# Cockatiel laid an egg, what do I do!?!?!



## Rawwwrchazli (Mar 16, 2012)

So Minstrel has laid an egg on the floor of her cage. Her and her mate, Figaro are guarding it but, neither of them are sitting on it!
I can see it's got a pinkish hue to it so I'm assuming, as with reptile eggs, it's fertile.
The floor of thier cage is sand, they have forged a dent in the sand an its right in the corner. 
Is it a problem that aren't sitting on it?

They have a flipping' nest box in there! 

I mean I got a female friend for Figaro as he had reached the age where he was getting, shall we say, frustrated!?
He's about 2 and a half and Minstrel is about 18months.
It's their first egg. It was laid at some point today, as it was not there at 6am when I went to feed them.

They also share thier cage with two cheeky budgies, hopefully they'll be good and not harass the egg.


I have an incubator for Gecko eggs which is currently empty: so if them not sitting on it is a bad sign I could incubate it. 
I was eventually expecting eggs, but I was expecting them to be laid in the nest box! And it actually seemed as if Figaro and Minstrel hadn't pair bonded...apparently they have. It's just it's been laid on the floor that's thrown me.


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## Rawwwrchazli (Mar 16, 2012)

Bump :/


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## ljb107 (Nov 16, 2008)

I'd just give them time and take away the egg/eggs if she lays more as its their first time. Just make sure the box is as high as poss in their cage. Also you wouldn't be able to tell the egg is fertile until its been incubated for atleast 7 days.

What have you put inside the nestbox? :2thumb:


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## Rawwwrchazli (Mar 16, 2012)

ljb107 said:


> I'd just give them time and take away the egg/eggs if she lays more as its their first time. Just make sure the box is as high as poss in their cage. Also you wouldn't be able to tell the egg is fertile until its been incubated for atleast 7 days.
> 
> What have you put inside the nestbox? :2thumb:


So I should take it away and incubate it? What temperature?
Someone said I should wait and see of she lays more as neither bird will sit on it until she's done laying? The egg is moving position so they are turning it.

Their nest box is right at the top of thier cage, witch is about 5ft high its self and the cage is off the ground by a good 3 ft so we're talking that the nest box is like 8ft from ground level.
It's got coconut fibre and hay in it and I put some in a tub on the floor for them to pick up and use as they like, they haven't touched it. Nor do they actually go in the nest box, they just sit on top of it. The budgies pop in and out of it but they are both female .

The room they are in also has a Beardie viv and two gecko vivs and is West facing so it's quite warm in there, maybe they don't need to sit on it because it's warm?


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

The budgies going in and out of it may well have put the cockatiel off laying in the box.

Do you want them breeding?


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## Rawwwrchazli (Mar 16, 2012)

Stephen P said:


> The budgies going in and out of it may well have put the cockatiel off laying in the box.
> 
> Do you want them breeding?


Yes I do want them to breed.
I'd like to hand rear or part rear the chicks so they are tame. I get so much enjoyment out of Figaro what with him being so tame, it'd be nice for other people to have the chance/I'd like to keep one or two for myself.

I'd not want her to breed every year though. I have dummy eggs for next year.

My mum used to breed and rear Budgies, but she's not 100% on cockatiel egg rearing behaviour. So I thought, as they are my birds, I'd make sure that the egg/s being on the floor isn't a problem.


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## martyb (Sep 5, 2007)

Just leave it where it is, they lay every other day and dont normally sit until after the 3 egg is laid. You can candle the egg at around 5 days of her sitting on the eggs but your best just to leave them and see if they hatch.

Maybe best to house the budgies somewhere else.

Just to add if she's made a indent in the sand they should be fine they wont get scattered about


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## Rawwwrchazli (Mar 16, 2012)

martyb said:


> Just leave it where it is, they lay every other day and dont normally sit until after the 3 egg is laid. You can candle the egg at around 5 days of her sitting on the eggs but your best just to leave them and see if they hatch.
> 
> Maybe best to house the budgies somewhere else.
> 
> Just to add if she's made a indent in the sand they should be fine they wont get scattered about


I don't have anywhere else to put the budgies! They aren't bothering the egg/s, just a pig they appear to have stolen the nest box!

When I candle am I looking for viens like with my Gecko eggs?


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## ljb107 (Nov 16, 2008)

I'd get another cage for the budgies. Put the box as high as you can in the cage so they can't sit on top of it and fill it a few inches with half peat/half wood shavings and get rid of the hay/coconut fibre.

By taking away, i didn't mean incubate it. Just whatever you want to do with it, bin it or whatever.

After 7-10 days of incubation the eggs should have veins in them.

Lloyd :2thumb:


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## Rawwwrchazli (Mar 16, 2012)

ljb107 said:


> I'd get another cage for the budgies. Put the box as high as you can in the cage so they can't sit on top of it and fill it a few inches with half peat/half wood shavings and get rid of the hay/coconut fibre.
> 
> By taking away, i didn't mean incubate it. Just whatever you want to do with it, bin it or whatever.
> 
> ...


I can't get another cage until Monday, but I'll defo do that. And I'll hoist the nest box up a but more when I get home from work. I've got Wood shavings for the rats bedding, can I use that and buy just some regular peat from b&q or wilkos?

I don't want to chuck it, it must take a lot for them to produce eggs, binning it seems like I've put her through it for nothing. I'll give them both a chance as it's their first egg/s. If she's going to lay more she will have done by Monday, I assume. I like to give animals a chance to do what's natural 
I'll aid in the rearing of the chicks so they'll have help there if they can get them to hatching stage 

If she lays the rest on the floor, should I put her a dish of her seed mix down there once she's started to sit on th eggs?


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## Rawwwrchazli (Mar 16, 2012)

So I still only have one egg.
Both birds have started to share sitting duties, is it normal to have only one egg in a first clutch?
The female isn't egg bound, she's still flying about and eating and drinking. She sits next to the male while he's on the egg, and when she's sitting on it, he preens and gently chirps to her. It's so cute!

He doesn't seem to want to know me right now, I assume that's due to his daddy duties 

Here's Figaro being a good dad


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