eclectus parrot

[MYRNA]

Hi, I have a female eclectus parrot who has started to lay eggs behind my couch. She is getting thinner and won't stay on her perch or even eat. I have taken away 5 eggs in 3 months and something is not working. PLEASE help with some advice.

 

[Aussie Ben]

Welcome to the forum, plenty of people here willing to help

Well I have a male Ekkie so can't help too much - But something is not right and you definitely need to take her to an avian vet if you have not yet ASAP. 5 eggs sounds like an awful lot in 3 months but I'm most concerned about her not eating or sitting on her perches. How long do you let her keep the eggs before you remove them? What is her diet like?

 

[Beilana]

I agree with Ben, best to get her to the vet ASAP.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

You'll need to change the light cycle to shorten the days, get her some extra calcium, and don't take the eggs away right away or she'll just produce more to replace them.

 

[greycloud]

Hi and welcome! First you have to take away her access to dark hiding places. Do not provide any nesting material such as boxes. If you take the eggs away from her before 28 days she will just continue to lay. She seems very stressed and could definitely be having low calcium levels. Since she is not eating and is thin I highly recommended you see an avian vet. Let her sit her eggs for at least 28 days. You can boil them for about 5 minutes and give them back when they cool. This way they won't break and smell.

 

[Aussie Ben]

You'll need to change the light cycle to shorten the days, get her some extra calcium, and don't take the eggs away right away or she'll just produce more to replace them.

AD is quite right. I find if I leave the eggs with my tiel long enough for her to ignore them, she feels like she has done her job and doesn't feel the need to lay another egg, thus increasing the period between each.

Also, you might want to stop her from getting behind the couch, it is obviously encouraging the behaviour.

 

[Bobby34231]

hello Myrna and welcome to the forum, AD and greycloud are right on the money with the advice, I also agree on seeing a good avian vet.....

 

[Aussie Ben]

You can boil them for about 5 minutes and give them back when they cool. This way they won't break and smell.

never thought of doing that, I will from now on

 

[HRH Di]

I don't have any advice on the egg laying situation, but wanted to welcome you to the forum. Hope all works out.

 

[Birdamor]

All the advice is right on the nose. Five eggs is not that much for an ekkie but her getting thinner and the inability to perch is a serious concern so you need to take her to a vet asap. In the meantime, you need to let her sit on the eggs instead of taking them away (fake eggs are the best option, IMPO) You need to eliminate her access to dark places. You need to stop caressing her. And you need to reduce her protein intake drastically. Female ekkies would usually not lay without a male in attendance (in the wild, they usually have two males each to feed them while incubating) so in order for your bird to have started laying in February you must be feeding way too much protein, exciting her with your caresses and keeping her up long after the sun sets.

As to reducing the number of hours of light, yes, it is true that birds produce sexual hormones when the days are long but shortening the day doesn't always work because of the relationship between twilight and the setting of the point of refractoriness (internal breeding clock). Studies have confirmed that birds can go into breeding condition even with very short days so, sometimes, just putting them to bed early doesn't do it.