Egg Laying

Gail · New Member Joined: Feb 06, 2006 Posts: 1

I bought a 6 month old male bird back in October 2005. Turns out my male bird is actually female and had passed 7 eggs in only 6 weeks. Is this normal? And how long will this go on for? Is it just a seasonal thing?

I was considering putting in another bird for company but now i am unsure because i wouldn't want to start them breeding if it's a male or if i introduced a female, would they be compatible? If i introduced a cockateil, would my kakarike feel threatened by a larger bird because he has been on his own since i bought him?

Please help !!

Gail.

Kaka-riki · Site Admin Joined: May 30, 2005 Posts: 363

Hi Gail,
Welcome to the site. What you are experiencing is very common among hen Kakariki that are housed as pets. Egg laying is a natural occurence and the fact that there is no male present wont stop her from laying eggs.

There is nothing wrong with what she is doing and eventually she will stop. With no nest box or mate around she will give up in time. However, in the short term make sure she has plenty of calcium intake as producing eggs can be very taxing on a hen birds health. If nothing else is available give her some cuttlefish pieces and you can even mash a small piece on to her fresh food if need be.

I would refrain from introducing a mate for her until the egg laying has ceased. Hens can be aggressive in protecting their eggs and the added stress may cause her harm. Once she has stopped you should be okay to introduce a new mate. It would be highly unlikely that a cockatiel would produce fertile eggs with a Kakariki but to be on the safe side perhaps you should consider a hen cockatiel as well.