Why Do Parakeets Eat Their Eggs?

Parakeets have a lot of behaviors that can seem a little strange to humans. They may sleep on one leg, make a lot of different sounds that you may not hear with other birds, and are more social than many would expect when they first bring them home.

One behavior that you may notice with your parakeet when you bring them home is that some will eat their eggs! 

It can be a little strange to see your parakeet eating their own eggs. Understanding why this is happening and some of the steps you can take to prevent it will make things easier.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the reasons why a parakeet will eat their eggs and a few of the steps you can take to prevent this. 

Why Do Parakeets Eat Their Eggs?

They may need to eat their eggs to get certain nutrients into their diet or if they feel like there is some danger to the eggs and they need to get rid of them before a predator can take over. Others will do it out of boredom because they are not getting the kind of entertainment they would like.

No matter what seems to cause the parakeet to eat their eggs, it is not a common occurrence. 

There are a number of reasons why your parakeet may choose to eat their eggs. One of the reasons is that they have a calcium insufficiency in their own diet.

You must ensure that the bird is getting a varied diet to make sure that this is not going to happen all the time. Even when you make improvements to the diet and increase the amount of calcium that the parakeet is able to eat, they could continue to eat the eggs out of habit. 

If you are interested in the parakeet breeding and would like to encourage it, then make sure that they have their own nesting box.

If this is a lone female parakeet (these birds can still lay eggs if no male is present), then she could be eating the infertile eggs to get a little bit of extra nutrition.

It is taxing on the small parakeet’s body to produce an egg and when they are done, they may need more nutrition to help out. 

Even the fertile eggs can be eaten on occasion, though this is not as common. The reason this may happen is if the parakeet feels that the breeding conditions are not optimal.

For birds who worry that their babies will be attacked and destroyed, they may decide to eat the eggs in order to protect the young. 

Another reason that your parakeet may choose to eat their eggs is out of boredom. Parakeets, like other birds, can get bored. This is even more true if you plan to leave them alone for long periods of time while you go to work.

You may need to get creative to find ways that they can have some fun and not feel as bored.

There are different ways that you can make this happen. For example, you can move the birdcage to be close to a window, which allows the parakeet a chance to be outside and see what is going on.

You could check that there is enough room for the parakeet to fly around and have some fun. Or even consider whether you should get another parakeet to help your first one to socialize with. 

You may find that parakeets will mess with their eggs if they feel threatened or like something is wrong in their environment.

If there are other animals who seem to attack the bird and make them feel bad, then they are less likely to want to keep the eggs around. You should separate the bird away from others to make sure they are safe and will not eat their eggs. 

Do Parakeets Peck Their Eggs?

Often the parakeet will not peck at their own eggs, though they may do this on occasion for some of the same reasons that they are eating their eggs above. However, if you have more than one bird in the same cage, you may notice that the parakeet is likely to peck at the eggs of the other birds. 

Breeding birds should all be in their own cages. Putting them together in one cage can cause a lot of problems. They may see the other birds as a threat or as rivals and there will be a lot of fighting and other problems as well.

Plus, your breeding birds will need some of their own privacy, which is not going to happen if you keep a few of them in the same cage as one another. 

When you start to notice that the breeding birds are pecking at one another’s eggs, then you need to find a way to break them apart and not have them so close to each other.

It is best if they can be in separate cages far apart to avoid this. If you are not able to do this, then find another way to put up a barrier between the bird.

Having more than one breeding bird in the same cage may seem like a good idea, but it is going to just make the fighting worse. 

Of course, if there is only one breeding bird and they start to peck at their own eggs, this can be a different challenge.

Sometimes it is due to the bird getting a poor diet, but often it is due to the fact that she likes the taste. You may need to add some more variety to the food you provide your bird to help them not do this any longer. 

Is It Normal For Parakeets To Eat Their Eggs?

It is not normal for a parakeet to eat their own eggs. You will not see this happen all that often, either with the bird in the wild or in your home. If it does start to happen, there is often a reason behind it and you need to look into this.

There may be something about the environment with the parakeet that is making them feel they need to eat their own eggs. 

For example, if the parakeet is not getting the right nutrients in their diet, then it is time for you to go look on how to improve this and give the parakeet more of the nutrients they need.

If the parakeet is worried about the fertile eggs being in danger, then you need to look at the conditions around them to see if they are feeling threatened at all. when the bird is bored, it is time for them to get more entertainment to feel good. 

You may need to get creative to help your parakeet if they are eating the eggs because they are bored. They need some more stimulation to help prevent this kind of issue.

Putting them close to a window or having some new toys nearby for them to play with each day will help. You also need to save some time each day to help play with them, especially if you plan to be gone for work most of the day. 

If the birds are eating the eggs because they are missing out on some of the nutrients they need, then it is time to mix up the diet a bit more.

Add in some watermelon or other good-tasting things that can take away the nutrient deficiency and will help the parakeet get exactly what they need. It may take a little trial and error to help your parakeet out here. 

Will My Parakeet Get Sick from Eating Their Eggs?

Your parakeet should be fine when they eat their eggs. While this may not be a normal thing for your bird to do, it is not going to make them sick. In fact, the shell from the egg will have some good nutrients that could be healthy for the bird and may help when they are not getting the nutrients inside of their diet. 

This is still not a normal thing for the parakeet to do and you should consider finding ways to stop them from acting in this way if possible. But if your parakeet does happen to get into an egg or two, they should be fine. 

Your Parakeet Eating Eggs

There are different reasons why your parakeet may choose to eat their own eggs. Whether they are low on some nutrients in their diet or they feel threatened by the things that go on around them, or even if they are bored and need something to do, there are times when a parakeet will start to eat eggs.

Finding out the reason for this and figuring out ways to prevent it is one of the best things that you can do to help protect those eggs and give your parakeet what they need to thrive.