| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 849.1 | Too small for omelettes unfortunately... | UTROP1::BOSMAN_P | | Mon Mar 07 1994 05:53 | 16 |
| Bethany,
Cockatiesl originate from inner Australia where they have evolved to
match the demanding environment. If encountering favourable conditions
they are "programmed" to become hyper-fertile. Conditions in captivety
are quite ofter favourable and so the bird switches program. The
obvious solution would be to make the situation less favourable but as
you care for your bird you don't want to do this. Possible alternatives
are:
1. Do you collect the eggs? if so, don't or replace them with dummies.
2. Change conditions: move the cage, switch food.
3. Get her a mate.
Good luck.
Peter
|
| 849.2 | | AIMTEC::SIMPSON_L | | Mon Mar 07 1994 22:04 | 14 |
| Bethany,
A friend of min has a cockatiel that does the same thing from time to
time, laying an egg or two.
Her vet suggested that she cover the cage earlier at night, thereby
making the day
shorter for the bird and giving her less light.
This seems to work in her case.
Good luck,
Laurie
|
| 849.3 | Calcium UP | CUPMK::COMPTON | | Sun Mar 13 1994 14:10 | 27 |
| Hi,
Whatever you do to help her stop laying, be sure you are giving her
extra calcium to compensate for the drain on her system from laying
the eggs. Cuttlebone, mineral blocks, vegetables rich in calcium
(broccoli, etc.), NeoCalglucon liquid calcium supplement (get at the
drugstore), Nekton-MSA sprinkled on soft foods (wasted if put on dry
seed and insoluable in water)--some examples.
To add to your choices: Put a folded up paper towel down in one corner
of the floor of the cage and set eggs on that. Let her 'go broody'
to finish the biological cycle (she may sit the eggs for awhile then
give up--you'll see her perching at night instead of covering the eggs
and know she's done for now). If you pull and toss the eggs as she
lays them, you just prolong the problem with most hens. I think it
was mentioned in this note earlier that the hen has a biological
counter that tells her when she has a complete clutch. Until that
number is reached, she may continue to laying, further stressing her.
I had this happen with a conure hen as well, when the first two eggs
were trashed because there was commotion in the bird room that caused
her to jump out of the nest very quickly. She proceeded to lay her
usual four, which meant she had actually laid six.
Keep us posted! It is always good to learn what works and what doesn't
in each situation presented here.
Linda
|
| 849.4 | Ok to lay eggs... | BRAT::KRAGH | | Thu Mar 24 1994 19:38 | 13 |
|
Hi -
I have read that laying eggs doesn't wear the bird
out (as long as you have cuttle bone available and
egg shells is good) - the incubating and rearing
of the young is what wears the bird out.
Hope that helps....
..
|
| 849.5 | Thanks for the suggestions! | PARVAX::BENNETT | Butterfly | Mon Mar 28 1994 20:43 | 8 |
| Thanks for all of your help. I have tried all of the suggestions
and none of them have stopped her. Honestly, Suzy seems very content
and she doesn't seem worn out. So I am not going to worry about
this and just enjoy collecting the eggs.
Regards,
Bethany
|
| 849.6 | poor hen | MTCLAY::DOYLE | | Tue Mar 29 1994 14:20 | 7 |
| hi....
I had a parakeet that just kept laying and laying and laying....
like 5 and 6 in a clutch one after another....it may not seem like it
wears them out but how many eggs could you keep laying without getting
exhausted and it taking a toll on your body....I finally brought mine
to a vet to get a shot t stop it....it could eventually cause
problems......don't let it go too long......mary
|
| 849.7 | Varying the light worked for me | STAR::VALES | | Thu Mar 31 1994 20:47 | 18 |
|
I have a 2.5 year old Lutino cockatiel, named Coquette that
starting laying eggs when she was around 1 year old. After
a couple clutches I grew concerned about the bird getting stressed
out. What I did on recommendation of the persopn I got the bird
from was to change her lighting habits. I put the light in the
"bird" room on a timer and had it switch on during the night.
I would also vary the timer settings weekly. Coquette has not
had a clutch for about 6 months. During this time she had started
nesting behavior but never layed an egg.
Along with her cuttle bone I give her Cod Liver Oil.
The only problem with switching the light on in the middle of
the night is it usually wakes up Beak, my double yellow-headed
amazon. What a racket in the middle of the night!
Bill
|