You shake them so they won't hatch...then you put them back in so that they can tend to them and eventually see they won't hatch...this will help them not to lay more eggs. If you just take the eggs they will produce more and more and eventually get very frustrated by me taking them. When you shake and return, they figure they aren't fertile and they give up that part of their relationship.
I know it sounds cruel, but, it is something that needs to be done. These guys are worth a lot of money so we end up with an over abundance of birds in domestic homes that shouldn't be there. Australia has banned the importation of these birds so the US is breeding them for the $$$. As a true lover of these birds, it is my responsibility to make sure I am not contributing to the breeding/selling of these birds. It is my little dent in the bird world.
Good on ya Sunny! This comes from an Aussie.
Now, just for the record, in some parts of Australia...actually, some of those parts are only a 2 hour drive from me...Sulpher Crested Cockatoos are pests. As are Corellas (long and short billed). In our city here, Rainbow Lorikeets are more common than sparrows.
I love our parrots and cockatoos and lorikeets. But I would be really wary of seeing Cockatoos in the wild in your grain growing districts. Honestly, you can see hundreds feeding on sunflower paddocks over here.
I am of the opinion that the farmers should protect their crops but not harm the birds. After all, the farmers were the ones that brought all the munchies to the land.