Our Cockatiel

[FiveHorses]

Originally Posted by msina

They can be demanding at times but, what lovely company they can be.

Msina - it isn't only "at times" the wee beggars are demanding, it's all the time! Parrots just aren't pets for everybody. To care for them properly is a hell of a lot of hard work. Rewarding, enchanting, and at times just downright surreal (like when they answer you ) but hard work.

We also have a crippled parrot... unfortunately her lameness isn't the result of a birth deformity. Her's was the result of being stolen... and then they tried to remove her legband so they could sell her on again.

Capt. Dan.... hope Mrs. Tiel is doing ok. The point about calcium is a good one - has she got a cuttlefish to gnaw on?

[brokencrayola]

Birds do not need a male or a mate at all to lay eggs, and of course they are infertile. The thing you really need to be careful with is the bird can become eggbound, which means an egg becomes lodged in the canal. This is a quick and horrible way for a bird to die. I had a cockatiel die this way and it was so very sad. She was dead within 20-30 minutes. If the bird keeps laying eggs I recomment get a pre-sexed male for her or give her an oil based liquid vitamin in her water in the hopes she will not become eggbound.

[Capt. Dan]

Thanks everybody for your responses. The bird has shown no interest in the eggs since she laid them. The vet said to wait a few days before we remove them from her cage. So we did. we have always put vitamins in her water. She has a chalk? thingy to sharpen her beak on and plenty of toys. I could be wrong but it seems to me that the bird thinks the bird in the mirror is another bird. Could she have bonded with that bird?

[FiveHorses]

Originally Posted by Capt. Dan

. I could be wrong but it seems to me that the bird thinks the bird in the mirror is another bird. Could she have bonded with that bird?

Chalk is good. Chalk is calcium carbonate by a more user friendly name. Chalk hills are naturally home to many parrot species.

Mirrors and birds are a thorny subject depending on which "philosophy" you subscribe to.

It has been known to happen that with male birds the presence of mirrors can lead to behavioural and territorial issues - i.e. there's a threat present. They can also become rather enamoured with the mirror image and that can lead to further "obsessional" type behaviours. I cannot, off the top of my head, remember any cited examples of females laying having "fallen in love" with the parrot in the mirror, but... it wouldn't strike me as a comment out of left field either.

The use of the word "bonding" with regards to pet birds is... well, it's hugely overused. It's become used on a par with "aggression" in canines - everyone uses it to describe all sorts of behaviours which 90%+ of the time, it's not about that at all.

As you know, parrots mate for life. To assume that the bird "bonds" with us is to assume the bird sees a human as another bird or, at the very least, a suitable replacement. It does happen.... but I don't think it happens half as much as people think it does. There's a big difference between a parrot seeing you as a suitable mate (which is the whole reason why parrots bond, to reproduce) and a parrot who is genuinely happy to see you, plays with you, and is affectionate. Our parrots "like" us very much (my vocabulary is failing me ), but we are the nice people who do nice things and have entertainment value - not to mention the manual dexterity to open the fridge. But they don't want us as mates.

I personally don't like mirrors with birds - I think the potential problems outweigh any possible benefit (entertainment value is the only benefit I can think of). In your case... I'd work towards removing it and replacing it with a different sort of toy just to be on the safe side because you really don't want her to keep laying.

Bearing in mind 'tiels and all parrot-like birds are social creatures.... would you consider getting her a friend?

[pandapal]

these eggs should be infertile. please dystory them as soon as possible. you may check them for fertility with an egg candeler or a flashlight. visit cockatile cottage or google it for more information.

hope this helps

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Originally Posted by pandapal

these eggs should be infertile. please dystory them as soon as possible. you may check them for fertility with an egg candeler or a flashlight. visit cockatile cottage or google it for more information.

hope this helps

Since the OP posted in April, I'm sure the eggs are no more.

[Icy Tea]

We used to have the little zebra finches( a very good starter bird for the bird enthusiast) and they were always laying eggs or building nests. I think they'd feather their nest 24/7 if you let them. But they'd quickly break and eat the eggs if they weren't going to try to incubate them. For an experiment we put a little egg shaped white pebble on the cage floor and they immediately tried to break it. The females didn't live as long as the males and we tried to make sure they had calcium in cuttlebones and a mineral block figuring that maybe egg laying depleted their bodies minerals.
We had a few parakeets( both sexes) and tried to put a nest box in but they never went near it. Never laid any eggs, either.

[pandapal]

of course! thanks for telling me!

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Since the OP posted in April, I'm sure the eggs are no more.