Help! My hen laid an egg!

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Help! My hen laid an egg!

Postby merlin » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:51 pm

We corresponded late in Sept. about my two Africans - at that time I told you I had no idea whether or not they were females/males or mixed. WELL - this morning I discovered that at least ONE is a female.
Their cage has a grid on the bottom for the "dirt" to sift thru - this morning when I went to clean the cage there on the bottom was the remainder of a shell that looks to be a bit larger than ones thumb up to the knuckle - the yolk was dried but still "fresh" in color.

Smokey, the chronologically younger (12 yrs) has a lot of red "fleecy" feathering around the vent. Bassey the older (have no idea but must be at least over 20) has no red on it's bottom.
I did some reading and it seems the consensus of opinion is to NOT take the egg out of the cage right away as it encourages more laying???? Should I get some sort of box or soft sling for the egg laying and only removed them after a day or two if they are not tossed out or the bird tries to eat them???

Thanks!
merlin
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Re: Help! My hen laid an egg!

Postby merlin » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:59 pm

Guess you DO have a female! LOL. If the egg is broken, please clean it out of the cage.

If she lays another in two or three days, then get a little box (with a little rag or wash cloth) and create a nest box for her in the cage. She may lay a few more, even then. Generally, wild greys lay 3-5 eggs to a clutch. When they are 'new' at it, they may only lay one or two. Then let the eggs stay in the cage for about 30 days, or until she is bored with them. This is a hormonal thing and her system needs to work thru the whole egg laying process... laying, sitting, and so on.

The belief is that if the eggs are thrown away, the body will keep laying. My Sweetpea went thru it this year. She was a little traumatized by it, and not sure what to do. That's why I remove her from ME every time I hear the slightest moan or groan.

Please realize that this does not necessarily mean that the male (if he is male) had sex with your female. It may have been an infertile egg. I think male greys need to really see how to do it by observing others (ie..as in the wild when they witness parents doing it).

Please keep me posted!
Many Blessings,
Maggie-
merlin
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