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What to do if my female budgie keeps laying eggs after her mate died?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Bird | Parakeet | Female | unspayed

My male budgie recently passed away yesterday. The problem is, the male budgie has a female partner named Baby. She is currently in mating period. She just laid one egg. She appears to still want to lay eggs after her partner died. I have other male budgies in another cage. I have 15 budgies currently. 2 of my female birds are mating and staying in the nestbox at this time. How can I continue having 15 budgies? Should I throw the eggs away? I just don’t want any more birds...

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on September 10th, 2019

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.

3Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Ady Y. Gancz, DVM, ABVP (Avian), ECZM
Veterinarian, Board-certified avian specialist
Published on November 29th, 2017
Hi, and thank you for this question,
If they have a nesting box please remove it. Please give them a longer night vs. day (for the next 2 weeks make their night longer by 15 min every 2 days) . They should sleep in a completely dark and quiet room. During the day, move the cage to different locations in the house. If all this fails, please contact a vet to discuss the option of GNRH implants.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on December 10th, 2016
You will need to get a second opinion from a veterinarian who treats birds regularly. Your bird likely will need some hormone treatment (leuprorelin acetate injections) to stop laying eggs.
In the meantime do the following:
1) Ensure that your bird is eating a "Complete Diet". It should specify on the box of the food.
2) Do not remove the eggs from the nest. If she sits on them, leave the eggs in the cage for 21 days or until she loses interest.
3) Remove nest boxes, nest material and possible nesting sites.
4) Pretend that the days are much shorter, i.e. send your bird to bed much earlier than usual by covering the cage with a cloth. Daylight stimulates egg-laying. The cage needs to be completely dark and it needs to be quiet (no TV or radio playing)
5) Take her food away after breakfast and only put it back into the cage in the late afternoon. Plenty of food encourages egg laying.

2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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Related Questions

Training & Behavior

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

Expect more eggs. Budgies will lay one egg every 24-48 hours until they have a clutch of 4-8 eggs. A hen does not need a male in order to lay eggs. Discourage breeding by removing any nesting boxes or bowls that she can lay eggs in. Move her away from windows and decrease the amount of light she is exposed to during the day. Do not remove any eggs until she is done laying. Removing them early may cause her to lay more eggs. You do not need to do anything to "take care" of the clutch. If you do not want chicks, wait until the clutch is laid then remove and discard them. Replace them with dummy (fake) eggs. These can be purchased in most pet stores. Leave the dummy eggs in place until the hen loses interest then remove the.

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Why is my budgie laying too many eggs and her vent is swollen?

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.

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My lovebird male broke her egg. What should I do? Separate them?

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Why didn't my budgie's eggs hatch? Can females lay infertile eggs?

Yes, female birds can lay eggs without a male around but they will not be viable so should be removed. Males can mate with males, but if you suspect you have a male, and a female, and they've mated and laid eggs, then you probably have a pair (and at least one female). If the eggs haven't hatched in three weeks they are likely not viable and should be removed.

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My budgie laid eggs. How do I know if they'll hatch and what to do?

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.

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My parakeet keeps laying eggs. How to stop it and keep her healthy?

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My female bird laid an egg. Will she lay more? How do I care for her?

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.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

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