Question

I have two, three-year-old female cockatiels. I know that they can lay eggs without a male bird being present. One of ours did recently, but we can’t tell which one. What should I do about this egg? Will they lay more?

Answer

Cockatiels are proficient egg layers and generally start in early spring. They are stimulated to begin laying by the lengthening daylight hours. Taking away the eggs will most likely stimulated them to lay more. It’s probably best to leave the eggs in the cage in a quiet box that they can use as a nest box.

Whether the eggs are fertile or not, I’d let them "play house" with them as a means of keeping them focused and busy. One very important consideration is nutrition. Birds that are heavy egg layers like cockatiels need diets that are adequate in calcium and other nutrients. Half or less of their food each day should be seed. The other half should be all of the table foods that you eat everyday with the exception of chocolate and avocados. Emphasize high calcium foods like cheese, tofu, kale, bok choy. A separate tray of crushed oyster shells should always be available. With a well-balanced diet, you can help to avoid problems such as egg binding.

Don’t be surprised if you see more eggs this spring and summer. The only way to prevent egg laying is to have your female birds surgically spayed. Another alternative that decreases egg production is to cover the cage early each evening to decrease the total daylight hours available.