why is my single female budgie laying eggs?

Question

my budgie charlie is 4 years old and a lutino, she was chewing everything in sight & seemed bored, so i bought a straw box from the pet shop & put it in her cage to chew, thinking she would stop chewing my wallpaper ect., but she has started to lay eggs, 5 in total so far, & acts strange around my son. she goes into a trance when he talks to her & her head & tail go up towards the ceiling making a u shape, can anyone explain what is happening to her, & why does she carry on having eggs?

Answer 1

I had a friend whose quaker did that... I believe she said it is called 'nesting'... and I do believe it is quite normal for caged birds to do this... their unfertilized of course so don't expect any baby birds to hatch from them.... as for the funny way your bird acts around your son....it sounds like the bird has a serious "crush" on him. LOL

Answer 2

Err, sorry the person who said "birds lay eggs and THEN cockerals fertilise them" is, err, wrong...never seen a cockeral jump on an egg

Anyway, Birgs lay eggs, no problem. She may stay broody though, so to break the habit take all the eggs away, don't leave any with her and reduce the nesting ability, remove shavings, maybe put her on a wiremesh rather than solid floor. Sounds cruele but she may end up starving herself waiting for the eggs to hatch

crack the eggs in the sink, flush the yolk away and bin the shells. Throwing them at the end of the garden will encourage rodents.

Answer 3

All, or most, female birds will produce an egg at some point in their life, usually at a younger age when they can produce lots but birds can lay throughout their lives. This is a very natural thing for a bird to do and shouldn't be anything to worry about.
I have seen a lot of people totally confused when their single female bird suddenly lays an egg. A bird does not need a mate to lay an egg. The difference is that the egg laid by a single female bird will not be fertile, whereas a female that is part of a pair can lay a fertile egg. A simple way of understanding why a single female produces eggs without a male present is to compare the situation to humans. Each month, women go through a menstrual cycle but don't get pregnant unless, of course, they have been fertilized by a male. The same applies to birds, which can cycle without producing a fertile egg. A cycle will usually result in an unfertile egg.
During the time when a female bird produces eggs, changes happen in her body that will need an aware owner to help with. An egg is made when yolk is released from the ovary into the oviduct, where it will take 3 weeks or so for the body to form a hard shell around the egg and expel it. This hard egg shell takes a lot of calcium to form, and a cycling bird will need plenty of extra calcium in her diet to help her do this. If a cycling bird does not get an adequate supply in calcium, it can result in her eggs being deformed, soft-shelled eggs and hypocalcaemia, which affects her bones. Extra calcium can be given to your bird in the form of a good supplement, like Zolcal, which contains vitamin D3. D3 enables the bird to absorb the calcium, and a bird usually gets a good supply of D3 through natural daylight. This is why it is always a good idea to place your bird's cage where it can receive natural light (not too much direct sunlight), so your bird can get its own supply of D3. Cuttlebone should always be made available for your bird, but contrary to what people say, it isn't a good enough source of calcium to be relied upon, especially during cycling. You can feed your bird crushed up egg shell, egg food, and egg biscuits to aid with calcium supply.
When a bird is cycling, you may notice that she is more active and playful than normal, showing affection towards her toys or you and regurgitating seed as a sign of affection towards the favorite toy or to herself in a mirror. She can seem incredibly excited when at play, and a clear sign that she is cycling is when her tail goes up vertically, accompanied by soppy, fluffy eyes (increased white rings around the eyes). This is when the bird ovulates, and she usually does this during mating with a mate. If there isn't one, she will do it to you or her toys. You may also notice her increased appetite and a slight weight gain, which is her conditioning herself to lay. She will try to prepare a nesting area. You may find her sitting in the seed bowl and kicking out all the seed or shredding up paper on the bottom of her cage. She may even fancy the wall paper as a nesting material and start stripping it off

Answer 4

She's chewing because she wants to make a nest. and have babies. You provided a nest with the straw box which influenced her to lay eggs. Get chew toys instead, leather or wood chunks. Since she's alone get her a mirror with the beads or bells to occupy her time. They like swings. Be careful with strings, accidents happen.

Answer 5

She's broody. She probably sees the straw box as a safe place to nest in.

The thing she's doing with your son, believe it or not, is that she sees some form of attachment with him. She sees his talking as 'flirting'.

The raising of the tail shows that she's trying to position herself for mating to take place. Hens tend to raise their tail, and cocks tend to lower theirs.

She continues to lay eggs in the hope that they'll become fertilised. As others have already stated, you could always get her a mate.

Answer 6

A female bird can lay eggs without a male. Think of chickens - they lay eggs and then the cockerel fertilises them, not before

Answer 7

It is a natural instinct to breed.The position she is going into is the position any female budgie would adopt in order that a male budgie can mate with her.The male would climb on her back when she is in this position.

Answer 8

the eggs will be unfertile , but because she is so broody you should seriously consider finding her a mate or perhaps some other budgie breeder may be able to help you or at least the bird !!!

Answer 9

she wants to have a little family of her own she is trying to make her self avilable to your son leave her eggs with her dont take them away as she will just lay more

Answer 10

birds usually lay unfertalized eggs
but about the other behavior .. check with a vet