Help! My Grey is laying eggs!

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Maggie Wright

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Help! My Grey is laying eggs!

Postby merlin » Sat Jun 02, 2012 5:02 am

Hello,

We have a 20 year old African Grey named Lucy who just started laying eggs. We have no plan to breed her and aren’t sure what to do with the eggs. The first egg was inadvertently broken before we knew it was there. She just laid a second one and is protecting it inside her favorite cardboard box. Do I leave it there or try and take it away from her when she leaves the box?

Secondly, did we prompt the nesting by giving her the aforementioned box? I see on the websites that boxes are used when breeding Greys. Should we take the box away so the egg laying stops?

Thanks for whatever information you can provide.


Sharon in Cincinnati
merlin
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Re: Help! My Grey is laying eggs!

Postby merlin » Sat Jun 02, 2012 5:03 am

Dear Sharon,

A lot of pet greys go through this issue. Lucy does NOT want to breed... but this is a hormonal issue. You must let her body continue the hormonal process, now that it has started. She will need to do the egg laying, sitting on it for a month and then you throw the eggs away. If you do not allow this, her body will just keep laying eggs.

Let her keep the egg in her box. Add some soft materials to make it comfortable for her. She may lay 2-4 more eggs. They generally have 3-5 eggs in the wild. First timers may only lay 1 or 2. Then, let her care for the eggs and sit on them for about a month. Then, throw them away.

In this process she will be dedicated to the eggs and possibly aggressive with you to "keep her nest safe." Don't worry about it but keep food close and water to make sure she still eats and drinks. They can become very dogmatic and focused only on the nest, forgetting about most else. Watch the backyard birds... they are doggedly dedicated sitting in those nests for a month in the heat.

Lots of teen grey hens seem to lay eggs... generally they start in their teens. So, it is common, but we do tend to promote it with the way in which we treat our birds. Whenever she acts hormonal, like whimpering, place her somewhere else and change the activity. Keep boxes that could be nest boxes away from cage... maybe to chew up when outside the cage, but not in. Don't do familiar petting, such as anywhere else on the body, except the head. Those are more sensual areas. Let her know you love her but don't talk up how much you love her at this time. These are just a few ideas. The key is to change the activity when she starts to moan and groan.

Do not worry. This does happen. Keep me posted.

Blessings,
Maggie-
www.AfricanGreys.com
merlin
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Posts: 188
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Re: Help! My Grey is laying eggs!

Postby merlin » Sat Jun 02, 2012 5:05 am

Maggie -

Thank you so much for your sage advice! What a nice lady you are to help us. We have been quite worried with this behavior in our little angel. I will do as you say and let you know when we have successfully come out the other side.

Again, thanks a million!
Sharon
merlin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re: Help! My Grey is laying eggs!

Postby merlin » Sat Jun 02, 2012 5:06 am

Hi Sharon,

You are SO welcome! This can be a scary thing when you see an egg in your precious one's cage!

Please keep me posted.
Blessings,
Maggie-
www.AfricanGreys.com
merlin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am


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