So, I have had to put my green amazon parrot in a bird boarding facility for the first time since I've had her (12 years). She was there for just under 3 weeks and they put her cage open in a larger cage, in between a macaws cage and a couple of cockatoos. They were not in the same cage but were only separated by bars so could interact through the bars.

Brought her home 2 days ago and woke up this morning to discover she had laid an egg! This has never happened before so I just don't know what to do. Is it possible that the egg is fertile? I don't know if its possible for a green amazon to breed with a macaw or cockatoo. Or is it that being around other birds for the first time triggered the egg laying?

She is currently ignoring the egg but I have read that you should leave it in there, but we do not want it to end up hatching so how do I make sure it's infertile?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello there hajiur, welcome to the Forums!

Well, that must've come as a bit of a shock! It is most likely that the egg is infertile. It is also likely that there may very well be another on the way, although this is not always the case. I only have experience with cockatiels and lorikeets as far as unwanted egg laying is concerned so I'm not sure how many days generally elapse between one egg and the next, but I'd suggest it may be around 2 or 3 days before the next one materializes, IF indeed there is another one coming.

Exactly what to do with the egg will depend on whether your bird takes any interest in it at all. If she continues to completely ignore it you're probably ok to remove it. If however she does start to show some interest in it, the best thing you can do in the immediate term is to boil the egg, let it cool and return it to your hen. This has the double effect of stopping any embryo forming in a fertile egg, plus it enables your hen to sit on the egg and work off any maternal yearnings she may have until she realises it's not going to hatch and loses interest in it. Boiling an infertile egg can help prevent chronic egg-laying and means that if your hen should happen to accidentally break the shell after a week or so, you won't have a nasty smelly mess to clean up.

Once this issue has resolved itself, just make sure she doesn't have access to anything inside or outside her cage which may even slightly resemble a nesting site, nothing dark, shadowy or secluded where her hormones may run rampant again. I really couldn't say what may have sparked this current egg-laying episode in your hen, but you certainly don't want it happening again. I wish you the very best of luck with her!

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You may also want to give her a small portion of scrambled egg, using coconut butter or oil as the frying medium or a small chicken bone ( leg or thigh bone). Why? creating an egg takes a lot of resources within your parrot, these will help replenish some of that. Also a finely crushed egg shell sprinkled over her food will help her replenish the calcium used to create the egg.

Why not post a pic of your Amazon, ee can tell you what species she is, so you dont have to just say green Amazon - they are all pretty much green, with little bits of color that define each species.

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Welcome to the Parrot Forum!

It is very likely that your (now confirmed) Hen became stimulated at the boarding facility and as a result she formed an egg. Although, kind of possible that she had actual contact with one of the other Parrot species, it is highly unlikely. Proper access and specific angles are required.

Great advice provided above!

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In each Morning's early light; there is a promise, an Amazon makes!

sometimes just being around other birds can make them lay (infertile eggs), depending on the bird- you could call and ask if she had any contact with others. She may also have more than one egg in there, so cutte bone etc could be helpful. If you haven't dont take it away until she loses interest.

Hopefully the egg is a single event and won't be repeated. My 25 year old Goffins was thought to be a male until she unexpectedly laid an egg in her cage. Removed and placed in secluded part of refrigerator as memento. Been about 6 months and no repeat!

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Boy... you said it.

Thank you all for the help and suggestions!

She is still ignoring the egg so I am going to remove it now, probably annoyed shes back with humans and lost the maternal instinct haha

Hopefully there's no more to come!

Assure that you inform your Avian Medical Professional that your Hen had laid an egg and that it is added to her medical file.

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In each Morning's early light; there is a promise, an Amazon makes!