Reptile & Amphibian Forums

we have had our female bird for almost a year, and today she laid an egg. she is our only bird so i know it is unfertilized, but i did not expect her to lay one.. what should we do about it and possibly future eggs? just take them out?

If possible leave the egg in the cage until she loses interest in it or replace with a similar size/color egg. If she is already ignoring it then it is safe to take out. If you remove the egg too quickly she will more than likely lay more very soon and will keep doing this by letting her keep the egg until she loses interest it should help "kick" her out of the breeding cycle for this season.

You can also sometimes help relieve them of egg laying tendencies by shortening their daylight hours, removing possible nesting sites and trying to ignore mating behaviors or possibly removing items she seems to try mating with until she is through her season.

Offer a good healthy diet to make up for nutrients lost when egg laying and keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't become egg bound. Otherwise let her grow bored of it and go back to enjoying your feathered companion.

we have tried leaving the eggs she lays in the cage, and unfortunately she keeps laying them. she has laid 5 in a little over a week, and now we are at a loss about what to do to stop it. We are doing what we can by providing her plenty of food, but we cant help but be concerned

We have had females that will lay as many as seven before stopping and "caring" for her eggs. A budgie's clutch will usually be between 3-5 but can vary a lot from bird to bird. They will usually average laying about 1 a day to every day and a half and then will stop when they have their full clutch size. Be patient as long as she does not become eggbound and let her care for her eggs and the egg laying should stop. Keep up the healthy diet and she should stay in good shape even with all the egg laying. If she shows signs of becoming too lethargic, or losing interest in everything including the eggs, or seems to be in pain, or lastly stops eating and stools change then of course consult a vet immediately. But otherwise let her continue her "season" and hopefully she will get it out of her system for the year (sometimes even for several years if allowed to care for her eggs)