys think?


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

I would remove it, especially if their cage is indoors where its warm anyway.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

No you have to leave the box until they are weaned. But you can start the long nights treatment now, getting the parents out of breeding mode. Increase the amount of darkness they get every day and it should calm their hormones down in about two weeks. If they still start laying eggs, you can always move things around in the cage and move the cage even to throw them off.


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## Frostwish (May 10, 2014)

I've tried the long nights thing before and it hasn't seemed to affect anything. As for moving the cage, there's not really anywhere for me to move it to. My parents have told me that they have to stay in my room and there's no where in my room I can move them to. And there's not much I can do with this cage in terms of rearranging it. Really, removing the nest box is the only option I have left.


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## s-p (Aug 29, 2015)

i would suggest to remove nest box. 2 to 3 times is enough to breed healthy birds.


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## Frostwish (May 10, 2014)

Well, looks like it was too little too late. I woke up this morning to find yet another egg in the nest box. I can't face the idea of taking the eggs away, but I think I'm going to try to discourage them from laying as many as before by adding a few fake eggs to the nest. They generally lay clutches of six or seven. Hopefully I'll be able to keep them at about 3.


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