Pet Forum / Birds / Birds / January 2004

get near my male cockatiel, but I'm not sure if I should take it away.  None
of my books have any info about this.

Just leave the egg in the cage with your bird.  She'll lay one every other
day probably to complete the clutch, and will eventually lose interest in
them.  Make sure she gets away from the cage to eat if you don't see her
eating much because of sitting so long.  Also, it would be good to add
calcium to her diet.  Mollie loves scrambled eggs with the shells crushed in
them. (no salt or butter)

Good luck!

Laurie

Leave the eggs in the cage, and feed her food like kale which is high in
calcium.

Also, make sure you have an avian vet that knows how to remove an egg when a
bird
gets egg bound. The old advice which says to use heat and lubrication is not
nearly enough. Egg removal is easy for an avian vet who's been trained in
the procedure.

You can help prevent any further egg laying by disrupting her routine. You
do this by re-arranging the contents of her cage, or moving it to a
different location. Make sure she gets at least 12 hours of darkness each
day.

Here is a list of calcium sources I received from my avian vet. My
budgie especially likes kale. If you don't do it already, try clipping the
vegetable or fruit to the side of the cage with a plastic clip (safer) next
to a perch. For some reason, birds will often eat something when it's in
that position even though they've previously ignored it in their food bowls.

Best calcium sources are:

turnip greens, chinese cabbage, mustard greens, leeks, watercress, chard,
collard greens, kale, dandelion greens, endive, beet greens, parsley, yellow
wax beens, blackberries, and papaya.

Moderate calcium sources are:

cabbage, strawberries, turnips, okra, rasberries, green beans, guavas,
apples, pears, mango, radish, eggplant, and romaine lettuce.

Poor calcium sources are:

Blueberries, summer squash, zucchini, carrots, cantaloupe, yams, apricots,
plums, beets, pitted cherries, cucumber, pumpkin, sweet potto, iceberg
lettuce, asparagus, tomato, pineapple, bananas, peas, brussel sprouts,
mushrooms, corn, alfalfa sprouts, kidney beans, lima beans, white potatoes,
green peppers.

Dave

get near my male cockatiel, but I'm not sure if I should take it away.  None
of my books have any info about this.