Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My female 'tiel has been having big, watery stools for about 2 weeks. I thought it was some kind of bacteria imbalance, especially since I had noticed the change in her stools after giving her fresh banana. The vet confirmed there was an imbalance and sent her home with a gel which I should mix into her food or water. (I chose her food because 'tiels don't seem to drink enough water to intake medication that way.)

She's also been warbling funnily for about a month, and I knew the sound from the first time she laid some eggs. I gave her a box filled with cotton balls, same as the first time, but she didn't want anything to do with it this time around. She's insisted on making a nest out of her food bowl, although I tried to discourage her from that. Now, my efforts to get her to use the nest box have proved fruitless because this morning she did lay an egg in her main food dish. She won't let me change out her pellets, so I gave her food in her usual treat dish (it's the same size).

While I don't want to disturb her now, especially since she's trying to sit on the egg, what would be the best way to discourage her from appropriating her food dish for her nest in the future?

When you know she is going into egg laying mode you could try a couple different things or even before she goes into that mood again. You could use a bowl with a partial cover. I am not sure if they make these in any larger sizes or only the really small size so you may have to check and change her food even more often than usual with one of those types of dishes. You could also try interesting her in foraging. use the same dish as always but at first make sure she sees there is food in the bowl, then put a small piece of paper loosely over the food. This should interest her in "finding" her food. After she does this quite easily and you are sure she is still eating well try putting the paper over the bowl more securely such as with a small piece of tape etc. Then when you are sure she does this well you can even try rolling her food into paper balls. Usually (not always LOL birds can all be different) when they are interested in using their bowl for foraging they will not lay their eggs in it. Sometimes cockatiels can be harder to interest in this but take your time and it should make for a happier healthier bird who either doesn't lay eggs constantly or else lays them in a place other than her bowl.

Also you can try changing her cage around more often. Change the position of the bowls if possible. Move toys around, put in new toys. Even move the entire cage to a different area (if she usually lays eggs at certain times of the year start the changes right before it is her usual time not during as this can cause them in rare occassions to become eggbound.) Also try lessening the daylight hours for a while to kick her out of the egg laying mood.

As far as moving the bowls around, that's not going to be possible. The bowls in question are stainless steel round ones--about the size of two cupped hands side by side--held in place by a metal ring. Her tail sticks up in the air as she sits down in one, so I really don't know why she chose that as a nest.

Also, my girl is very funny about having those "covered" dishes. I tried one not long after she came home with me. I was concerned about her droppings winding up in her food dish, but she didn't seem to appreciate my efforts. She would sit on top of the cover, peering into the dish, and then pace back and forth while trying to figure out how to lean forward far enough to reach the food. It was as though she never realized she could get to it if she perched on the "front" of the dish. Or else maybe she didn't like the idea of having a ceiling over her while she ate. I'm not sure, but I've since tried to avoid that type of dish.

As far as lessening the hours and moving the cage around, I think I definitely will give that a try for next time. I don't know if she's intending to lay more eggs this time around--last time she laid 3 in a week, and so far she only has one. Does it vary from bird to bird how long it takes to complete a clutch? Or are other factors involved? This is my second time caring for a laying bird, and she's been part of the family for a year & a half.

Thanks for the suggestions, PHI. Especially the bit with the paper. I'll give that a try after she exits mothering mode.

The time can vary, I don't work with breeding birds but from what I have learned "most" will lay one either every day to every other day and some even as far apart as 4 days. I don't believe I have read about any that took longer than that length of break between eggs (but I guess it is possible) The number of eggs and the number of days can vary though depending on several things. Stress, diet, health, etc. Good luck!

I have begun to partly cover her cage at night, but she's one stubborn girl. Wed morning, on the 3rd, she laid her second egg. And now this morning (Saturday) she surprised me with a third egg. (This is even after the covering of the cage.) Last time she stopped at 3. My plan is to wait until there's a full week with no new eggs, then I'm going to take them away.

Once the eggs are gone, I'm also planning on rearranging her cage, move her water dish to where her food dish currently is and vice-versa as well possibly introduce the paper-over-the-food-bowl trick.

But I didn't have to go through all that during her first lay, she just eventually ignored her eggs on her own.