Best way to interrupt a cockatiel's brooding

Question

I am preparing for an international move with my cockatiel. The bird started brooding and laying eggs about two weeks before the travel date. It is a 5 year old bird and it is the first time this happens.

Right now she sits on her (infertile) eggs all day long and only comes out of the nest box about twice a day, and only for a short period of time which she spends eating ferociously. While in the box, she is aggressive.

Because of the travel I must interrupt her brooding somehow. What is the best way to do this?

The only thing I could think of: I can simply move her to a different cage when she comes out, and never let her back to her eggs. I do not know if the shock this would cause is harmful. I tried taking her to another room when she came out to eat last time. After a few minutes she got very nervous and chirpy, and wanted to go straight back to the box. Eventually I do need to move her into a different cage for travel ...

Is there a more gentle way to deal with the situation?

Answer 1

I did not receive an answer here, so I wanted to post my own experiences.

A couple of days later the bird became less aggressive, came out of the nest box more often, and stayed out for longer.

When the time came to move her to a new cage, she was upset and kept screaming for a while. I put the nest box in the new cage, but she would not go and sit on the eggs anymore.

One day after that she was back to normal, the brooding behaviour is entirely gone, and she seems completely fine (behaviour-wise).

Of course, other birds may react differently. I thought it may be useful to share my experience that my bird shows no bad effects (such as depression) from interrupting her brooding.