Eggs, eggs, & more eggs

[Rooster22]

I have a creamino/lutino (albino peachfaced, I believe she came from the blue mutation) and she has started laying eggs continuously. It is her third clutch this season (four in total). I had read that there are two methods of dealing with egg laying, the first is to wait one week after the last egg is laid then start removing them one a week. The second method is to remove the eggs immediately.
So far I have only tried the first method and intend on trying the second and comparing the results of her behaviour.
I do not have a problem with her egg laying except for the fact that she has become such a b@!*$ and extremely territorial of her cage. It became so bad that when she first started laying eggs, I stopped taking her out of her cage. She did not come out for about a year. I have since started taking her out of the cage while wearing a thick leather work glove (I am not a wimp, I am just not into S&M), because any time my hand enters the cage she attacks it with single mindedness, to the point where if I remove my hand from the cage with her latched on, she comes with it. Once out of the cage for a few minutes practicing step-ups and/or wing flapping exercises she returns to her previous self (before she started laying eggs).
If I remain in the same room as her cage, she will try to return to it. She only likes being out of cage for 10-20 minutes now (before >1hr) then she starts to get a little restless.
I have tried rearranging her cage and cover her cage at night, this only delayed egg laying.
Wondering if diet has anything to do with egg laying? She is currently eating pellets.
Considering her behaviour, is it wise to take her out of her cage while she is maturing eggs for laying?
Looking for any suggestions to help minimize her egg laying period, so we can enjoy each others company without being separated by bars.

Thanks in advance,
Rich

[linda040899]

Hi and welcome to our community!
Chronic egg laying (that's the proper terminology for it) is very common with lovie hens. They start laying and forget to stop! Unfortunately, it can lead to serious health problems if they are not forced to rest in between clutches. Three clutches in a 12 month period is way, way, way too many eggs!

While an all pelleted diet is not a good thing for small birds (40% pellets is the currently recommended amount), at least she's getting calcium and Vit D. That's the upside. However, each time she lays, she depletes her body of calcium quicker than she can replace it and her body does not get a chance to recover. Eventually, she can quite possibly become egg bound.

Since rearranging her cage doesn't do much, try giving her a completely different cage in a different location. If you take her out of her cage, take her where she can't see her cage and you will find her attitude will change somewhat. I would not remove her eggs, but rather, wait for her to abandon them. Remove anything and everything that she might view as potential nesting material. You may find that she will go looking outside her cage for what you can't find inside her cage! This is not acceptable, either. It's going to take some work and patience on your part, but you have to break the egg laying cycle for as long as you can.

[BarbieH]

Hi Rich;

It may help if you let her finish laying the clutch, and let her sit on it until 23 days after the last egg was laid -- considerably longer than the one-week delay after the last egg.

It takes 23 eggs for a lovebird egg to develop and the chick to hatch; if your pretty hen is allowed to sit on all the eggs until she knows there is no possibility that any of them will hatch, she may abandon the nest on her own (scatter the eggs and nesting material, stop sitting on them). Let her get this out of her system, or she may just try to keep replacing the eggs that were removed.

Hope that helps. :)

[Rooster22]

Thanks for your suggestions.
I must admit that I am guilty of supplying my hen with and endless (almost) supply of tubes from toilet paper, aka nesting material (oops). Was just giving her something to destroy and expend some of her energy. Just like what I have read, the problem is not the parrot but the caregiver misinterpreting them ...
I will stop supplying her with "nesting material" and let her sit on the eggs until she looses interest. I hope it is sooner rather than later. I have already given her a seed mixture that contains pellets.

Thanks again,
Rich