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My single female has, for the last month or so, been laying an egg once a week or so. An-n-nd pushing it out of her 'nest'. So she hasn't been sitting on 'em. ( Her nest is one of four kitchen cupboard shelves ... )

But that's beside my point. Just prior to laying, she is either hyper, flying in short bursts from a door top perch to another 'perch' 15' away. She'll do this repeatedly, maybe 8 times. Catch her breath, and do it again.

Or-r-r, she'll just sit by the window, and be dozy, eyes closed, while uttering little muffled chirps, every 4 or 5 seconds. 2 or 3 hours later she'll fly to her 'nest' and lay an egg.

I thought I had her behaviours down pat, but, nope. When I think she's gonna lay an egg, based on her actions, she won't.

And I wondered if you all have observed consistent behaviours with your 'tiels prior to egg laying.

Thanx
Pete

I haven't, but I don't allow my hen a nest, so I have only gotten one egg in the last 7 years. Why haven't you eliminated her access to the cupboard? Constant laying of eggs will deprive her of nutrients needed to stay healthy.

Aw geez ... I just knew you weren't gonna answer my question ... and instead offer a negative query of your own.

Allow me to explain a little ...
I don't clip the bird's wings
I don't keep it cage bound
I don't try to modify its behaviour
I don't make it wear a diaper
I don't use a power tool to trim its nails
I don't try to teach it to talk

I DO allow it to follow its instincts- if it wants to fly, I don't try to make it walk. If instinct dictates that it needs to lay an egg, or 2 or 3, I accommodate it.
I DO try to understand its behaviour, like, if it's nibbling on my wooden picture frame does it indicate a dietary requirement. Or its behaviour prior to laying an egg...
I DO make available a wide variety of healthy food
I DO take the bird outside on nice days for an hour or so
I DO take it to an Avian vet
I DO give this little creature a ton of attention

I visit here to learn, to learn from you experienced 'pros', not to have my actions questioned.

So, do us 'neophytes to the bird world' a favour and the next time we ask a legitimate question, how's about just answering it ... with a smile on your face ... and without the superciliousness.

Thanx in advance

Good list, Pete. Should make a good checklist for others who read this. It's been so many yrs since my 'tiels were laying eggs that I don't have any meaningful pointers for you. Your own observations sound very accurate to me, triggering faint memories. Most of my 'tiels are enjoying their golden yrs, 15-17 yrs old. About 4 yrs ago, one older girl fell madly in love with a youngster and honeymooned for 4 lovely months before laying a tiny egg. The vet thot her next egg would likely be proper size, but alas she had a stroke trying to lay it, went blind and over the next yr her health further deteriorated and she died, her lover at hand

In the last 2 yrs, I've introduced 3 other youngsters to give comfort to my many widowers and the flight has been much livelier as they've matured sexually A couple months ago I found 3 broken eggs, every 2-3 days. I tried hard to decide which girl was laying and, best guess, think it was the flock matriarch, a gorgeous 17yo Lutino. But I don't know for sure. That's how little I can tell from my observations of laying behavior. Sorry.

BUT ... I want to echo Christie's concern about your encouraging your girl to lay by providing access to a nest site. This concern isn't because we at this forum have a no-egg rule that newer members are required to respect It's because a 'tiel who has "for the last month or so, been laying an egg once a week or so" can die very young of reproductive exhaustion. No way I can tell you that with a smile on my face. It's painful to lose a bird you love, especially when the death is unnecessary, caused by your lack of careful supervision. Not that you're the worst who's ever walked this way or that she's likely to die in another month, but we know from experience -- that experience you came here to learn from -- that continual egg making kills our girl 'tiels. That's how I ended up with a flight full of widowers.

So, that's my voice of experience. Not meant to chastise you, but meant to inform. If I were you, I would close those cabinets and discourage her, via diet and 12hr days, to quit making so many eggs, so you can love her yrs longer.

I try to discourage egg laying behavior myself but alias, I am not very successful most of the time.
I think part of it is due to :
1) fresh food that is abundant
2) my very randy male. He is always trying to feed his mate to stimulate her hormones. I try to separate them (in abutting cages so the ysee each other and do not panic) I, of course, let them out and about of the cages for exercise etc.. and that is when Linus makes his move.He is persistant.

Yes, my tiels exhibit a certain behavior prior to egg laying that is pretty consistant. Lucille's beak will turn dark. My other females will arch their backs and "peep". They will also try to rub their backs on swinging toys. I've tried mixing up their toys not to encourage this behavior but.....

Where do they lay the eggs, BB? When I inherited this flock of breeders in '98, I removed all nest boxes, of course, but through some strange logic I can no longer make ANY sense of, I provided a small baking pan each time I found an egg. Naturally the birds quickly came to see the pans as their nests and gave me a lot of eggs to boil for a yr or so. In a panic one day at finding a soft-shelled egg, I removed all the pans of eggs and told them NO MORE! To my astonishment and delight, they laid no more for yrs When finally another egg or three appeared, it was just those few and then none again for another yr or two. Of course, the birds were aging and my females were dying one by one. I'm slightly apprehensive to see where the new youngsters will take me, but one way or another, it will NOT be to new chicks.

Wishing you luck with yours

mallagoodee wrote:Aw geez ... I just knew you weren't gonna answer my question ... and instead offer a negative query of your own.

I did answer, I haven't noticed any behavior change. I wasn't trying to be condescending but I'm honestly curious. I allow my birds to be birds. I couldn't tell you when my tiles were last clipped. The only behavior modification I do is not allowing access to nesting sites. This is for the health of my birds.

Ah-h-h ... but you DID come across as condescending, Christie.
Your 'response' of " ... I haven't" ... was a non-response. To my way of thinking, why respond at all?

And then you asked your question, and I've seen queries like that many times on this forum ... to us bird newbies, ( reminds me of that old joke ... Guy walks into the doctor's office and says, "Doctor, it hurts when I do this! Doctor says, Then don't do this!" ) ... and no explanation as to WHY you're curious, (Thanx, by the way, Bluesbird Exotics for your explanation ... ) and NO little emoticons to temper your response, which I interpreted as bordering on rude.

If there was an emoticon of a granny figure wagging her finger at me, that would've been perfect!

But thanx Christie for this recent response. "Email" responses are notorious for being mis-interpreted. And that what I did.

I attempted to dissuade my 5 or 6 year old 'teil from nesting, just once, for about a month, but the little bird wore me out. She looked and searched out every little dark nook and cranny in the house, all the while displaying an 'antsy', highly energetic, and, yes, irritating behaviour. I finally gave in and let instinct rule. I can only hope she's 'happy'.

Thanx for your replies ... I guess I'll just keep observing this little creature's behaviours for clues as to what's it's thinking!

Keep us updated on what you do notice. I'm notorious for trying to post with a baby in my arms now so responses are much shorter. Please make sure she has plenty of access to calcium and vitamin d to avoid problems.

We are all here to learn, and even after having teils for 24 years now, I'm still learning. Mfids has dealt with chronic egg laying in the past if you do decide you want to encourage your hen to stop laying in the future. I'm sure she has some good advice for it in a flock/bird room situation.

Thank you for reminding me to take a few more minutes to fully answer a question. My lack of sleep is showing and I didn't realize it.

There is something about newspaper on the bottom of the cage that stimualtes egg laying. So I've lined the bottom of the cages with washable old pillow caes. This does help.
however
every single time I am on a trip Lucille will lay an egg.
And I do think it is my fault because i have the pet sitter use newspaper on the bottom since I can not have her 'wash' the pillow cases.
The last time I went away, I bought cage liner paper for the pet sitter to use rather than the "stimulating "newspaper that seemed to have helped a bit.
So the answer to your question is: i think newspaper stimulate nest making so I now use cage liners and pillow cases

My, my ... y'all do tend to jump to conclusions.

Little Bailey doesn't lay 40+ eggs a year. It was only the last month that she was depositing one every 7-10 days ... an-n-n-nd, pushing them out of the 'nest'! That's key information, in my initial posting ... that was missed by you ...

In a year, the most she's laid is 18 ... that's spread out over about 8 months ... and it was about 4 years ago, when she was about 2 years old. Since then, she'll lay maybe 3 clutches of 2 or 3 eggs.

Her diet consists of ... and this is just FYI ... seeds, nuts ( she likes almonds, peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds [2 varieties ]), pellets, greens, rice, pasta, banana, carrot ... just about daily.

... um ... I don't see an 'attachment' icon, and the FAQ's doesn't help in inserting a photo ... suffice to say our little Bailey is doing pretty well ... and she averages about 111 grams ...

Thanx all
Pete

I personally feel that we should not be lining cages with newspaper or pillow cases or whatever else but instead we should be washing/cleaning the grates when that needs doing.

Another personal opinion of mine is that Christie was NOT condescending. She had something to say that other's could benefit from (if not Pete).

mallagoodee wrote:"My, my ... y'all do tend to jump to conclusions.

Little Bailey doesn't lay 40+ eggs a year. It was only the last month that she was depositing one every 7-10 days ... an-n-n-nd, pushing them out of the 'nest'! That's key information, in my initial posting ... that was missed by you ... ……………."

Pete, I feel that YOU need to grow a little tougher skin and NOT try to direct people on how you would like them to speak. Last time I looked, this was still the U.S. where we practice freedom of speech. Christie did not use vulgarity, profanity and did not flame you or similar. I hate it when some of these Internet bird discussion boards are always catering to the overly-sensitive crowd. Sure hope that does not happen here or once more I will head off in search of a more liberal board.

By the way, IMO some of your emoticons and your own words can come across as "condescending", so maybe you should practice what you preach if you want someone to speak in a manner that pleases YOU.