Yesterday my 14 year old femal cockatiel sat in the bottom corner of her cage (she of course is usually up on the perches, or out on me!) she slept for a while down there, then started chewing and tearing up the paper I put on the bottom of her cage. I am worried about her, is she sick? She acts fine other wise. This morning when I left for work she was doing the same thing down in the corner of the cage.
She has never laid eggs.
I am worried about her.
Any suggestions?
2007-03-12 01:35:53 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Birds
That is nesting behavior, which means she will probably lay eggs. It can start at any time, so age doesn't matter all that much. The main thing to worry about is the fact your cockatiel is 14yrs- you do not want her to start depleting her own calcium at that age.
First take away all the paper on the bottom. Use a grate if you have to, but make sure that she can not make a nest out of anything. Next- rearraign the perchs in her enclosure. She will also need to be covered or put in a closet for at least 14 hrs a day for night time (until she gets over this episode)
If she starts laying eggs, leave them in there until she abandons them (usually about a month). She will lay one or two before she starts brooding. She will have mega poops when she gets off the eggs from not pooping for a couple hours (so watch the floor!)
Make sure you have cuttlebone (even scrape some over her food as well), and give her a lot of veggies to help replenish that calcium she is going to lose. Not enough calcium can lead to eggbinding, which leads to death in most cases, which is a lot more prevalent in older birds with already frail bones.
2007-03-12 02:21:07 · answer #1 · answered by D 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My male Cockatiel does the same thing. Every so often I'll find him in the bottom corner of his cage, chewing paper. Stripping paper is an enjoyable activity for birds. They like to entertain themselves. Do you have many toys in her cage? She could also be bored, looking for something different to do. As long as she isn't acting sick or just sitting there doing nothing at all, I wouldn't worry.
2007-03-12 07:48:02 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Are there any other birds in the cage with her? Maybe she's bored. Many birds can become destructive if they get too bored.. But, if you have a male in the cage, you might be getting some eggs sooooon! ;)
2007-03-12 07:30:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i might guess that she is the two reverting to infant behaviour, attempting to be lovable and submissive, or she is hormonal and desires to electrify you to be her mate! would not appear as if she is unwell or so you might agonize. All birds are persons and have quirky behaviours! certainly one of my birds quivers his wings every time he gets excited and yet another chook sits on the floor and kicks her leg many times onto the floor. they are completely healthful yet only have very own quirks.
2016-11-24 22:06:29 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋