egg laying sun conure

[djdancer]

About a week ago my Sun started laying eggs. At first it was 1 every other day and now after the second it was 1 about ever 3 days. In total she's laid 4 eggs so far and looks like there is another in her. It's been 4 days since she laid her last. The first egg we put a pin hole in. The next two we hard boiled after a few days. The forth one we hard boiled and it broke. I'm not sure which bird (male or female) ate one of the eggs. Neither bird has tried to sit on the eggs and take almost no notice in the eggs at all. We don't want baby birds.

How do we get her to stop laying eggs and is it okay to throw them away after a certain time? Years ago I had a bird die from being egg bound and so don't want that to happen again.

Is the female bird supposed to have a nest? I ask this because we did make her a nesting box but she doesn't lay the eggs in there and they don't keep the eggs in the box but they are all over the cage and not together??

 

[weco]

Normally conures don't begin sitting their eggs hard (seriously) until the 3rd one has been laid and if one was cracked or otherwise destroyed/removed, the hen will naturally replace it/them. You shouldn't mess with them until after 28 days and her nesting hormones have quelled.....

Once a hen has started her egg laying cycle, no, there is no way to stop her laying cycle, however, while she is laying, she needs to receive calcium supplements, which can be scrambled eggs with the shells well crushed, every 3-4 days , to replenish what she has used up.....you can put a large bowl in their cage, with a couple of paper towels and place the eggs in it...if she accepts it, she'll probably shred the towels, but you really want to stay out of the cage & quit messing with her eggs, though you can get suitably sized & weighted fake eggs to replace her real ones with...just don't let them observe you switching them.....oh, the egg she may be carrying is probably a replacement for the broken/missing one and sun hens can lay up to six, but usually 4-5.....

Good luck.....

 

[djdancer]

Weco thank you for answering!! We really can't have babies right now. We never expected it and were told that the Sun was a male. Where can I buy replacement eggs that are close to the real ones. We did look in all of our regular pet stores here and they all have hollow eggs but none for conures. Mostly the smaller birds.

I have been giving them eggs with the shells and she really likes the shells. I also bought crushed oyster as they told us in the pet store that this was an acceptable replacement for calcium. Is there any way to keep her from laying eggs after this time is over?

 

[weco]

Here are several sourcing links.....I bought some years ago, but never had to use them & don't see that vendor around...I think you would be better served with a solid edd, rather than hollow ones.....

Check back on this thread in a couple of days & I will have uploaded some additional information to a free site, that you'll be able to read and/or download.....

Good luck.....one thing I thought of was that hens can tell their eggs have been boiled, so that's not a good idea.....

 

[MikeyTN]

Here's your answer on ordering the right size dummy eggs!!! DummyEggs.com Stop Egg Laying! Fake Falso Faux Eggs

 

[djdancer]

Do you use a regular nest and if so, what kind are all of you using? I may want to breed some time but not right now. I also don't know what kind of bird would be bread because my male is a Jenday and my female is a Sun.

If I use the nest how does the bird know enough to lay the eggs in it. I made her a nesting box but she laid her eggs all over the cage and not in the box. Should I remove the male while she is laying eggs?

 

[djdancer]

I don't know if this was overlooked due to the time I replied but just in case:

Do you use a regular nest and if so, what kind are all of you using? I may want to breed some time but not right now. I also don't know what kind of bird would be bread because my male is a Jenday and my female is a Sun.

If I use the nest how does the bird know enough to lay the eggs in it. I made her a nesting box but she laid her eggs all over the cage and not in the box. Should I remove the male while she is laying eggs?

 

[weco]

Here's your answer on ordering the right size dummy eggs!!! DummyEggs.com Stop Egg Laying! Fake Falso Faux Eggs

Thanks Mike, I'm just going to blame my forgetfulness on sudden onset old age.....

 

[weco]

I don't know if this was overlooked due to the time I replied but just in case:

Do you use a regular nest and if so, what kind are all of you using? I may want to breed some time but not right now. I also don't know what kind of bird would be bread because my male is a Jenday and my female is a Sun.

If I use the nest how does the bird know enough to lay the eggs in it. I made her a nesting box but she laid her eggs all over the cage and not in the box. Should I remove the male while she is laying eggs?

Some hens and sometimes, their mates will feather their nest with feathers they pluck from their own bodies, others will use whatever is available, but generally, whole paper towels provide a suitable solution.....mom usually has fun shredding to her personal specifications.....

As to her not using your nestbox, she's new to nesting, but they eventually get things figured out.....

To your question about what the offspring would be...they'll be jensuns.....

I uploaded that additional information in a PDF to: http://www.keepandshare.com/doc15/show.php?i=2576544

It's the Egg Binding and Nesting-​Excessive Egg Laying-​Bleeding.pdf file.....

Good luck.....

 

[djdancer]

weco when I log into keep and share it tells me there are 0 docs..

 

[weco]

weco when I log into keep and share it tells me there are 0 docs..

Apparently there's a glitch somewhere, because both files are supposed the be free access to anyone with the link...if I can't get it fixed, I'll transfer the files to another free site.....patience is a key word in dealing with companion parrots, and apparently in sourcing these files too.....

If you have sufficient posts to the forums, I think it's 20, send me a private message with your E-mail address & I'll send you the files direct.....if you don't yet have PM privileges, PM one of the moderators & get them to forward your E-mail address to me.....you'll be able to do that ! ! !

If anyone else wants the files but can't access the either, follow the above procedures to get your E-mail address to me & I'll send them direct to you also.....