My 3 y.o cockateil laid her first egg!?

Question

She is really subdued today and i am wondering if this is normal. I have been trying to reassure her that its only natural and not too worry, now i am worried! She is a house pet and doesn't have a nesting box or a mate, i am really not sure why this has happened, any ideas?

Answer 1

its nothing to worry about.,....i had a canary who kept having eggs and they poor thing would sit on them for weeks but of course they could not hatch as she didnt have a male and the eggs were not fertile...dnt worry bout it its normal

Answer 2

It is NOT normal for your bird to lay eggs.  It is very dangerous and could kill it.  Laying eggs depletes calcium and calcium is a major issue with birds.  Is there a mirror in the cage?  If so get it out of there.  Is there anything that could be a "nest?"  Then get it out of there.  The egg that is in there now needs to be kept in there until she loses interest.  When she does take it out.  You need to give her lots of toys to preoccupy her.  Don't let her think about laying eggs.  You could end up with a situation called egg bound and if that happens you are in big trouble.  Your bird will die if not taken to an avian vet immediately.  

Answer 3

Oh No! That means she is going to die. Three year old cockateils arnt suppose to lay eggs!

Answer 4

it is normal for ur cockatiel to lay eggs , my friends cockatiel layed them on a regular basis , once even in her hair !!! just make sure she has a suitable diet and all her needs met , she'll be ur best friend for many years .

Answer 5

don't be worried. all those people who are saying she is ganna die, don't listen to 'em. birds lay eggs all the time and they aren't extinct yet. the only way that she could be harmed is if she doesn't have enough calcium in her body. just make sure that she is eating her cuttle bone(which should be available to her at all times) and watch her closely to make sure that she doesn't seem sick because birds naturally hide sickness very well so most of the time bird owners don't even know that their birds aren't felling well unless something is super wrong, then its easy to tell. the egg obviously wont hatch unless you have another cockatiel who might have fertilized it. so just do what answer 2 said and toss it in a bin. well, don't actually toss it cause it'll crack. lol.just a lil bird humor. if your worried about her laying more eggs in the future, then make sure that you cover the cage with a very dark blanket/cage cover/sheet before dusk and take it off mid morning. and if for any reason you put a nest in your birds cage, take it out. this should fix the problem since their are three main things that make a female bird want to lay eggs. 1~if their is a nest in the cage, the bird is going to wanna use the nest for what its made for......laying eggs. 2~ lots of sunlight makes a bird want to lay eggs. i'm not really sure why, but it just does. 3~having a mate is going to make your bird lay eggs without a doubt........duh! well good luck and i hope i helped! =D

Answer 6

female cockateils will lay eggs throughout her mature life..

not to worry it is very normal..

but without a mate the eggs are unfertile and of course won't hatch.

is she trying to sit on it? if she is let her sit on it for a little while (its just her maternal instincts coming into play)

if she is not, just take it out and throw it in the bin.

unmated cockateils usually only lay one egg each time (unlike the nest of 4-5 they lay over a few days when mated) and it can happen anywhere from 1 to many times each year.

give her a special treat she likes (food, fruit) and lots of attention.. she is fine.

Answer 7

The second answer was good, but also ensure that she is getting lots of cuttle bone as she will need lots of calcium to form the eggs and stay healthy - because if she isn't getting enough calcium from her diet, she'll take calcium from her bones, leaving them brittle!

But otherwise, don't worry as it's perfectly natural... it's the equivalent to human periods!

Answer 8

I have 2 cockatiels myself so I do understand your concern. Bob is 9 years old and has fathered a mess of offspring. Girlfriend is 3 just as your cockatiel. Bob is girlfriends father, excuse me, I do not mean to ramble in a different direction. It's just that when they come into question I can be very one sided in conversation because they are like part of the family. My 3 year old goes through her little shall we say mood swings at times. She has not laid her first egg or i should say has not mothered any of her own yet. There are those times when she will not want anything to do with Bob or even me at times. It always passes relatively fast. One thing that works with her is for me to start whistling some of the songs she is familiar with and before I know she joins in and then she does not want to stop. I am not saying this will work with yours but, it always perks her up. It is quite normal for them to show different emotions almost reminds me of kids at times. They like attention always.

Answer 9

Sounds to me like she is lonely for a male to be around. Yes it is very normal for her to feel this way especially sense she is lonely.  

Answer 10

Just like when human females are on their period, the bird can get moody, and practically pms. She will be protective of her egg too. Just let her sit on her egg and leave it in her cage for about a day. Then just take the egg out and throw it away. She should go right back to normal. But watch her, my cocateil sat on her egg once and accidently broke it. I didnt notice and the egg dried up on her belly. It was a nasty mess. I had to spend an hour cleaning her.