Chicks

[Raf Kiwi]

Hi I've just joined as I need some information and I don't want to cook up. I have had my blue and gold approximately 18 years and every year for the past 5 or six years she has laid eggs, sterile as she is the only bird in the house. She sits on them for quite a while until I remove them. I have been thinking of putting a couple of live eggs in placement of hers and thought about sharing the upbringing of the chick's. Does anyone have any thoughts on this.

 

[wrench13]

Hi. Unless you are working directly with a known, trusted breeder, any attempt to buy macaw eggs is 100% going to be a failure. The selling of macaw eggs is a very common scam. PLease do not waste your time or money. And its doubtful a breeder would even consider it, as the value to them is in selling healthy, weaned young birds.

 

[Raf Kiwi]

Hi. Unless you are working directly with a known, trusted breeder, any attempt to buy macaw eggs is 100% going to be a failure. The selling of macaw eggs is a very common scam. PLease do not waste your time or money. And its doubtful a breeder would even consider it, as the value to them is in selling healthy, weaned young birds.

Thank you for that

 

[Raf Kiwi]

Thank you for that

It was ringing a few bells but with having little to do with that sort of thing you just don't know. Thank you for saving me money and stress. Is there any way off stopping her from laying eggs as she has laid two clutches in four months.

 

[LaManuka]

It was ringing a few bells but with having little to do with that sort of thing you just don't know. Thank you for saving me money and stress. Is there any way off stopping her from laying eggs as she has laid two clutches in four months.

I have zero experience with macaws, however my little lorikeet hen, Lilly, was an awfully chronic infertile egg layer, and as you probably know this condition can lead to some very serious health issues if left unchecked. I was able to control her laying by providing her with a dummy egg that she could sit on to her heart's content - I'm not sure what part of the world you live in but the following link will give you an idea of what is available ...

DummyEggs.com® Stop Egg Laying! Plastic Fake Bird Eggs

DummyEggs sells a full range of plastic bird eggs to prevent unwanted breeding. Replace live eggs with safe plastic eggs.

www.dummyeggs.com

From what I read on the interweb, macaws sit on their eggs for around 4 weeks until they hatch, and most hens of any species will lose interest in the eggs maybe a few days to a week beyond this, when they realise for themselves that the eggs are not viable and give up of their own accord. Once your hen has finished with this cycle you'll need to stop her accessing anything and everything that even vaguely resembles a nesting site and ensure she is only ever petted on the head and neck to avoid over-stimulation.

I have to say, however, that there are other complications from egg-laying other than the usual vitamin/mineral depletion in the body and egg-binding issues that are the most immediate concerns, so I would also recommend that you consult an avian specialist vet for advice, and have her thoroughly checked and blood tested, perhaps once this current cycle ends. One of the things that also cropped up with Lilly was a very fatty liver, because she desperately wanted to lay eggs and was eating A LOT of food in preparation for it, and when the energy from that food didn't go into egg production it went to her liver and was stored there as fat instead, and it caused her to have kidney issues too. So you may also need to overhaul your hen's diet to remove fruit or treats that are high in calories in order to try and prevent this, and I recommend you consult with your avian vet about this too. I mention all of this to you because I lost my precious little Lilly to a combination of all of these factors above, and I would hate to see anything like this happen to you.

 

[Raf Kiwi]

I have zero experience with macaws, however my little lorikeet hen, Lilly, was an awfully chronic infertile egg layer, and as you probably know this condition can lead to some very serious health issues if left unchecked. I was able to control her laying by providing her with a dummy egg that she could sit on to her heart's content - I'm not sure what part of the world you live in but the following link will give you an idea of what is available ...

DummyEggs.com® Stop Egg Laying! Plastic Fake Bird Eggs

DummyEggs sells a full range of plastic bird eggs to prevent unwanted breeding. Replace live eggs with safe plastic eggs.

www.dummyeggs.com

From what I read on the interweb, macaws sit on their eggs for around 4 weeks until they hatch, and most hens of any species will lose interest in the eggs maybe a few days to a week beyond this, when they realise for themselves that the eggs are not viable and give up of their own accord. Once your hen has finished with this cycle you'll need to stop her accessing anything and everything that even vaguely resembles a nesting site and ensure she is only ever petted on the head and neck to avoid over-stimulation.

I have to say, however, that there are other complications from egg-laying other than the usual vitamin/mineral depletion in the body and egg-binding issues that are the most immediate concerns, so I would also recommend that you consult an avian specialist vet for advice, and have her thoroughly checked and blood tested, perhaps once this current cycle ends. One of the things that also cropped up with Lilly was a very fatty liver, because she desperately wanted to lay eggs and was eating A LOT of food in preparation for it, and when the energy from that food didn't go into egg production it went to her liver and was stored there as fat instead, and it caused her to have kidney issues too. So you may also need to overhaul your hen's diet to remove fruit or treats that are high in calories in order to try and prevent this, and I recommend you consult with your avian vet about this too. I mention all of this to you because I lost my precious little Lilly to a combination of all of these factors above, and I would hate to see anything like this happen to you.

Thank you for all that information
unfortunately she does not make a nest she just lays them on the top of the cage and sits them there. I will take all information on board thank you

 

[LaManuka]

Thank you for all that information
unfortunately she does not make a nest she just lays them on the top of the cage and sits them there. I will take all information on board thank you

My Lilly didn't make a nest either, she would just get so super-hyper-hormonal at breeding season that she'd produce eggs and lay them wherever. She "laid" a number of them from a perch so they broke when they hit the grate in her cage, she deposited quite a few of them on my couch and even once laid one on me!

Many hens get through multiple infertile egg laying cycles and don't experience any associated health issues along the way, and your hen may be lucky enough to be one of them. But as it has concerned you enough for her welfare to have made a post here, I just think it's something you might want to discuss with her vet at her next health check if you haven't already done so