Luca's mom Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 hello...I'm Luca's mom and I am new to Greyforum. - I have had my 19 year old Grey shortly after she was hatched in an incubator! We know she is a "she" as she lays eggs quite regularly(2 - 3 times a year). For the past eggs, I have just discarded them (one a day) while she is distracted with eating or drinking, but this time, I decided to leave them and see what she does. My research and common sense would tell me that the best time to remove the eggs is when she gets tired of them and ignores them, or tries and push them out of her nesting box. WELL, she has been sitting on her 3 eggs and two wooden balls(from one of her toys) for the past 4 weeks! She allows me to feed her her regular food(by hand) and she is drinking, but is not budging from those eggs. Just recently I moved her food and water dishes down closer to her. She is not getting a lot of exercise and no play time. She acknowledges me by watching me and occasionally lunges at my hand if I am offering her food etc. Now what?Any ideas? Thanks 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Welcome!!! While I've not experienced bird layers-yet-Lol! I've heard people mention replacing them with dummy eggs. I've also heard that eventually they do grow tired of trying to incubate them. While I do realize that 4 weeks is a long time to be sitting on eggs, at some point she will abandon them. Hopefully others who have experienced egg laying will chime in soon. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoow Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Hello and welcome to the forums! I'm afraid I don't have any experience with egg laying as I think Alfie is a male (though have no actual proof) and "he" has never laid eggs. Hopefully someone else will come along soon with some more advice. However, please do know that none of us here are vets so if you have any doubts it might be best to consult with an avian specialist. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNCAG Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 I've known my macaw to sit on eggs for several months -- to the point that some were going bad and 'had' to be removed. I do know removing the eggs just caused her to lay more -- and I didn't want her to deplete all her calcium by excessive egg laying. It has to be their choice to stop brooding; so removing the eggs early to "speed up" the brooding process can work against you -- they'll just lay more. Fake eggs are a good alternative if yours will accept them. Also, reducing hours of light a day reduces urge to lay more eggs. The old rule of 12 hours day and 12 hours of night helps (a little) to prevent over-broodiness. The tend to lay eggs and brood them when the days (light provided) times are longer than their night/dark times. I offered a calcium mineral block for mine, and just accepted that about once a year she would tear up paper for a nest and sit on eggs a few months. (I don't breed, so hers were infertile duds). Welcome to the forum! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNCAG Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Afterthought.... Incidentally, I saved my parrot's salvageable eggs (of the 75 [maybe more] or so she laid, maybe 18 survived unbroken or non-disgusting -- they basically dry out and become very lightweight over time), so I kept them for posterity. Granted, these were macaw eggs -- nearly the size of small chicken eggs. And, she acted like they hurt to pass. Luckily she never got egg-bound. Anyway, just a suggestion to save yours! I also have a tiny box somewhere with my cockatiel eggs protected by cotton balls in them also. Cockatiel eggs were tiny; but having raised zebra finches in the 80s, I can say that cockatiel eggs are a good size larger than finch eggs. (An accident caused all my finch eggs to break -- so they got tossed ) Anyway, decorate with eggs! We save their feathers, why not salvageable eggs too??? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 I don't think that I'd like to save any eggs unless I've first pin holed one end to drain out its contents. 8 of my 13 fids are DNA'ed males, so that certainly helps prevent future egg laying! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNCAG Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 (edited) 9 hours ago, Greytness said: I don't think that I'd like to save any eggs unless I've first pin holed one end to drain out its contents. 8 of my 13 fids are DNA'ed males, so that certainly helps prevent future egg laying! Still a good plan, pin-hole drained may require taking them from her before she's ready -- hence I let mine naturally desiccate. I think they're sort of cool to keep. Since mine sat on her eggs for a few months -- some broke and really stank. The salvageable ones were basically the ones not broken and already nearly dried out. The egg shell is permeable, so they dry out within a matter of months. Edited August 8, 2019 by LNCAG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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