Do female birds lay eggs all year, or just in spring/summer?

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.

It is possible the stress of chronic egg laying may be affecting her appearance and feathers. Remove any nesting boxes in the cage. If she's laying in the seed bowl, use a smaller container that she cannot sit in. Limit Camille's exposure to daylight to 8 hours or less. Use a dark cage cover or sheet to block light if necessary. Use a calcium fortified seed mix. Leave the fake eggs in the cage for at least 4 weeks.

If Peaches is laying eggs frequently and you don't want her to, then simply removing any nesting material can help prevent her from doing so. If she continues to lay eggs, you can just remove any laid eggs and make sure she has an extra calcium supplement in addition to a balanced diet to prevent egg binding. Egg food or cuttlebone can both be used to help supplement calcium. Covering at night greatly depends on your own sleep schedule. I've never hard of a set "hours of sleep" lovebirds need, but covering the cage at night when it gets dark, and removing the cover in the morning when you wake up should be fine and help ensure Peaches gets peaceful rest.

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 reaching out about Fifi. Birds aren't "pregnant" per se but are seasonally estrus. They typically lay eggs every 48 hours for several eggs. The female being receptive to a male is unusual after initial periods of copulation, as the female can store sperm for several weeks, for fertilization. That does not mean the male might not continue to try. Good luck.

Thanks for reaching out about Sky. Don't think exhaustion has to do with third clutch but nutritional status and health of hen. If laying lots of eggs, diet needs to consist of more than seed, must include vegetables and a protein source. If trying to stop egg laying, all nesting material needs to be removed, and separated from male. Altering the photoperiod could be helpful. A veterinary visit is recommended to help. Good luck.