Laid an egg?

I looked in on Giggles and was getting her ready for bed (put her blanket on)
I knew almost right away something was wrong, she was acting unusual, climbing all around her her cage going from stick to stick, looking like she was trying to poop. Called my hubby to help. She was find an hr or two ago when she was spending time in the kitchen with me. Had a bath, splashing around all good. Went back to her cage and sit on top for a while as she does after her bath until she is ready and goes in her cage herself.

She was about half way up her cage perched and all of a sudden a little egg dropped into the sand. She then calmed a little and went to get a drink.
She did have newspaper lined her cage and kept ripping it up. I would replace it when I cleaned her cage often. I thought she was just having fun as birds enjoy ripping paper? But apparently was making a nest? I have removed all bags, and boxes from her reach long time ago and all little hidey holes.

Today I replaced the newspaper with the bird friendly sand we had.
I know it isn't health for her to lay eggs etc because they are unfertilised and things like that, I thought I had done everything not to encourage any laying behaviour and paying attention to advice given by others in the forum.

I removed the egg. But not sure if it will happen again? She had me so worried thinking she was constipated or something now I am not sure what steps I should take to stop it from happening again? :06:

Do they lay in clutches? If so, you may have more on the way. I am NOT a Kakariki expert by any stretch.

You shouldn't remove the egg until the bird loses interest, or it often starts the cycle over again and they try to keep laying. You could try putting the egg back in (depending on how long it has been out).
I wouldn't put sand in her cage either-- I would just take all paper liners and sand out and clean the tray daily under the grate (if you were worried the paper was a trigger, sand could be too). Sand actually seems more likely to result in nesting issues, as it is soft and can be shaped into mounds etc. Metal grate over empty metal tray sounds like the way to go for now..(How is she reaching the sand and paper--I am so confused..do you not have a grate? If you took it out, I would put it back in)...
Also, what is bird friendly sand? I haven't heard of it. Not being sarcastic--Is it different from the normal unsafe sand somehow?
If you have any shadowy spaces outside of the cage, I would remove them/prevent access, as egg-laying is generally a sign of a hormonal bird (and egg-laying can be risky). Blankets, pillows, boxes, huts, tents, low shelving, under clothing, bedding, paper piles etc can all trigger nesting behavior. Cover the cage only at night when it is bedtime, as egg-binding is a real problem and you don't want to risk it (or the behaviors that come with hormones). Pet only on the head/neck if you haven't been.
In most birds (barring any obscure dietary restrictions) cuttle-bone and leafy green veggies (only safe kinds) are recommended for a bird who is laying or has the potential to lay eggs due to hormonal/broody behavior---it is a serious nutrient drain on their bodies and can weaken their bones if they don't get enough calcium etc.

If she is getting A LOT of sunlight, decrease that a bit as well (as too much can lead to hormones--sun is good for them, just not hours on end), and make sure she is getting a solid 10-12 hours of dark/uninterrupted sleep on a schedule. Eliminate warm mushy foods and "conditions of abundance" for the time being as well....oh, and for some birds, those shreddable grass toys can also be a trigger.

In some cases, it seems like certain birds are just really sensitive to little things, and if you breathe around them the wrong way they get hormonal. I only posted the information above in case you hadn't heard of all of the different potential triggers.

Sometimes no matter what precautions you take hens will drop an egg. Really depends on the individual bird. Just make sure you give her access to plenty of calcium sources. With plenty of calcium and good quality food available the impact on your hen will be minimized.

You may find that the process was put into motion when she was shredding the newspaper to make a nest and culminated in the egg. With the change to sand she may never do it again.

I don't know very much about kakariki and probably not as much as I would like to think about parrots. Hopefully someone with more experience will comment as well. best of luck with your bird.

Shrub said:

I looked in on Giggles and was getting her ready for bed (put her blanket on)
I knew almost right away something was wrong, she was acting unusual, climbing all around her her cage going from stick to stick, looking like she was trying to poop. Called my hubby to help. She was find an hr or two ago when she was spending time in the kitchen with me. Had a bath, splashing around all good. Went back to her cage and sit on top for a while as she does after her bath until she is ready and goes in her cage herself.

She was about half way up her cage perched and all of a sudden a little egg dropped into the sand. She then calmed a little and went to get a drink.
She did have newspaper lined her cage and kept ripping it up. I would replace it when I cleaned her cage often. I thought she was just having fun as birds enjoy ripping paper? But apparently was making a nest? I have removed all bags, and boxes from her reach long time ago and all little hidey holes.

Today I replaced the newspaper with the bird friendly sand we had.
I know it isn't health for her to lay eggs etc because they are unfertilised and things like that, I thought I had done everything not to encourage any laying behaviour and paying attention to advice given by others in the forum.

I removed the egg. But not sure if it will happen again? She had me so worried thinking she was constipated or something now I am not sure what steps I should take to stop it from happening again? :06:

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Hi Shrub,



I had the same situation and to save a whole lot of writing, please read the link here and ask any other questions. Kakariki can lay even more eggs than Ekkies per clutch it seems (I read maybe even 4-6).



New Member ( 1 2 3 ... Last Page) Ellie777Australia
Please act quickly to implement appropriate measures within. Keep the egg in position. Ellie laid her eggs every 3 days. I'm not sure if Giggles will use the same pattern.

Will keep alert to your needs as will others here who really want to help you and Giggles.


Debbie

I mean by bird safe sand. It is sand made for bird cages. Well that is what the bag says and stuff. It was given to us. It is not sand from like outside and stuff so it is clean i guess. In the morning i will get rid of the sand and just clean the tray. Maybe might help. We never got a grate with the cage . Maybe i will have to get one. She spends most the time perched on her fave perches when in the cage. When out she has a few places she likes to sit around the living room and kitchen depending where I am and follows me around the rooms.

The cage only gets covered at night when i get her ready for bed. And when i wake up it gets uncovered first thing in my morning routine. So covered about 8.30pm til about 9/9.30 in the morning. I have read it can be unhealthy and draining on them and i was not expecting an egg. I will keep an eye on her closely for a few days. She has access to cuttlebone and good food changed daily as well as fresh water changed daily. And even a lil fresh fruit and vege.
Never had such a high maintenance pet before but she is my Giggles

I wouldn't use sand in general (even when this passes). They can sometimes ingest it and that can cause issues. Maybe I'm off-base but I do know that parrots don't need "grit".

Did you put the egg back in the cage? You really should if it hasn't been too long.

Yes i put the egg back in the cage. The sand i will remove in the morning. She is sleeping now and will do it almost first thing

EDIT-- You should consider leaving the egg in there until the whole clutch is laid and she loses interest (many birds basically count their eggs)...Like I said, I don't know kakarikis. I do know that at least some birds will not start attending to their eggs at all until they have all of them- so since these aren't fertile, waiting might be better..
When the whole clutch is there at once, it makes things feel more "full- circle" for them.

noodles123 said:

EDIT-- You should consider leaving the egg in there until the whole clutch is laid and she loses interest (many birds basically count their eggs)...Like I said, I don't know kakarikis. I do know that at least some birds will not start attending to their eggs at all until they have all of them- so since these aren't fertile, waiting might be better..
When the whole clutch is there at once, it makes things feel more "full- circle" for them.

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Hi Shrub,

I second noodles123 in leaving the egg and await any future eggs...once a hen starts to lay that 'clutch' it is important that they complete the process. Removing the egg may cause the hen to continue to lay egg after egg and the potential outcome is death.

If you read the link that I submitted in an earlier post, (new member Ellie777...) take note of the entry by EllenD explaining the whole egg laying cycle. This should increase your understanding of the process as it did mine.

Kindest Regards,
Debbie

Update. She hasn't laid any more eggs and never showed interest in the one she had laid. She is doing good.

Shrub said:

Update. She hasn't laid any more eggs and never showed interest in the one she had laid. She is doing good.

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Thank you for the update Shrub, that is excellent news indeed.

So she laid another egg (2days ago) We figured her trigger was the mirror so we removed her cage from the mirror and she seems to be less frisky since we did that. She showed no interest in the egg at all.