Hi! I need some advise please. Ramon and Cherub have been sitting on 5 fake eggs now for about 30 days. I was getting. Ready to pull the eggs and take away nest box but was waiting till it looked like they were giving up. Well that didn't happen and last night Cherub laid a first egg of double clutch. I could just kick myself! I wasn't fast enough! had been slowly starting the longer night treatment too . So now what? Do I take away the first 5 eggs and let them sit on the new ones for 21 days? Or do I leave them all in hoping she won't lay as many?

I had been successful with the long night treatments for the last two years prior after they had one successful clutch This spring just sprung up on me (sorry for the pun) I wasn't paying attention to the signs too much other stuff going on with all my four leggers! Totally my fault and believe me I hate switching eggs! I feel so bad! They are such good parents and so determined I just never feel right about
tricking them.

Anyway sorry for long post any advice would be greatly appreciated !

You could try taking away the nest and either starting an intense version of the long nights treatment (14 hours a night) or hitting them with 24 hours of light per day, as well as rearranging the cage and moving it to a different location. Take the eggs away as soon as they're laid. She'll probably lay another egg or two but hopefully this change will throw her off enough that she'll stop laying quickly. If it doesn't, then give her a bunch of fake eggs so hopefully she'll think she has a full clutch, and keep up with the anti-hormone techniques.

Thank you Carolyn! I am really hesitant about taking away the nest and upsetting them. I know! And I know her she will lay them somewhere unsafe. The first one she laid in the bottom of Amadeus's cage ( my Amazon )! He wasn't in it at the time of course but still! That's why I gave them their box. What if I put 4 fake ones in now do you think that might help her not to lay more? I usually switch them one at a time right after she lays them . And keep long night treatments?

The problem right now is that she has a lot of eggs in the nestbox that she knows aren't going to hatch. If you can add four more eggs so she has a total of 10 (or whatever), that might have an effect. Some cockatiels don't respond to this technique though - Shodu seems to know how many eggs she has laid and won't stop until she's reached her quota, no matter how many eggs are in the nest.

If you need to give her a box to keep her out of dangerous places, make it one that is NOT a nice cozy enclosed nestbox. Put an open box in the bottom of the cage for her to use, and go heavy on the long nights and other hormone control techniques: http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.com/i ... mones.html

Thank you Carolyn, ok so I had the opportunity (both out of the nest box for a quick minute) so I pulled the first 5 . Cherub is in the box now and Ramon is watching over it like a hawk I am going to give lights out super early and do all the hormone techniques you reccomend. Thank you for the link. I figured they know these eggs are bad so it wouldn't make a difference. I know you are right they are too smart to be tricked into thinking they laid eggs already if I put a bunch in. They can count! I will try switching things around tomorrow and an open nest box and the things you suggested.

I don't think they actually can count, but the hen knows whether she's laid a bunch of eggs or just one. If you had to pass something that big out of your body you'd have a pretty good idea of how many times you'd done it too.

Exactly! I can't understand why the people who sell them tell you to put them all together.
When I dismantled Trilly and Frank's nest this last time, I found SEVEN proper eggs buried under the bedding underneath the dummy eggs! I thought I had fooled her, turns out she fooled me instead.

At least the real eggs didn't hatch. That would have been quite a surprise.

You beat me to it

That would be very shocking.

seven babies, possibly hatching on moving day... more of a heart attack than a surprise

Surely it's puzzling how this time only one hatched and the baby didn't make it.