Solo Parrot. Egg laid.

[joea]

Couple days ago, she produced and egg.  This was on her cage "playtop".  Egg appears fully formed.  Had added avian calcium to her diet after she produced, over a period of a few weeks, tow apparently malformed eggs.   The calcium was added based on that.

Did not expect a 3rd egg, but here it is.  Been advised to let her be for a few days, then remove it.  Obviously, it will not hatch and will spoil at some point.

She is being very "maternal" an attentive to it, but not "possessive" in the sense that her behavior toward me has changed.  More that willing to accept hand held food, but seems to be favoring "treats" much more than her normal diet.

Question is, how long should I wait to remove it and how should I go about it?  Overtly, or covertly?  Distract her with a treat while removing the egg, or just attempt to do it in "plain sight"?   Or remove it when she leaves it to feed or something, if able to catch the moment?

 

[Talon]

I would leave it until,she loses interest. If you keep taking it away, she will most likely lay another one..I don’t have experience with this, but I have read this on many posts here. You could also try replacing it eventually with a fake egg that looks the same. Just some suggestions, hopefully others that have had this happen will chime in. Your doing right by increasing her calcium. Keep us posted, and welcome btw.

[Luvparrots]

Yes, ignore it and leave it be for now. If you take it out your lady might lay more and that's a no, no.

 

[joea]

19 hours ago, Luvparrots said:

Yes, ignore it and leave it be for now. If you take it out your lady might lay more and that's a no, no.

 

Unfortunately, I have already removed the egg, at the urging of the person I adopted her from, who seemed to have a lot of bird experience.  She was acting as an
"adoption agent" for the elderly owner that gave her up.

I have learned since that I should have left it until Azimuth lost interest on her own.  Since then she did apparently lay another, incompletely formed egg, which I found one morning in the bottom of the cage.

I have some "false eggs" on order and may utilize those should her behavior warrant.

Sadly, I'm thinking of giving her up to someone that may be able to be more of a "flock/family" for her than I can manage at this point.

 

[Timbersmom]

I'm sorry to hear that. Is it only the egg laying that is making you feel that way? A lot of bird owners have to deal with that. It's a natural occurrence and isn't your fault. 

[joea]

35 minutes ago, Timbersmom said:

I'm sorry to hear that. Is it only the egg laying that is making you feel that way? A lot of bird owners have to deal with that. It's a natural occurrence and isn't your fault. 

Thanks, but the egg laying is just something that adds to my feeling she needs someone that can give her more attention than I can right now. 

That and her tendency to want to explore the entire house and chew on wood trim and other things, causing significant damage.   I cannot, in the short term anyway, provide her with a dedicated space to let her do her thing so have resorted to nabbing her in the act and returning her to her cage.  While that provides me with the freedom to attend to my tasks around the house and yard, it seems rather unfair to her.  It seems ineffective as well, in altering her behavior, but has not, it seems impacted her desire to interact with me.  If anything, it may have increased it.

Having said that, I just found her wandering the halls and once again made the mistake of picking her up without toweling her.  My hand now is somewhat the worse for that error.  It is difficult to keep your cool when a Grey is attacking your hand.

[LNCAG]

I have always left the eggs, or replaced them with dummy eggs.  I find parrots just keep laying more and more eggs if you remove them.  This is a burden on the parrot physically to keep producing eggs.  I also found my macaw had pain with egg laying, so it's much kinder to just let her sit on them until she gets bored instead of removing them and have her lay more and more and more eggs.

Too much daylight/indoor lighting contributes to egg laying -- they need a dark nighttime of at least 10 - 12 hours a night (a low-watt nightlight is fine). 

I hope you will contact a nice sanctuary if you can't keep your parrot.  If you cannot handle your own parrot without toweling - a fresh start somewhere safe (like a sanctuary) would be nice.  Please don't place an ad for a parrot -- you never know who will answer the ad.  Parrots just get re-homed too often, it contributes to trust issues and sometimes parrot mental illness -- many people just don't know what they're getting into. 

Had mine for 20+ years (had my grey for 24 years). 

[joea]

2 hours ago, LNCAG said:

I have always left the eggs, or replaced them with dummy eggs.  I find parrots just keep laying more and more eggs if you remove them.  This is a burden on the parrot physically to keep producing eggs.  I also found my macaw had pain with egg laying, so it's much kinder to just let her sit on them until she gets bored instead of removing them and have her lay more and more and more eggs.

Too much daylight/indoor lighting contributes to egg laying -- they need a dark nighttime of at least 10 - 12 hours a night (a low-watt nightlight is fine). 

I hope you will contact a nice sanctuary if you can't keep your parrot.  If you cannot handle your own parrot without toweling - a fresh start somewhere safe (like a sanctuary) would be nice.  Please don't place an ad for a parrot -- you never know who will answer the ad.  Parrots just get re-homed too often, it contributes to trust issues and sometimes parrot mental illness -- many people just don't know what they're getting into. 

Had mine for 20+ years (had my grey for 24 years). 

Thanks.   I certainly regret removing the egg, but was acting on advice I thought competent at the time.  I have a set of dummy eggs arriving tomorrow.  Now I have to determine if it is appropriate to chance confusing her by placing them, or just wait for another egg and then place a few.

Normally I can handle her freely and interact quite well.  She is actually a very pleasant creature.   It is only when "going walkabout" and chewing on this or that, that she gets feisty and oppositional when I attempt to intervene.  Thus, the towel for those occasions.  I only started that after getting hard bites one such occasion.  Today I let my guard down and paid.

I'd never place an ad, for the reasons you stated.  There are a couple of rescue and sanctuary places within an hour or so, if it comes to that.

Edited September 11, 2021 by joea
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[LNCAG]

@joea I hope it will work out for you.  Parrots can be very destructive, it's just a thing with them.  Does she have some wood toys, cardboard box, etc. that you can distract her with? Anything safe really, that you don't mind her chewing?

While my parrots have always been reasonably easy to handle, I certainly get that when your girl is out enjoying herself -- she may resist being redirected.  Resist was actually too gentle a word -- they can be extremely headstrong when they want!  lol  I do put my grey back in his cage when I need to (and I never trick him and close the door if he happens to go inside).  He deals fairly well with disappointment (at least I don't get bit!)

And with the egg laying, maybe she's going through her teenager years to boot.  That will definitely affect her general attitude when she's hormonal/broody.  She's living in your home, not in the wild with a flock and a special male friend.  All of us here have created similar situations with our parrots, but we try to enrich their lives in other ways to compensate.  We try to be their flock as much as we can.  But since these sweeties have to adapt to SO much in our homes, I suppose what we might call a temper tantrum is to be expected sometimes.  They have moods just as we do -- and they like getting their own way!

Good luck with her!

[LNCAG]

Afterthought -- not a cardboard box that could be mistaken for a nesting place!  Just a cardboard box of a size she can destroy.

[joea]

6 hours ago, LNCAG said:

Afterthought -- not a cardboard box that could be mistaken for a nesting place!  Just a cardboard box of a size she can destroy.

Thanks for your comments.  

I have tried toys, hanging things that claim to be parrot toys, a bell, all of which she seems to ignore.  The bell she has "played with" a few times, but generally when angry or just trying hard to get my attention.  When I saw her going after pencils on my desk, after climbing down from her human perch, I tried some similar sized wooden dowels.  Only occasionally interesting to her.  I have considered a mirror, but have doubts about that.

The corrugated cardboard box, and the occasional brown paper bag, seem to be her favorite things, which were suggested to divert from the woodwork attacks.  That worked marvelously so I bought 4x4 boxes from a supply house which seemed better than trying to reclaim used packaging.  

Shortly after she began acting a bit differently and the egg laying began.  

She also finds any corrugated boxes external to her cage playtop to be objects of extreme interest.   Also of note, it may be she has found a new game, that consists of finding some mischief and expecting me to find her, scoop her up and return her to her cage.   Last few times, when she hears me coming, pauses and looks.  If I don't have a towel, waddles back to what she  was doing until I come back with a towel, and seems to wait for it.  Then begins biting the towel, but, if I happen to leave my fingers too near her head and she notices resistance, she "eases up" momentarily.   Or so it seems.

I've had conflicting views on "daylight" triggering egg laying.  Most agree that parrots, generally, react to increased daylight as a signal, while some claim Greys and some others react to shortening daylight as a trigger. 

[LNCAG]

@joea Fwiw, it does sound like you're trying all the right things.  I hope things work out so that you can keep her.  She sounds a bit spoiled, which delights me!  She sounds like a grey after my own heart -- happy, active, mischievous and loved.