My budgie laid an egg, I don't want chicks. What should I do?

My condolences on the loss of your male budgie. Do not throw the egg away without replacing it. This may spur her to lay more. You can replace the egg(s) with dummy eggs. Find them in the Avian section of the local Petco. Leave the dummy eggs in the nest box for 2-3 weeks, then remove one every few days until none remain. Hens will lay eggs regardless of whether or not they mate. To stop egg laying, limit exposure to daylight (use a cage cover or move them away from windows, light sources, etc.) and lower room temperature by a few degrees. To prevent mating, you will need to separate males from females.

Thanks for your question about Bibi. Budgies typically only form one egg at a time inside their bodies, so if Bibi just laid an egg, she hopefully doesn’t have another present yet. With that said, they can form and lay an egg in about 24 hours, so she may be making another one currently that you could see in another day or two. Usually budgies will lay around 3-5 eggs. I didn’t see if this was the first egg of her clutch or not, but if it is, she is likely to lay more. I would recommend keeping a close eye on her to make sure she isn’t having difficulty laying her additional eggs and that her appetite is normal. Providing her with extra calcium will be important while she is laying as well. I hope that helps to answer your question, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It would depend on if the eggs are fertilized or not. If you only have female budgies the eggs will not be fertilized and will not hatch. If you have a mating male with female I would recommend keeping the birds in a quiet location that is low stress. The female bird will care to the eggs and keep them warm. If you find she is leaving them in the open you. An put material in the cage so she can build a nest.

Laying so many clutches of eggs and raising that many chicks can be taxing on a bird. Ideally, a breeding hen should have no more than two clutches per calendar year. Remove the remaining chicks from the cage if they are eating on their own. Remove the nesting box as well. Separate the male and female. Drop room temperature by a few degrees and gradually limit her amount of daylight she is getting. This may get her out of "breeding mode" and stop her egg laying. She should be seen by an experienced avian veterinarian to make sure the inflammation around her vent is not infection.

Leave them in the nest or nest box for a couple weeks, then remove one egg each week until they are gone. Removing them too soon or all at once may trigger more egg laying. You can also lower room temperature by a few degrees and limit her exposure to light. Shorten her days by using a cage cover in the early evening.

Incubation in budgies is about 18 days from the day the hen begins sitting on The eggs. You are probably correct in saying the eggs are infertile. If there is no male present, they are definitely infertile. Wait until Coco loses interest, then remove and discard the eggs. This will prevent her from laying "replacement" eggs. Remove the nest box afterwards.

I've attached some articles about budgies and egg laying. If mom is tossing eggs out of the nest something in the environment is not conducive to her sitting on them. Make sure the cage is big enough and that they have an adequate nest box. Make sure they are on a high quality food- seeds are not sufficient for an egg laying bird. She needs pelleted diet, fresh foods and calcium supplementation. It's recommended not to let her have more than 1-2 clutches a year to prevent health issue for Boo Boo. http://budgieplace.com/breeding.html https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/egg-laying-affects-pet-bird/