My African Grey Just Laid An Egg!!

[alicianicole]

I have a Congo African Grey who is about 13 years old now. Her name is Gidget (although we were never certain that she was female until now.) Anyway, today she was acting really strange and making an unusual sound so I rubbed her head for a few minutes and then noticed that her butt area was expanding. I thought something was wrong with her and before I knew it, an egg popped out and dropped to the bottom of her cage. Is this normal for an unbred bird? Will she lay more? Any help would be appreciated!! Thanks!!

[Dave007]

Someone else here just had had this happen to their grey only a few days ago. The person was equally in the dark about what was going on and what to do about it.

 

I can tell you that periodically this will happen to a mature female grey who has never mated before. Normally, there's nothing to worry about. To much over attention to this situation will make the bird edgy and uncomfortable. More than likely, she will lay some more eggs and that's not unusual. A congo grey's incubation period is 28 to 32 days. Anyeggs that are there should be left alone until that amount of time has passed. Nature will her that the eggs are infertile and she'll spend much less time with them to the point of ignoring them. That'll be the time to take out the eggs and discard them. If the eggs are taken out immediately, it will only cause the grey to create new ones which you don't wanna do. More than likely it won't happen again or it might happen again in the future. The cause of this to happen is an over abundent hormonal period. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. Continue with the same foods. Don't start moving things around in the cage and most importantly, don't make a big fuss over what she's doing. Peeks here and there will tell you everything you want to know. Get a calendar and mark off the day you saw the first egg. Let 30 days go by or when your grey shows no interest in the eggs. Your biird might start eating less and then eat a lot. Not to worry, it's normal. The bird won't starve itself.

 

The only time to really worry is when a person has a DNAd guaranteed male and he lays an egg. That type of bird is classified as one who has an identity problem and psychiatrics are then implemented.

[MazyAK]

Alicianicole: You're situation has been very helpful to me. I also have a female 13 yr. CAG. As Dave said there was this exact situation last night with another member. I had been informed by a breeder to leave it for a few days and then take it out. I now know this to be incorrect. (thanks to Ziggy, Dave, & Capala).

What I'd like to know is how snuggly does your bird let you get with her, and does she let you pet her all over or just the head and neck? I'm trying to get an idea of what I may expect and what may bring on an egg laying. My bird has been getting more lovey with me, especially in the evening.

Any observations would be appreciated and keep us posted how your bird continues to behave with the eggs.

Thanks & See you out there

Bruce & Mazy

[alicianicole]

First of all....Thank you Dave!! I appreciate the information and advice. As to the question from MazyaK...Gidget, has been acting very affectionate today during and after the egg laying experience. I got her out of her cage for a while to play with her and make sure she was okay and she seemed very loving. She loves to nuzzle up to me with her wing and didn't mind being touched anywhere. Gidget seems to be pretty much back to normal now but she really seemed to want her head rubbed and was giving lots of kisses. Normally, Gidget can be

pretty moody. I didn't even know what was going on with her when she actually laid the egg. She was perched on her food bowl making strange noises with her head down. I was was actually afraid she was sick or something and was rubbing her head when the egg fell out! I kind of hope this is the only egg she lays but I'm sure there will be more. I'll let you know if anything else interesting happens and if her behavior changes!

[spookyhurst]

My Nikko, 6 years old, has become very lovey over the last month, mainly with my mother. Typically, she likes to have her head and neck scratched, and occasionally her back petted. But now she likes to be touched all over (depends on her mood and time of day of course). Sometimes she tries to regurgitate for my mom (and sometimes my dad), but not everyday. She also sometimes makes a squeaky sound and drops her wings, but again, it's not daily. We just try to distract her. Whenever I hear my mom scream, "Ack!!," I can pretty much figure Nikko has made her move . Usually this behavior starts sometime in November, and ends sometime in January.

 

I tried to take a picture of Nikko in the throes of passion (is that wrong :ohmy:?), but she had settled down a bit before I got the camera. Still, it shows pretty good what your bird looks like when she's in the mood for love:

 

[ziggy]

Hello Bruce and Alicianicole,

 

This is the season for greys to breed and they are showing you there love. Courtship is very tender at times and can be very rough. Usually the male gets the short end of the stick in this. Alot of breeders I have seen ( alot of speices ) the female will pluck the male during this time. Went to a local show here in St. Pete and a pair of Eclectus breeders were for sale and the male was plucked by the female. One of the things a bird loves is to be loved (when she wants to be loved). There hormones are up and they are a little out of sorts. Just remember to let them sit on the eggs and give them food with calcium( almonds,cuttle bones,broccoli ect). I would stay away from the almonds myself they are high in saturated fats. A large cuttle bone is a great way to see if she will lay another egg. When you check the cuttle bone you will see a good part of it eaten.(they need the calcium to produce the egg). Instincts will take over. My sons cockateil has layed 4 eggs over the last 3 months. The cuttle bone is a good way to see if she is ready to lay again. We check it and when there is a good pourtion of it missing she would lay a egg with in 2 to 3 days.

[chapala]

A caution here on handling your Grey, male or female, in ways that they interpret as courtship. You may end up with a frustrated, hormonal bird, or in the case of a hen, egg laying. I recently read an article by Dr. Brian Speer who is a noted avian vet about the problems people experience with mature parrots because of over-handling and mis-handling them. The safest way to handle a mature bird in order not to encourage hormonal or mating behavior (we want them to think of us as members of their flock, not their mates) is to scratch their heads. Leave the rest of their body alone for the most part. No patting on the back, under the wings, because the mature bird can't help but interpret these actions as sexual. It's something for all parrot owners to think about. Not fair to the birds who are left without a mate to encourage these types of behaviors, and it can create behavior problems.

Reta

[danmcq]

Thats great information to know Reta!

 

I know Dayo is only 8 months right now, but He lets kim pat him on the back (me too) and also rum under his wings (not me).

 

We will need to keep this in mind when he gets older. :-)

[chapala]

With young birds (not mature), there is no problem handling the wings, back, tummies. It's when they reach a certain age that we need to change our handling methods. Kali is nearing 6 years and clearly is mature. I am more careful now with my handling to encourage him to think of me as a flock member, not his mate. There also are certain times when they are more "amorous" - that's when we want to avoid over-handling that can result in confusion and frustration for the bird.

Reta

[birdgranna]

This is soooo informative! My female Jiggy has been literally hanging upside down and saying her whole vocabulary every night for me. I thought she was just prolonging bed time. She longs to be cuddled and petted. Normally she will gently take my hand in her beak and move it away. She is 5. I have a male age 4. They are in the same cage. They have be together all their lives.I have also noticed the male being more nippy than usual and shaking. He heads for his hut at bedtime or when a situation upsets him. He has always been nervous but seems more so at the moment. Other wise he is eating and pooping ok and is healthy per recent vet visit. If Jiggy is in the mating mood I don't think Quinn is. Is it ok to keep them together?

[Dexter]

My African Grey is only 18 months roughly, and she's been 'courting' me for quite a few months now. I don't think they have to be very old before they start this behavior. I'm wondering if I'll see an egg soon or not.

[Dexter]

PS - is it only females that squeek, try to feed you, hang upside down, let you touch them all over, hang their wings, get all hyper, etc..? Or do males behave the same?

[lovemyGreys]

Males can act the same, i have three male greys & they exhibit similiar behaviours.

[danmcq]

Welcome Dexter!!

 

Our male Dayo acts the same as your female, just as Tracy has described. At 18 months, it's mores mommy love and liking to cuddle, rather than a mating behaviour as Reta has pointed out.

 

If I read the books right, they are not sexually mature until 5 to 7 years old. But, I am uncertain if that truly means they can not lay eggs until that age.