I am REALLY CONFUSED!!! My cockateil laid an egg and for one I didn't know if it was a boy or girl, and for two my bird 'BamBam'(*~previously named~*), now known as 'Pebbles', has never been in another cage with another bird and has only been in her own cage......

Can someone help me out into understanding how she could have laid an egg without having a mating period with another bird?????



Thanks Jenna

Welcome to AnswerPool jenbaby87.

It's not unusual for female birds to lay eggs, even when they don't have a mate. Your cockatiel's egg will not hatch because without a male bird there is no chance that it's fertile.

Do not remove the egg as she will then keep laying more to replace it! This continuous egg laying could be harmful to her health as it uses up her energy and vital nutrients. Fertile cockatiel's eggs normally hatch in 18 to 23 days, so you should let her sit on it for that amount of time even though it will never hatch. Then you can remove it and she hopefully won't lay any more.

Don't worry that your cokatiel only leaves the egg to eat and drink, as this is normal. Make sure that she has a cuttlebone. Cockatiels should have this, but it is even more vital for giving extra calcium when they are laying eggs.

The average number of eggs laid by cockatiels is 4 to 6, so you may get one or two more before she's satisfied!

Karrow's right; egg-laying is stressful. I put my cockatiel to bed a week ago, and found her dead on the bottom of the cage with an new egg lying next to her the following morning. This was a perfectly healthy bird. So keep tabs on what's going on. BTW, my bird was seven years old. Still quite young.