My lineolated parakeet has laid an egg - whats the best thing for me to do?

Question

my female parakeet has just laid an egg sometime today - found it in the bottom of their cage - its very cold so we dont think that the egg is fertile and will have no hope of hatching - when we bought the birds three years ago the only way we knew what s*x they would be is to have a dna test - i never wanted them to breed - my intention was for pets only. well know we know we have one of each.

she is not taking any interest in the egg so i have made a "nest" in a shallow bowl - lined it with cotton wool and also the flooring material the birds are used to - put the egg gently in the middle and put the bowl to the far side of the cage. i am letting the birds be quiet - my male one has gone particlarly nasty - he is protecting his hen i think. should i leave the egg to see if they take an interest and if so for how long - or should i take it out soon? please i REALLY need some advice here - seriously

Answer 1

Keep it for about 5 days. good luck

Answer 2

obviously, she's thinking about you, and what you should be eating for breakfast tomorrow morning as part of your healthy well-balanced diet. ;)  sorry. i dont know. couldnt resist.

Answer 3

it's probably not fertilized, so i would remove it asap before the bird becomes broody.

Answer 4

I had this issue with a couple of finches I bought, both were supposedly female.  I took out the 1st egg they laid.  The store told me that females will lay eggs without them being viable.  It won't hurt them if you take it out.  If you want, buy a nesting box (a little woven oval shaped thing with a small opening, and provide them with some nesting material. (It's not expensive) She and he will also pick off her feathers to line the nest with.  We had a cute little baby a few weeks after the egg laying began.  If you don't want babies, take out the eggs.  If you've got 2 females, the eggs won't be viable. If you want to find out if you've  got a male and female, get the nest for them and wait and see.  If you don't remove the egg and it isn't viable, it will rot and eventually smell.  Good luck!

Answer 5

If you don't WANT another bird, then ... might I suggest an omlette?

Answer 6

birds know if a egg is going to hatch and if they leave it it is not going to hatch so i would take it out

Answer 7

Okay, from the beginning: You have to decide if you want them to have a chick. If not, pierce the egg with a needle (like you would do with a normal hen egg before you boil it in water) Thats what I do with my parots.

I would not suggest to take the egg out. Normaly birds become aggressive during breeding time and when they have an egg to tend to there is less stress for them. Imagine someone would steal your baby!

My birds normaly have some sort of nest to breed in, however I doubt that they will accept 'your' nest.If they don't take an interesst in the egg now they won't later. It would have already had to be warmed and I suppose it is not gonna hatch anyway.

In any case, though: First you have to decide I you want some 'offspring'!

Answer 8

u should give it less food

Answer 9

well u could try to leave it for a couple of day 3-4 see if they would fertile the egg themselves if not and u still want the egg to hatch keep the egg warm enough so it well hatch

Answer 10

Call a veterinarian, or ask to speak to a vet tech. They are the ones who can help you. The egg could be fertilized, but the bird just had no other choice but to lay it on the bottom of the cage before they had a nest available. Maybe they take no interest because the chick is dead inside. It is hard to say. They obviously must have mated if the male is overly protective.

Good luck! :)

P.S. A birds egg is fertilized when it inside the mother, not after. How could they get past the shell ? :)