My Ekkie laid her 3rd egg, how can I discourage this?

[JoanneAnenberg]

I have a 3 year old super sweet but very hormonal Eclectus that laid her first egg in December and then 2 more eggs this week! She has no nest so the eggs all fell to the bottom of the cage and broke. I removed each one of them and she doesn't seem too disturbed that she is not able to lay on them. Is there anything that I should be doing for her to discourage egg laying or will this be a normal part of our lives? Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.

 

[MarvysMom]

I have a 3 year old super sweet but very hormonal Eclectus that laid her first egg in December and then 2 more eggs this week! She has no nest so the eggs all fell to the bottom of the cage and broke. I removed each one of them and she doesn't seem too disturbed that she is not able to lay on them. Is there anything that I should be doing for her to discourage egg laying or will this be a normal part of our lives? Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.

Hope you don't mind me jumping in on your post, but I have a 15yo male that is also very hormonal.... humps anything he can make work.... I'd be thrilled to also get some advice on how to stop this behavior.

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[chris-md]

Hello and welcome!

The egg laying can’t be “discouraged” per day, it’s not a behavior. Eggs are often laid in groups. So once you get past 3-5 eggs this may subside on its own. They rarely just do one or two eggs. Make sure to increase her calcium intake. Egg laying depletes calcium stores.

How is her overall behavior otherwise.

Marvysmom, I’m happy to help you but not here. I’d rather not clog up the OPs thread as you are both dealing with different issues. If you start your own thread we can discuss it over there.

 

[Anansi]

I have a 3 year old super sweet but very hormonal Eclectus that laid her first egg in December and then 2 more eggs this week! She has no nest so the eggs all fell to the bottom of the cage and broke. I removed each one of them and she doesn't seem too disturbed that she is not able to lay on them. Is there anything that I should be doing for her to discourage egg laying or will this be a normal part of our lives? Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.

While some birds just habitually lay eggs no matter what you do, there are some actions you can take that will discourage the process... or rather, decrease the unconscious encouragement of it.

1) Restrict her access to any dark, nest-like areas. So any kind of cozy little hut things should be removed from the cage. Also, she should not be allowed any boxes and such to play in. Nor should she be allowed under the couch or any other piece of furniture that might give off that dark hollow, nesty vibe. Basically, eliminate any enclosed areas that might get her reproductive wheels turning.

2) Decrease her "daylight" hours. In nature, longer days equate to mating season. But with all of the artificial lighting available in our homes, our birds' can confuse the longer hours of light for a hormonal prompt.

3) Tailor her diet. Fatty foods, or foods rich in sugar, can definitely trigger the nesting/laying impulse. So you might wan to cut down on the fruits in her chop and and nuts or seeds she may get as treats. (If either nuts or worse, seeds, are a major part of her diet right now, you should definitely be looking to cut down on all that anyhow.)

4) Halt any inappropriate touching. What is inappropriate touching with a bird? Well, prolonged stroking of the back is one example. If ever I touch my ekkies' backs, I limit it to one or two light pats at most. Continuous stroking of the back is something they would normally only experience during mating. As such, it's definitely an erogenous zone for her. Same is true for under the wings, along the length of the tail, and (obviously) the groin area. Any of these can easily serve as a hormonal trigger.

Hope all this helps. Please update us and let us know how it goes.