# Female cockatiel wants to lay eggs?



## happybird (Jun 16, 2012)

Hi, I have an 11 month old female cockatiel. About a week ago she started displaying some unusual behaviors. She occasionally makes an odd soft squeaking noise when I give her a headrub and sometimes when she's alone in her cage, she sits on her perch and makes that same noise while swaying gently from side to side.

Every once in a while I'll go to take her out of her cage and I'll find her in the corner on her cage floor, and she is usually very angry when I distrupt her and instead of coming out to me happily like she usually does, she'll hiss and flap her wings.

She doesn't have a mate, she's the only cockatiel I have at the moment. 

Also, what can I do to repress this behavior and make her go back to normal? I really do not want her to start laying eggs because I've heard that once they start laying eggs it's very hard for them to stop.

I honestly have no idea about cockatiel breeding etc. so some help would be much appreciated!

p.s: also, I don't know if this is relevant but she's also been laying abnormally large poops (like, poop the size of a dime and sometimes even a nickel or a quarter). Could that be an indication of something?


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

It sounds like she's hormonal and nesty, here is a thread about hormone control, http://www.talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330. 

Large messy poops could possibly be a sign she's going to lay, they are called egg poops.


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## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

Oh dear, what you just described are CLASSIC signs your bird will soon be laying eggs. Congratulations.  To me, it sounds like she will be laying eggs soon whether you like it or not (needless to say, they will be unfertilized eggs, or "blank rounds" in military terms. ) But do not worry. It's not a big deal really. I understand perfectly how you feel because when Sunny laid her first clutch last year I freaked out big time and panicked on the forum and people had to tell me to calm down. :blush: Sunny just finished laying her second clutch a week ago. So let me just walk you through the process so you'll know what to expect: 

She will start acting more and more aggressive with you, especially when you approach the place she has chosen to be her "nest". She will hiss, charge at you with her beak open (meaning "I'm gonna bite you!"), squawk, do whatever birds do instinctively to scare predators away from their nests. So be very careful during this period and make sure you don't get bitten. When Sunny is laying eggs, she will always charge at my feet to bite them so I have to make sure I'm always wearing slippers or at least socks so she can't bite me. You may want to keep her mostly caged during this difficult time but that is up to you. 

She will be laying one egg every 2 days. Do NOT remove her eggs or she will keep laying more to "replace" the lost ones. She may want to sit on them for awhile until she realizes they will not hatch. When she has lost interest in the eggs, then you can remove them. (However, Sunny NEVER showed any interest in her eggs once she laid them. She never sat on them or even looked at them so every bird is different.) If an entire 48 hours have gone by and there hasn't been another egg, that means this egg-laying period is over. (With Sunny, she would still remain in her "nest" for about another week afterwards because she doesn't know it's over and thinks there may still be eggs or something. It's not a big deal and I just let her be. She always comes around eventually and will stop going to the "nest" altogether.)

To discourage your bird from laying eggs, you can look into all the hormone reduction techniques available on this forum under the proper headings so I won't repeat them here. 

Keep an eye on your bird so that should she be egg-bound or have any problems, you'd be there to rush her to the vet. But don't freak out---if your bird is young and generally healthy then that should not happen. It should only happen if the bird is old and malnourished.

Lastly, don't take it personally that your bird will hate your guts and want to kill you during this period.  She's only being a bird. Once it is over she will go back to normal like nothing happened. Trust me, I've been through it twice with Sunny. When she's laying eggs, she just transforms into what I can only describe as a complete rabic dog.  The first time is always the hardest on both you and your bird but the second time will be easier.  

Some female cockatiels never lay unfertilized eggs and some lay eggs "every now and then". With Sunny, I'm convinced she is probably the type who will lay a clutch every year (the spoiled little princess has just too comfortable a life ). Just keep an eye on your bird and she will be fine. Good luck!


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## happybird (Jun 16, 2012)

Thank you so much Annie for the helpful information!

Sure enough, I woke up this morning to see that Noorie was in the corner of her cage, puffed up and on the floor (she didn't have any sort of nest). As soon as I tried to open her cage door she tried to attack me (exactly as you have described!) and when she did this I saw the egg.

My only concern is that her egg seems a lot smaller than it should be. I tried to take a picture to put on this forum but of course she wouldn't let me get anywhere near her. 

Also I'm worried for her health because she is a very picky eater and mostly only eats seeds, she doesn't have a very balanced diet. I don't think she has the proper nutrition to be able to lay eggs.

Also, she seems to have stopped eating. Her food bowl is at the other end of her cage and she refuses to get off her egg. How can I get her to eat?

One last question--is it safe to leave her home alone? She's currently alone at home.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

She'll be fine by herself. I would place the food bowl down near her "nest" so she can go get as she pleases. Changing her diet right now wont be good because it will only stress her out more than she is already. Just wait and let her finish this clutch then work on her diet.


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## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

You're welcome. 

Don't worry, she'll be fine. Do as roxy culver says and you'll just have to wear thick workman's gloves to change her food and water during this period.  As she has chosen a corner of her cage as her nest, it sounds like she can be safely cage-bound until she's finished laying, which is so much better for you because Sunny has chosen the back of my bathroom door as her annual nesting ground so every year during this time, I can't go to my own bathroom (or even my own room because my bathroom is connected to my bedroom which is the master) without being charged at and attacked.  You just gotta let her be until this period passes. As I said before, she will go back to normal afterwards like nothing ever happened.  You may see "glimpses" inbetween where your bird may realize she's treated you horribly and will try to tell you she's sorry by coming to you, stepping up, cooing, etc. (as is always the case with Sunny ). Understand that your bird is also very confused because her instincts are telling her to attack you so she does, but she probably doesn't understand why either and may also feel bad (at least a little bit!).

As for diet, Sunny is on Harrison's organic bird food. I highly recommend it but I heard that it can be expensive in some parts of the world. You may want to check out this company's website on the Internet and inquire about where you can get it and how much it will cost in the meantime. If you do decide to put your tiel on Harrison's, you should put her on the *High-Potency* Fine (or Superfine---no difference except one is "finer" than the other and some tiels prefer the Superfine but Sunny eats both) for the first 6 months, then you can put her on the Adult Lifetime Fine or Superfine. If they have neither the Fine nor Superfine, you can even get the Adult Lifetime Coarse and crush them yourself.


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