Nesting Yellow Nape

[toyranch]

Hi, we have a yellow nape that has been with us for 24 years. She is a well-behaved bird, very sweet and loving.

One thing she likes to do that isn't so great is make a big mess outside her cage with whatever we put in the bottom of it. We've tried a number of things and using newspaper seems to work best. Lately though, she has been going to the bottom and shreds the paper and runs around underneath it and bangs her beak on the bottom of the cage tray. I am guessing she is trying to nest, but not sure.

If it's a nest she wants, should we think about getting her a nesting box, even though we are not breeding and she is our only bird?

 

[thekarens]

Definitely not. You don't want to encourage egg laying, which could lead to other problems.

 

[toyranch]

Thanks, we don't have any experience with egg laying, hahaha. Actually we thought our bird was a male until about a year ago, because we never had any reason to find out and it didn't much matter, but she was sold to us as a male. She had a bulge that her vet needed to see if she was a male or female to know what to do.

Anyway, will just let her play with the papers and not worry about it.

 

[henpecked]

Many of us with zons are going though something similar with our hens. it's just that time of the year. I would not give her anything that she finds nesty if you can help it.What was the "bulge"? A fatty tumor? also common in zons.

 

[toyranch]

Yes, it was a fatty tumor, but it is gone now.

Here is our bird.

 

[henpecked]

Oh ,she's a pretty girl. Looks like she could be a parvipes subspecies. She reminds me of my 43 yr old hen. Where you able to control the tumor with just diet?

 

[toyranch]

Thanks! Yes, it went away on it's own. She's always been pretty healthy, that was the first time a threat of something invasive existed. The same shop that told us she was a male said she was about 8 when we got her from the bird shop at Pike Place Market in Seattle, so we think she is about 32.