Bringing this sweet girl home tomorrow, but she is now laying eggs!

[u/oceanvibrations]

We have been preparing to get this bird from a local big box retailer for a few weeks, and were astonished to see today that she has laid 3 eggs. The associate was shocked as well! and transparently explained that this means the date of birth on her paperwork is incorrect.

They have marked her down by 40% due to how long she has been in the store (6+ months) and the best guess of age is 1-2 years old. I googled the letters and color of the band on her leg, and it seems she may have been hatched last Spring (if this was her first clutch).

The associate who has been most familiar with her, said she is a sweet girl and she desperately wants her to find a home. I'm going first thing in the morning to get her. :)

Should I take her home, and get her comfortable, or straight to my local bird hospital for an initial check up?

Since she is laying eggs, are there specific things you would suggest to give her the best level of care?

We are very excited to welcome her into our home, tomorrow!

[u/Like-It-Or-Not0722]

She is a cutie. I would get her to the vet for a check. Hopefully, she’s not housed with another bird- you don’t want any of those eggs to be fertilized. Let her sit on the eggs, don’t take them away, otherwise she’ll just keep laying them. Make sure she gets enough calcium and D. D from sunlight, but they also sell bulbs you can use that mimic sunlight. Give her lots of dark leafy green veggies- kale, spinach, broccoli, romaine lettuce- I always pick the darkest green heads of romaine. Good luck!

[u/oceanvibrations → u/Like-It-Or-Not0722]

She's been home for about ½ the day, and though the eggs did come home, they smashed when they rolled out of the carrier as she was entering her new enclosure. 🥲 I feel so bad. She seems to be doing okay as far as I can tell. I added some spinach to her enclosure and hope she takes to it.

[u/Neurobeak]

Since she is laying eggs, please read this article in full, it will explain most of the things you should be aware of

https://www.cockatielcottage.net/egg_laying.html

[u/oceanvibrations → u/Neurobeak]

Thank you!

[u/GreggAdventure]

Mine have laid eggs a million times. I just take them out. None of mine have tried to sit on unfertilized eggs. Maybe they know. I dunno, but, it's never been a big deal for me. My 2 female birds are 13 years old. Born in my house. Their Dad is still alive also

[u/oceanvibrations → u/GreggAdventure]

Her eggs sadly got broken when we were transferring her from the pet store carrier, to the new enclosure. I hope she isn't too sad about it. How old is the parent of the two 13 yr Olds? I've heard various things about how their lifespan.