female egg producing/laying age question

[Guest jaquiscorpio]

just out of curiosity when do female greys start to produce/lay eggs ?

i think my queery on if my bird is m/f may be answered as i have had him for 5-6 years and never seen him/her lay an egg so i think he may be a he.

i am unsure of age as he was a big parrot when i got him and appeared to be fully grown i noticed his eyes were more yellower compared to what he is now. so could i work out how old he is if i go off that do u think ?

[Dave007]

A female grey shouldn't be mated with any other grey unless it's used as a breeder all the time. If the bird is used as a breeder all the time, any bonding with you and the bird will drastically decrease or disappear. If your bird has been a pet for all these years, it should remain that way. It's a cruel thing to try to change a pet bird into a breeder. Usually, a breeding male and female are together way before actual breeding occurs. First, they have to deeply like each other. At that point they bond with each other and they don't care for human contact that much.

As far as age, a female doesn't lay eggs until the whole cycle of breeding occurs. It's very unusual for a bird to lay an egg just because of age.Breeding happens around the age of 6 yrs and older. The male needs to be that age or older.

As far as eye color, it seems that you're going backwards. As a grey gets older, the eyes turn more yellow not the other way around.

None of this has anything to do with finding out his specific age other than when the eyes are yellow, he's an adult.

As far as sex goes, only a DNA test that's done by a vet or animal labratory will tell you if the bird is a male or female.

[judygram]

So what you are saying Dave is that a female even if she is of breeding age will not lay any eggs because she is not with a male, I have to admit that I was sort of leary at first of getting a female because I didn't want to have to go thru the possibility of her ever laying any eggs, thats great to know.

[Dave007]

So what you are saying Dave is that a female even if she is of breeding age will not lay any eggs because she is not with a male, I have to admit that I was sort of leary at first of getting a female because I didn't want to have to go thru the possibility of her ever laying any eggs, thats great to know.

 

That's exactly what I'm saying.

When a female does that, it usually has to do with an over abundance of female hormones which most parrots don't have.

[Guest jaquiscorpio]

oh im not wanting to breed it or anything its purely interest.

 

so now i see so my theory of my bird not laying any eggs in the 5-6 years i have had it cannot say my bird is male, just because ive seen no eggs.

 

i had a real mix up in regards to my birds ring as its a very unusual ring and i am led to believe that the way my bird is rung is only done by one vetrinarian in whole of uk and this is by Andrew Greenwood from IZVG.

 

I could make a seperate post and include pictures of ring for you to see if you would like see if you are any wiser

[munch]

This came up in the Grey Lounge and I thought I'd bump it up. However after reading some other posts on eggs, is it also correct to say that grey do not usually lay eggs without a male but it is still possible and does happen on occasions?

[Georgiesmum]

Ok now you all have me curious lol i have male and female Not in the same cage but beside each other.... Does this mean that when she is older she will lay eggs? obviously they wouldn't be fertilised as no contact with the male but i know some smaller birds can just lay an egg every so ofter even without any male....

[Dave007]

*Does this mean that when she is older she will lay eggs? *

There's no straight answer to that. It may happen, it may not happen. Depends upon the bird. Your birds are pets and when any hormonal signs show themselves, they have to be kept separate. I have hens that won't lay any eggs until breeeding season is around and the males are showing interest. But, the hens don't lay eggs until the whole process of foreplay, proper atmosphere, proper temperature, privacy and finally, when nest building is completed. Then they get down to business.

The rest of the year, they show no signs of wanting to breed, but again they are breeders, not pets.

They do the same things that other outside wild birds do all year long.

[danmcq]

Great answers by all.

 

One thought on your first post in this thread: If his/her eyes were yellow when you first obtained this grey, it was already 4 or 5 years old, plus the five years you've had this grey would mean it is 10+ years old.