duane@cbnewsj.att.com (duane.galensky) (03/01/91)
In article <63028@bbn.BBN.COM> llovero@BBN.COM (Linda Lovero) writes: > >Hello all - > >My cockatiel, Kiwi, laid an egg two days ago... ...stuff deleted... > >My questions are: > > Should I be worried that she's laying eggs too frequently? The last >time she laid eggs in November and I gave her extra Petamine and scrambled some >(chicken) eggs with the shells for her. We got another bird recently which >some people tell me might have caused her to lay eggs again. When we had a >male cockatiel she did not show any interest in him. Kiwi was hand fed >and does not seem to like other birds much. My new bird, Pedro, is a Jenday >conure so they won't be breeding. > my unpaired cockatoo has been laying recently as well, twice in the last month. my avian vet suggested that cockatiels are more prone to this. obviously, complications can arise, including a broken egg in the abdomen, and egg-binding due to insufficient calcium. she told me that given heavy-duty calcium supplements, there should be no problem with the cockatoo unless the frequency got near six eggs in three weeks (phew!) she prescribed a vitamin supplement on a calcium gluconate carrier (called "PRIME") which samantha takes on her bananas, and also another variety of calcium in syrup form to mix with her drinking water. she also suggested green beans, broccoli, and egg shells in her omlettes. > Was I wrong to take her egg away? Since she was out of her cage I >figured she didn't care anymore, but I was surprised to hear the sounds she >was making when she went back in. How long should you leave an infertile egg? she suggested that i leave the next egg in the cage to trigger whatever it is that makes her stop laying. she explained that breeders "double clutch," that is, they remove the first clutch and incubate, thus inducing the pair to go for it again. she recommended that the best thing to do is simply get a male bird, and let them do what comes naturally... duane
rdmiller@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Ruth D Miller) (03/02/91)
Based on my experience with a broody female Fischer's lovebird, I would suggest you get your cockatiel a nestbox; she will probably lay a clutch and sit on it for the 'appropriate' time (@3-4 weeks for lovebirds) and then suddenly ignore the eggs. This is what Tangier did; it kept her happy and kept her from overlaying herself, though we saw her rarely while she was sitting. When she "gave up", we removed the nestbox and she was fine. (Note: our birds won't lay w/o nestbox and nesting material, since lovebirds are one of few parrot genera that build a nest. ) Cockatiels may be different from this: anyone with other experiences? Ruth
mm@lectroid.sw.stratus.com (Michael Mahler) (03/05/91)
This is bad advice. Egg laying in cockatiels should be discouraged if the bird is not in a breeding program. -- -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Welcome Our Troops Home! -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry) (03/05/91)
In article <4452@lectroid.sw.stratus.com> mm@lectroid.sw.stratus.com () writes: > > This is bad advice. Egg laying in cockatiels should be discouraged > if the bird is not in a breeding program. This is especially true if you've ever seen a hen die because she was egg bound. Or seen a hen deplete her calcium supply so badly that the eggs had no shells. Egg laying has many risks. Mike is quite right, it should be discouraged if the bird is not with a male to fertilize the eggs and help bring up young. Raising clutches of birds regulates the hen's biological clock and brings her breeding into controllable levels. Of course, this isn't an absolute and even hens in breeding programs have to be monitored closely so that they don't overproduce. p.s. People are constantly giving us their egg laying hens because they are afraid of the long term problems associated with infertile egg laying. We trade them for male babies and try to regulate the hen's breeding behavior. It is usually successful. Mikki Barry Natural Intelligence Aviaries Home of the Electric Cockatoo
rdmiller@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Ruth D Miller) (03/05/91)
In article <4452@lectroid.sw.stratus.com> mm@lectroid.sw.stratus.com () writes: > > This is bad advice. Egg laying in cockatiels should be discouraged > if the bird is not in a breeding program. > >-- OK, but how do you discourage it if you are not doing anything to encourage it and the bird lays anyway? Generally in BIrd Talk, and other bird owners I've spoken to, the advice is, if she persists in laying, get her set up to sit, as that will stop her laying for at least the 3 weeks she'll be sitting. How else to get her to stop laying?? Ruth
ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry) (03/05/91)
In article <1991Mar4.213638.578@maverick.ksu.ksu.edu> rdmiller@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Ruth D Miller) writes: >OK, but how do you discourage it if you are not doing anything to encourage >it and the bird lays anyway? Generally in BIrd Talk, and other bird owners >I've spoken to, the advice is, if she persists in laying, get her set up >to sit, as that will stop her laying for at least the 3 weeks she'll be >sitting. How else to get her to stop laying?? Ask the vet if there are any hormones that can be administered to the hen. Barring that, she may have to have a hysterectomy. Besides that, the most humane thing to do would be to set her up with a male. Mikki Barry
mm@lectroid.sw.stratus.com (Michael Mahler) (03/07/91)
Another (and easier in many ways) alternative is to try a change of environment (different cage or move the current one to a different room). -- -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Michael Mahler - Stratus Computer