I have 2 female macaws. They found some boxes at the bottom of the steps and tore them up and would go up and down for about a month. They seemed to be having fun so I let them. They have laid eggs now and then this year while on there perch. They laid eggs 5 days ago in this mess of boxes at the bottom of the stairs. Since then I can't go near them, they attack and bite me. Last night I used a towel and brought them up to their perch. They were so upset for hours that I let them go back down. I put their food on the steps because they won't come up. I know they are suppose to protect their nest but I was crushed at how mean they were to me. I want my pets back. I don't want to upset them more than I have to. Is it better to let them set until they tire of it or should I make them come up and make it where they can't see the old nest site.
2 females laying eggs
- Thread starter macaws49
- Start date
Flyte
New member
- Jun 18, 2007
- 354
- 3
- Parrots
- Blue & Gold Macaw, Madison;
Yellow Naped Amazon, Rocky;
Timneh African Grey, Tyler
I had two female cockatoos that laid eggs and 'bred' but they still allowed me to handle them. My Male Conure, on the other hand, became ferocious when I got him a wife. Never could really handle him again.. all birds will react differently, though
Are you absolutely sure you have 2 females? Were they just introduced to each other, when they started making the nest?
I don't understand where the birds are going.. are they in some sort of large enclosure with stairs? Or are they going down to your Basement or something?
I wouldn't trust my guys out of my sight for that long, they have their own room.
I guess it's really up to you whether you take the nest away or not.. I left my B & G with her eggs for nearly a month. She finally started losing interest after that and didn't mind when I took them away.
Good luck!
Are you absolutely sure you have 2 females? Were they just introduced to each other, when they started making the nest?I don't understand where the birds are going.. are they in some sort of large enclosure with stairs? Or are they going down to your Basement or something?
I wouldn't trust my guys out of my sight for that long, they have their own room.
I guess it's really up to you whether you take the nest away or not.. I left my B & G with her eggs for nearly a month. She finally started losing interest after that and didn't mind when I took them away.
Good luck!
- Thread starter
- #3
I live upstairs, downstairs is my business. The stairs start in my living room and end at the door that goes into my business. I have to go out the front door and outside and enter my business from the outside door. The bottom of the stairs are about 8 feet from the chair I always sit in. I can look over the rail and see them. I have put sheets down the stairs so I can wash them since I have carpet. How long do they do this until they tire of it? I miss them. I run (fast) down the stairs and put their food and water so they are still eating well.
TexDot33
Bird poop and baby poop
- Dec 26, 2006
- 2,576
- 10
- Parrots
- 15 year-old Sun Conure: Hamlet &
14 year-old Green-Cheeked Conure: Mac
I would let them sit on the eggs until they figure out that they aren't going to hatch, they will give up on them at some point ... THEN I would remove the boxes and not allow them to do that again ... I would also take a look at changing their diets to include more calcium & protein to help with egg laying hens .. take a look on the internet to find out exactly what you should add to their diets to help them out ...
NOW, what about some pictures?!
NOW, what about some pictures?!
If you know they are not gonna hatch I would take them away as well as the boxes, All the while they have eggs they will protect them. Once the eggs and nest are no longer there they may just become your loving fids again.
Yeah they all act differently and they may just find something else to make a nest with and start all over again, but that could happen whether you take the eggs & nest away or not. I think I would follow my judgement and hope that I made the right call. (Have they laid before?????) How old are they?
Yeah they all act differently and they may just find something else to make a nest with and start all over again, but that could happen whether you take the eggs & nest away or not. I think I would follow my judgement and hope that I made the right call. (Have they laid before?????) How old are they?
Flyte
New member
- Jun 18, 2007
- 354
- 3
- Parrots
- Blue & Gold Macaw, Madison;
Yellow Naped Amazon, Rocky;
Timneh African Grey, Tyler
I couldn't bear taking Madison's eggs away from her (my B&G). Just felt like it wouldn't be right. She was doing such a good job taking care of them and was safe, healthy and eating/drinking well.
She was very protective of them but didn't get overly aggressive. She and I are VERY close though and she doesn't like any of my other birds. If she had a best friend birdy, things might have gone differently.
When I picked one egg up she came over, took it out of my hand, put it back under her and then did a half-arsed lunge just to let me know I wasn't to touch. She wasn't trying to hurt me and didn't actually even touch me, just wanted to get her message across.
Once she lost interest and I removed the eggs she returned immediately to her normal mama lovin' behavior. That was over two years ago when she turned 10 years old. She laid 3 eggs total, the first one broke and she replaced it so she was always sitting on 2 eggs. She hasn't laid any eggs since.
I honestly think if I had taken her eggs away, Madison would have laid more, since she replaced her broken egg so quickly. (she had been sitting on the original eggs for about 2 weeks when one broke)
First off, if it's becoming too dangerous for you to get to your downstairs area then maybe relocating them with the nest or removing it might be a good idea. Don't want you losing a limb.
Hopefully this isn't the case. If you can deal with it and feel comfortable with the birds where they are with their nest, they are eating/drinking good and seem healthy, I would just let them be.
Taking them away now or in a month is probably not going to make a difference in how they behave towards you. Like Tex said, I would try to discourage them from doing this again, at least in this area. Maybe giving them a large nesting box in their play area or on the cage would help. My Macaw plays in her nestbox all the time, she absolutely adores it. I worried it would encourage her to continue laying eggs but, nope, she thinks its her clubhouse
Definitely add calcium, protein & extra nutrients to the diet to compensate for the nutrients lost in egg production. I gave my Macaw a small amount of cottage cheese when I realized she was laying and for a short time afterwards.
I had an egg bound chicken that I had nearly die on me and my vet told me that cottage cheese helps the bird to absorb calcium better. Never had a soft egg/egg bound problem again. Of course do this in moderation, don't want to give a bird too much dairy.
Good luck and I would really love to see some pictures of this crazy nest too, if they don't chase off the paparazzi!
She was very protective of them but didn't get overly aggressive. She and I are VERY close though and she doesn't like any of my other birds. If she had a best friend birdy, things might have gone differently.
When I picked one egg up she came over, took it out of my hand, put it back under her and then did a half-arsed lunge just to let me know I wasn't to touch. She wasn't trying to hurt me and didn't actually even touch me, just wanted to get her message across.
Once she lost interest and I removed the eggs she returned immediately to her normal mama lovin' behavior. That was over two years ago when she turned 10 years old. She laid 3 eggs total, the first one broke and she replaced it so she was always sitting on 2 eggs. She hasn't laid any eggs since.
I honestly think if I had taken her eggs away, Madison would have laid more, since she replaced her broken egg so quickly. (she had been sitting on the original eggs for about 2 weeks when one broke)
First off, if it's becoming too dangerous for you to get to your downstairs area then maybe relocating them with the nest or removing it might be a good idea. Don't want you losing a limb.
Hopefully this isn't the case. If you can deal with it and feel comfortable with the birds where they are with their nest, they are eating/drinking good and seem healthy, I would just let them be.
Taking them away now or in a month is probably not going to make a difference in how they behave towards you. Like Tex said, I would try to discourage them from doing this again, at least in this area. Maybe giving them a large nesting box in their play area or on the cage would help. My Macaw plays in her nestbox all the time, she absolutely adores it. I worried it would encourage her to continue laying eggs but, nope, she thinks its her clubhouse
Definitely add calcium, protein & extra nutrients to the diet to compensate for the nutrients lost in egg production. I gave my Macaw a small amount of cottage cheese when I realized she was laying and for a short time afterwards.
I had an egg bound chicken that I had nearly die on me and my vet told me that cottage cheese helps the bird to absorb calcium better. Never had a soft egg/egg bound problem again. Of course do this in moderation, don't want to give a bird too much dairy.
Good luck and I would really love to see some pictures of this crazy nest too, if they don't chase off the paparazzi!
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