What does Hana want?

[miracleleo]

Hana, a 1.5 years old female, has been showing nesting behavior. She is constantly looking for paper to build her nest in the lower corner of the cage and her snuggle hut. She shreds paper towel that is bottom liner on the cage. Her fecal and vent are larger. She eats normal. She makes lots of mess with water – somehow she does poop in her water container these days. I have to change it more often. She sleeps in her snuggle hut but she goes to the bottom of the cage to ring a bell toy hanging from the side of the cage 3-5 times in the middle of night, 3 days in a row. My husband and I keep our birds closer to where we sleep. We both and other birds wake up by the sound. She usually rings her bell when she wants attention/treat/getting out of her cage during daytime. We feel she is trying to say something by ringing the bell but we both don’t know what it is in this case. This did not happen before. Any idea?

[BarbieH]

It's a guess, but I think she may be trying to shred either the bell or whatever the bell is hanging from. It sounds like they're calling for maid service, :lol but really they are not.

Another idea is that she just wants to stay in contact with you without chirping. Nesting hens are notorious for sleeping very lightly at night and being very watchful. They are also much less vocal.

You will probably want to remove her snuggle hut. I don't think it will stop her from nesting, but you don't want her to lay the egg from the hut. It would break on the bottom of the cage. And you never know -- removing the hut might put off her nesting for a little while.

Best wishes, :)

[mjm8321]

And for your own sanity and sleep, you might remove the bell. :wink:

[bellarains]

I think Hana wants a nestbox ;)

If you don't want to hang a box, you can modify a Kleenex box by taking out the the center part where the Kleenex comes out of, and she will modify it from there. If she is in nesting mode, and her vent is enlarged, she most likely won't be deterred for long if at all, and if she lays a clutch of eggs, she needs to be able to sit on them until the cycle is complete, usually about 23 days. You will know when she is ready to abandon the eggs as she will become more active and vocal, and may scatter the eggs also.

If she is not allowed to complete her clutch, she may continue to lay, and this can cause health issues, so if she lays eggs, let her keep them until she determines they are infertile. In saying this, I am assuming Hana is a single hen?????

[miracleleo]

I have 3 more lovebirds but I put them in individual cages. Hana is a female.

If she has eggs, they should be infertile since She had no contact with a male bird. I saw Leo was in similar mood in the past but she did not lay an egg at all. Hana's vent seems to be enlarged.

I wonder if removing a hut will stop her being in nesting mode. She keeps shreding liner paper on the cage and trying to make a nest in the lower corner of the cage. Or should I put a nest box even though most likely eggs are infertile.

By the way she rang the bell last night just once. I woke up and gave a little piece of paper to see how she responds to it. That may have worked. She stopped ringing later.

[Mummieeva]

it sounds like she has already decided she wants to lay eggs. I would give her a box and see. Just keep a good eye on her.



Steph

[bellarains]

Hey,

You can try removing the hut, it may or may not put her off. You could also move the cage location, as sometimes this will make her feel a little uneasy about laying her eggs away from her usual comfort area.

The vent being enlarged tends to mean that the time for putting it off has passed. The most important this is that she be comfortable to lay her eggs, and complete the clutch. If within a day or two you don't see a change in her behavior, and her vent is still enlarged, I would go ahead and give her a box. Egg laying can be very stressful, and you want to make the experience as comfortable as possible for her :)

[BarbieH]

By the way she rang the bell last night just once. I woke up and gave a little piece of paper to see how she responds to it. That may have worked. She stopped ringing later.

Dang! She's got you trained to respond to a bell! :lol :lol Don't let her get ahold of a clicker. ;)

Go ahead and remove the hut and see what happens. It may hold off her egg-laying, but only temporarily if at all. In any case, you will want to remove the hut.

Best wishes,

[miracleleo]

We are leaving for a short trip soon to visit families. During the time I will have a pet sitter coming home twice a day to take care of our birds. My biggest concern is Hana, of course, especially being in the mood.
I explained the situation to the pet sitter and contact a vet if she notices changes in Hana's behavior. I am thinking to leave her to a regular vet instead or schedule a checkup before we leave. I am removing her hut to see what happens.