Laid an egg

I have a 25 yr old Grey, was 1 yr old when I got it, I have always thought it was a male. The night before last she laid an egg. She has never been with another Grey. Not sure what I should do, need suggestions Thanks

Congratulations, It's a Girl!

They don't need to have mated to lay eggs, the eggs is not fertilized nor viable (just like a chicken egg you'd buy at the store.) The egg can be discarded, though she may be instinctively defensive of it. There are varying opinions on how long a parrot should be allowed to keep such an egg, but one way or another it will have to be discarded eventually.

It's egg laying season, and there are many environmental cues that tell a bird this: humidity, temperature, but most significant is the number of hours of daylight. It would be good to reduce the daylight hours for her - close the windows and shut off the lights before the sun goes down, etc. Maintaining a normal light-dark cycle can prevent egg laying, but to interrupt it once it starts some people suggest overdoing it by making the days short with only 8-10 hours of light.

If she continues to lay eggs you'll want to try to get her some extra calcium in her diet.

Egg laying is perfectly normal, but it can also pose some risks which is why it's best to minimize it in our pets. Egg-binding is one such risk.

So, all in all, the egg is nothing to panic about, it's perfectly natural, but if you can shorten the available daylight to prevent more eggs you'll avoid any associated risks. The egg is not fertilized; it can be discarded.

My timneh grey laid her first eggs a couple of years ago. I had her sexed when about 2 years old and knew she was indeed a female, but she had not laid any eggs untill she was about 15 or 16 years old. I let her keep them for a couple of weeks...she sat on them and took good care of them! I discarded them and she has not laid any since. Do get more calcium in her diet as AD suggested...greys need more calcium anyway, but especially when laying eggs.

Thanks for the input, figured I'd have to get rid of the egg just didn't know how long I should let her keep it. Also thought it was odd to be the first egg in the 25 yrs I've had her.

Egg laying also signifies two other things that are not mention here ...

Abundance: A parrot will not lay an egg if they do not feel that there is going to be adequate resources to sustain both themselves and a chick (food, water, etc.) ...

and ....

Safety: A parrot would never consider laying an egg in an environment where the adults didn't feel safe enough to do it because why waste all the energy if there is very little chance for the chick to survive anyway ...

All-in-all when your parrot lays an egg it's always a good sign, so good for you! As mentioned the egg is not viable, and after a while SHE will loose interest in the egg, when that happens then you can just pull it out. This will keep her from trying to replace the eggs as they are "lost" ...

Also, as mentioned, increase calcium in her diet. Leafy greens like: Kale, Collard Greens, carrot tops, and Mustard Greens are great sources of calcium. But, please do stay away from spinach (and baby spinach) as it actually BINDS calcium in the digestive system, which, especially right now, is not a good thing.