# Budgie laid an egg



## azbirds (Aug 12, 2013)

My 8-month old budgie Sammy just laid an egg. She is alone in her cage. I noticed that over the last week or so that she was very playful and active with her new toy on the bottom and new kabob near the top of the cage. Last night we noticed a bulge near her vent and her poop has been larger than normal. This evening, she laid the egg and the egg looks normal nearest I can tell. It is white and solid. I removed the egg.

She is sleeping on and off near her toy on the bottom of the cage. I did see her climb around the cage, fly a bit, preen herself, and dig against the cage floor. She also ate from my hand and seemed to be searching around for calcium source. I saw her eating cuttlebone. I now see her biting the cage floor. Is this because I removed the egg?

I have never seen any of my budgies lay before. I am nervous. Is there anything I should do or just let her rest this evening? Thanks.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi there!

You did the right thing in removing the egg :thumbsup: I'm glad she seems fine and had no difficulties passing the egg :clap:

I doubt she's looking for it now, she's probably just restless or in a mood to chew because of her hormones. If she lays again, remove the egg also, but right now you should rearrange her cage completely to throw her off from the breeding cycle 

Now and in the future, you can follow the advice in this link: http://talkbudgies.com/budgie-breeding/90584-when-we-dont-want-eggs.html

Best of luck!


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## immorgan (Jun 30, 2016)

This is stated in the link Starling provided, but my avian vet recommends what she calls "hurricane therapy."
Basically, birds will lay eggs when they feel the environment is safe enough to raise babies. Hurricanes are, obviously, not safe and in the wild, an impending hurricane/storm will discourage any egg-laying.
So recreate that! Introduce new perches and toys and rearrange the cage setup, as if a hurricane hit! You don't have to buy all new things, but a few new items in the cage will help  While your bird is busy adjusting to this new, potentially dangerous, environment, she won't consider laying.


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## azbirds (Aug 12, 2013)

Thank you both for the help and suggestions! I have been very worried for her and am glad the egg passed okay.

I rearranged several items and covered up her cage so she can rest. Tomorrow, I will work on changing out and moving around some more toys and perches in her cage.

Since my last posting, she has been playing with her wheel toy on the bottom and she sat on my hand for a while and chewed on my fingers. She also ate quite a bit. She is now resting on her swing.


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

You have been given excellent advice and I hope you will be able to throw your budgie off her nesting mood and break the egg laying cycle.

Can you tell us which type of toy do you have at the cage's bottom?
If your budgie is particularly attached to a given toy (like a mirrored toy, a plastic toy shaped like a budgie/bird for example) or the toy makes for a good hiding spot, then to further discourage your budgie from being broody and wanting to lay, you will have to remove these toys/items and replace them for new ones.
Having a toy on the bottom of the cage may also not be a good idea especially if your female has nesting tendencies.

Is this the first time that your budgie has come into breeding condition?
If so and given her young age and the fact that she has exhibited these symptoms so early and if nothing on her environment would encourage her to lay an egg, then you will have to keep a close watch on your budgie, do your best to follow the recommendations on the link given to you above and see if you are successful in keeping the breeding behaviour/egg laying under control.

Best of luck with your budgie girl!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I agree the advice you have been given is excellent. :thumbsup:

Could you post a picture of your budgie and her cage layout?
We may be able to offer you additional advice if we can see what is actually in her cage.

Information for helping discourage egg laying can be found in this link:
When We Don't Want Eggs

Best wishes!*


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## azbirds (Aug 12, 2013)

I am reading over the link, thanks.

I took a picture of the cage which is attached. We had to separate her from another bird in another cage early on due to them not getting along.

You can see the wheel toy on the shelf below the cage. She is also quite fond of the large kabob in the upper right corner. Since we have had her, she has been a nervous bird that likes to chew. She was chewing off her own tail. Since adding these toys, she has redirected her chewing tendencies to the toys instead and her tail is growing back again.

I also added in some extra food from Goldenfeast and she has herb salad. I am worried she might become calcium deficient if she continues to lay eggs.

I can buy some new toys for her today. Would it also help if I moved the cage to another location?


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Yes, you can certainly change the location of the cage as that can also be helpful to throw her out of breeding condition.
Since she likes to chew so much, you can get her a couple more wooden toys for her to chew on, just make sure that they are not the log type of chew toys because those can be use as nests.
If she lays on the wheel toy, it may be best to remove it from the cage.

If your budgie has been on a good, balanced diet and has full access to a reliable calcium source, she shouldn't have any problems if she lays more eggs or even completes one clutch.

Time will tell whether the measures you have taken to discourage her from laying will be successful or not. Hopefully everything goes well and this was only a one time occurrence.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I can't see the picture very well.
Does your budgie have a swing in the cage? Most budgies love swings.

http://talkbudgies.com/housing-budgies/31719-essentials-great-cage.html

Do you have a cuttlebone, mineral block and manu rose in her cage? The cuttlebone is important for calcium and the mineral block and manu rose will help provide additional nutrients.

You can add a calcium supplement to her diet for a few weeks to ensure her body is not depleted of calcium.

Calciboost from The Bird Care Company for Calcium Deficiencies 1

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-diet-nutrition/315033-healthy-diet-your-budgie.html*


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## azbirds (Aug 12, 2013)

Sorry the picture did not come through well for you. I will try and post it differently later this evening.

For calcium, she has a cuttlebone, two mineral blocks, some calcium powder from Zoomed, a seashell mineral perch with calcium, and a bee pollen perch which also has calcium. The perches are from drs foster and smith. I found another product from the business that makes Herb Salad, Twin Beaks Aviary called Hatched Calcium. From what I read it can be mixed with Herb Salad. I ordered it but it will take a few days to get here. I hope all together this gives her sufficient options to find calcium and minerals.

She does have a swing that she sleeps on nightly and I have rearranged some of her cage.

Today she has been very cheerful, chirping happily, and even more social with me than normal. I saw her pulling at the cage bars on the floor with her beak on and off. Last I saw, her poop was still watery and larger than normal. I am not sure if she is planning to lay another egg.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*With all the great things you have in her cage, she definitely has access to enough calcium. :thumbsup:

Hopefully having rearranged her cage and moving it to a different room will be enough to break the breeding cycle.

A budgie lays a specific number of eggs each cycle.

The first week the hen's body is preparing to lay the eggs.
The next two weeks is when the eggs are laid.

If a hen begins a cycle and you remove the egg(s) and start action to break the cycle, she will often continue to lay until the changes in the environment trigger her body to stop.

Please keep us updated on how she is doing.

Best wishes!*


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## azbirds (Aug 12, 2013)

She just laid a second egg. It looks normal nearest I can tell. She has moved the egg underneath her in the corner of the cage. Should I take this one out as well or leave it for a bit?

We just moved her cage to another location. I hope this might help prevent laying of further eggs.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*You need to remove the second egg and toss it.

It would be best to rearrange and relocate her cage every couple of days. 
Be sure to limit the amount of protein in her diet and restrict her to no more than 8 hours of daylight per day.*


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## azbirds (Aug 12, 2013)

i removed the egg and will take your advice.

She is moving around again and currently up on a perch alternating between chirping and sleeping. I saw her eat food and minerals.

I moved her cage to the living room and the room is partially darkened.

Thank you for helping me out. I appreciate it.


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## azbirds (Aug 12, 2013)

I have been spending quite a bit time with my budgie trying to discourage her from spending too much time at the bottom of the cage. She likes to go down there and bite on the bars as if trying to build a nest. Despite my efforts of moving the cage and rearranging her toys and perches, she appears to have another egg. I see a small bulge underneath her again and suspect she will lay again later today or this evening. I gave her a second cuttlebone and she has been eating quite a bit of that along with other minerals.

I have also tried moving her yesterday to a third room away from my other budgies and cages but she continued to chew on the bars on the bottom.

I found a website that sells dummy eggs that look near the same as the ones that my budgie laid previously and are available in different sizes. Would this be worth a try? If she continues laying, typically how many more eggs would she lay before the breeding cycle ends?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I would not recommend using the fake eggs.

She may end up laying a total of 5-8 eggs before stopping. 
You should continue to discourage breeding behavior by the actions you've been taking. 
Hopefully, soon her body will register the changes in her environment and she'll stop before laying that many.*


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## azbirds (Aug 12, 2013)

I hope it is okay that I post further updates.

Sammy laid a third egg tonight. Three days went by since the last egg and there were two days between the egg before that.

For quite some time, she chewed on the bars on the bottom in the corner which I was worried about. If I give her the wheel toy on the bottom of the cage, she will chew on that instead. Edit: She finally came up and ate quite a bit and is back to flying, chirping, and chewing her kabob. I am just glad her egg passed okay and looks normal. I hope the breeding cycle will end soon as laying the eggs seems to tire her for a bit afterwards.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Of course you can continue to post updates about little Sammy.
I'm assuming the bars of the cage that she's chewing on are in good shape - correct?

It's normal that she's a bit tired after laying the egg.

It is a good sign that she is now flying, chirping and chewing on her kabob. Hopefully that indicates you've managed to break the cycle now. :fingerx:

Try to keep her engaged with you whenever possible and continue to rearrange the cage and move it to different locations. It's really important that you keep her daylight hours limited to nor more than 8 right now.*


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## azbirds (Aug 12, 2013)

Today is two weeks since Sammy last laid an egg.

She has been hyperactive at times including flying all over and being very vocal. I do still see her go to the bottom on and off throughout the day and kick back towards the corner. Her cere color is a mix of white and tan. I wonder if she sees me as her mate as when I am home, she tends to go down more often, bobs her head at my finger, and is generally very vocal.

She now has the hatched calcium along with the herb salad from Twin Beaks Aviary. This is just in case she decides to lay eggs again. I still do move her cage around periodically and have some more toys and kabobs on order to mix things up. The bars are in good shape. Thanks again for the help.

Here she is:


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Excellent!

The fact that it has been 2 weeks since Sammy has laid an egg and her beak is a mix of white and tan indicate she's come out of breeding condition.

I would continue to limit her daylight hours as well as continuing to rearrange the cage every few days.

Sammy is a very pretty little girl! Please keep us updated on how she's doing.

Best wishes!*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

I'm so glad that Sammy seems to have come out of breeding condition, that's great news 

Well done, and keep up the good work  

I hope she continues to do well


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## azbirds (Aug 12, 2013)

Today is three weeks since her last egg. Unfortunately, she laid another egg today. She has been acting very hyperactive the last few days. Also, her vent area was swollen and poop watery which made me suspect another egg was on the way. I have been trying my best to help her out of that breeding mode and moved her cage again this evening.

I have been reading about chronic egg layers. If she has sufficient calcium, other minerals, and good quality food, will this minimize the possibility of egg binding? Her four eggs she has laid to date appear to be about the same size, hard, well formed, and weighing about 1.665 - 2.250 grams each. It does not seem like there is any unusual complications with her ability to produce and lay eggs so far.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Continue to ensure she has plenty of calcium and minerals and is on a good healthy diet.

It sounds as though you are doing your best to help her come out of condition. Keep up the good work! :hug:

Hopefully, the period of time between laying will lengthen even more. If not, you may want to consult an Avian Vet regarding the advisability of getting hormone injections for her.*


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