“Old” bird owner with a first time issue….

[ThatBirdLady]

I have had exotic companions for over 20 years but this is the first time for me! I took in end of August a CAG that the previous two owners stated was a male…..but I had my doubts : #1, my female CAG I have had since ‘05 did not like, #2, he had breedie-nesty behaviors….well, on the couch last night were the ‘little fellow‘ seems to like to just hang out, while I was on a conference call, ‘he’ laid an egg….so my question, is what do I do now to break this cycle or to just let it cycle through?
From its previous home I do things with Ellie(was Elliot) that were never done, wings trimmed, outside with me, goes on car rides…the most easy adjusted birdie I have ever worked with. Changed her cage, food upgraded to chop and birdie breads, etc….
So, advice??

 

[LaManuka]

From the "mother" of one naughty little egg-laying minx to another - congratulations! I think!! Unfortunately however, where there's one egg there's often another already forming so don't be surprised if another emerges in the next couple of days. Not always the case, and if you're lucky this may be a once-off event, but it's fairly likely.

Exactly how you deal with this will depend a lot on how much interest Ellie shows in her egg/s. I'm certainly no authority on Greys, but many species show little or no interest in the first egg or so until they have laid the entire clutch, which can be between 2 and 5 eggs according to what I read on the interweb. If she shows absolutely zero interest in them even after having laid more - TERRIFIC!! It might even be a good idea for you to boil the egg that she's already laid now that it's out. Even if infertile, boiling the egg gives it a bit more durability in the event that she does want to sit on it and work off those maternal yearnings until she loses interest of her own accord. If she does want to sit and ends up breaking the shell, having boiled the egg means you won't have a nasty, smelly, bacteria laden mess to clean up! Lots of people, myself included, keep dummy eggs on standby just in case their hens start laying again - taking away the eggs prematurely before the hen loses interest in them herself often only leads her to go and lay more. You can get some pretty good faux eggs from the company linked up below...

DummyEggs.com Stop Egg Laying! Plastic Fake Bird Eggs

DummyEggs sells 8 sizes of plastic broody bird eggs to Stop Egg Laying fast, safely, naturally. Non-toxic, fake bird eggs made in USA.

www.dummyeggs.com

In terms of how to stop it from happening again, well I will tell you what I have to do with my Lilly. NO petting or scratching anywhere other than her head or neck, zero access to anything that might even remotely resemble a nesting site - tricky with a tiny purple crowned lorikeet let me tell you! I have to strip all cushions, throw blankets, etc etc off my couch every day and keep her from burrowing into any nook or cranny she may find around the house - again pretty tricky with such a tiny bird! Her peak breeding season runs approximately 6 months of the year but purple crowns are opportunistic breeders too so this means it is a daily regime - again I am not an authority on Greys so unsure if you will need to be so strict on a daily basis.

I hope some other members more experienced with Greys will share their experiences with you soon. If there is good news to be had out of this situation, it would be that Ellie is obviously pretty happy in her new home with you, because unhappy parrots don't tend to lay eggs!

 

[ThatBirdLady]

From the "mother" of one naughty little egg-laying minx to another - congratulations! I think!! Unfortunately however, where there's one egg there's often another already forming so don't be surprised if another emerges in the next couple of days. Not always the case, and if you're lucky this may be a once-off event, but it's fairly likely.

Exactly how you deal with this will depend a lot on how much interest Ellie shows in her egg/s. I'm certainly no authority on Greys, but many species show little or no interest in the first egg or so until they have laid the entire clutch, which can be between 2 and 5 eggs according to what I read on the interweb. If she shows absolutely zero interest in them even after having laid more - TERRIFIC!! It might even be a good idea for you to boil the egg that she's already laid now that it's out. Even if infertile, boiling the egg gives it a bit more durability in the event that she does want to sit on it and work off those maternal yearnings until she loses interest of her own accord. If she does want to sit and ends up breaking the shell, having boiled the egg means you won't have a nasty, smelly, bacteria laden mess to clean up! Lots of people, myself included, keep dummy eggs on standby just in case their hens start laying again - taking away the eggs prematurely before the hen loses interest in them herself often only leads her to go and lay more. You can get some pretty good faux eggs from the company linked up below...

DummyEggs.com Stop Egg Laying! Plastic Fake Bird Eggs

DummyEggs sells 8 sizes of plastic broody bird eggs to Stop Egg Laying fast, safely, naturally. Non-toxic, fake bird eggs made in USA.

www.dummyeggs.com

In terms of how to stop it from happening again, well I will tell you what I have to do with my Lilly. NO petting or scratching anywhere other than her head or neck, zero access to anything that might even remotely resemble a nesting site - tricky with a tiny purple crowned lorikeet let me tell you! I have to strip all cushions, throw blankets, etc etc off my couch every day and keep her from burrowing into any nook or cranny she may find around the house - again pretty tricky with such a tiny bird! Her peak breeding season runs approximately 6 months of the year but purple crowns are opportunistic breeders too so this means it is a daily regime - again I am not an authority on Greys so unsure if you will need to be so strict on a daily basis.

I hope some other members more experienced with Greys will share their experiences with you soon. If there is good news to be had out of this situation, it would be that Ellie is obviously pretty happy in her new home with you, because unhappy parrots don't tend to lay eggs!

Thank you! Yeah, I just got her the 29th of August and my other grey that had a mate NEVER laid an egg in 17 years I have had her!! Then of course, previous owner stated she was a male….so I will let her be for a bit then go to a new NO COUCH routine…

 

[Scott]

A potential happier scenario for Ellie is one and done! Precisely my experience with Gabby, a 26 year old Goffins. Assumed to be male since hatching in my home until a single egg deposited at bottom of cage two years ago. Nothing since, and she's intensely bonded and handled. For now, use abundance of caution and techniques suggested by LaManuka, assess actions over time.

 

[ThatBirdLady]

A potential happier scenario for Ellie is one and done! Precisely my experience with Gabby, a 26 year old Goffins. Assumed to be male since hatching in my home until a single egg deposited at bottom of cage two years ago. Nothing since, and she's intensely bonded and handled. For now, use abundance of caution and techniques suggested by LaManuka, assess actions over time.

Well, I have tried car rides, outdoor cage I have and now ELLIE has a total of 4 eggs and since she is happy, eating well I am just going to ride this hormone-egg trip through as when I revive…she lays…maybe all those years the previous owners called her a male she is not rebelling…..SMILE-

 

[ThatBirdLady]

From the "mother" of one naughty little egg-laying minx to another - congratulations! I think!! Unfortunately however, where there's one egg there's often another already forming so don't be surprised if another emerges in the next couple of days. Not always the case, and if you're lucky this may be a once-off event, but it's fairly likely.

Exactly how you deal with this will depend a lot on how much interest Ellie shows in her egg/s. I'm certainly no authority on Greys, but many species show little or no interest in the first egg or so until they have laid the entire clutch, which can be between 2 and 5 eggs according to what I read on the interweb. If she shows absolutely zero interest in them even after having laid more - TERRIFIC!! It might even be a good idea for you to boil the egg that she's already laid now that it's out. Even if infertile, boiling the egg gives it a bit more durability in the event that she does want to sit on it and work off those maternal yearnings until she loses interest of her own accord. If she does want to sit and ends up breaking the shell, having boiled the egg means you won't have a nasty, smelly, bacteria laden mess to clean up! Lots of people, myself included, keep dummy eggs on standby just in case their hens start laying again - taking away the eggs prematurely before the hen loses interest in them herself often only leads her to go and lay more. You can get some pretty good faux eggs from the company linked up below...

DummyEggs.com Stop Egg Laying! Plastic Fake Bird Eggs

DummyEggs sells 8 sizes of plastic broody bird eggs to Stop Egg Laying fast, safely, naturally. Non-toxic, fake bird eggs made in USA.

www.dummyeggs.com

In terms of how to stop it from happening again, well I will tell you what I have to do with my Lilly. NO petting or scratching anywhere other than her head or neck, zero access to anything that might even remotely resemble a nesting site - tricky with a tiny purple crowned lorikeet let me tell you! I have to strip all cushions, throw blankets, etc etc off my couch every day and keep her from burrowing into any nook or cranny she may find around the house - again pretty tricky with such a tiny bird! Her peak breeding season runs approximately 6 months of the year but purple crowns are opportunistic breeders too so this means it is a daily regime - again I am not an authority on Greys so unsure if you will need to be so strict on a daily basis.

I hope some other members more experienced with Greys will share their experiences with you soon. If there is good news to be had out of this situation, it would be that Ellie is obviously pretty happy in her new home with you, because unhappy parrots don't tend to lay eggs!

Well, despite my trying to change her life totally from what it was ( she was in a porch room, not ever outside, Walmart seeds…) she continues to lay so at this point she is happy, eating well, so I am going to ride out the egg (up to 4 now, despite…) and the hormones ( maybe all those years being referred to as MALE) and let her be. I took one away and she promptly laid another….

 

[Scott]

Well, I have tried car rides, outdoor cage I have and now ELLIE has a total of 4 eggs and since she is happy, eating well I am just going to ride this hormone-egg trip through as when I revive…she lays…maybe all those years the previous owners called her a male she is not rebelling…..SMILE-

Great strategy, hope for more benign next hormone season!!

 

[Laurasea]

Sometimes a parrot that has little attention, then gets to a good home and attention gets all excited and happy and lays an egg. So fingers crossed one and done.

 

[ThatBirdLady]

Sometimes a parrot that has little attention, then gets to a good home and attention gets all excited and happy and lays an egg. So fingers crossed one and done.

Let us hope it will be 4 and done!!! …LOL

 

[parrottoys]

From the "mother" of one naughty little egg-laying minx to another - congratulations! I think!! Unfortunately however, where there's one egg there's often another already forming so don't be surprised if another emerges in the next couple of days. Not always the case, and if you're lucky this may be a once-off event, but it's fairly likely.

Exactly how you deal with this will depend a lot on how much interest Ellie shows in her egg/s. I'm certainly no authority on Greys, but many species show little or no interest in the first egg or so until they have laid the entire clutch, which can be between 2 and 5 eggs according to what I read on the interweb. If she shows absolutely zero interest in them even after having laid more - TERRIFIC!! It might even be a good idea for you to boil the egg that she's already laid now that it's out. Even if infertile, boiling the egg gives it a bit more durability in the event that she does want to sit on it and work off those maternal yearnings until she loses interest of her own accord. If she does want to sit and ends up breaking the shell, having boiled the egg means you won't have a nasty, smelly, bacteria laden mess to clean up! Lots of people, myself included, keep dummy eggs on standby just in case their hens start laying again - taking away the eggs prematurely before the hen loses interest in them herself often only leads her to go and lay more. You can get some pretty good faux eggs from the company linked up below...

DummyEggs.com Stop Egg Laying! Plastic Fake Bird Eggs

DummyEggs sells 8 sizes of plastic broody bird eggs to Stop Egg Laying fast, safely, naturally. Non-toxic, fake bird eggs made in USA.

www.dummyeggs.com

In terms of how to stop it from happening again, well I will tell you what I have to do with my Lilly. NO petting or scratching anywhere other than her head or neck, zero access to anything that might even remotely resemble a nesting site - tricky with a tiny purple crowned lorikeet let me tell you! I have to strip all cushions, throw blankets, etc etc off my couch every day and keep her from burrowing into any nook or cranny she may find around the house - again pretty tricky with such a tiny bird! Her peak breeding season runs approximately 6 months of the year but purple crowns are opportunistic breeders too so this means it is a daily regime - again I am not an authority on Greys so unsure if you will need to be so strict on a daily basis.

I hope some other members more experienced with Greys will share their experiences with you soon. If there is good news to be had out of this situation, it would be that Ellie is obviously pretty happy in her new home with you, because unhappy parrots don't tend to lay eggs!

Just a quick comment. Parrots really should have pellets as they are fortified with vitamin D and balanced for a parrot body. The person who invented the so called 'chop' was an incredible gal named Anne Eilers back in 2003. She called it veggie chop. It was not a random bunch of veggies but more a balanced combo of orange and green with other goodies added. She was my co founder of StarBird Parrot, my best friend and co designer of toys... but sorrowfully she passed in 2008.

 

[ThatBirdLady]

Just a quick comment. Parrots really should have pellets as they are fortified with vitamin D and balanced for a parrot body. The person who invented the so called 'chop' was an incredible gal named Anne Eilers back in 2003. She called it veggie chop. It was not a random bunch of veggies but more a balanced combo of orange and green with other goodies added. She was my co founder of StarBird Parrot, my best friend and co designer of toys... but sorrowfully she passed in 2008.

Ok, I haves been busy…but so has Ellie…and despite MOVING her to another room, my office where she can still hear and see us but it is a change…that stinker keeps laying eggs and TODAY I went in and now she has laid her 9th egg since September 23! I put dummy eggs in the place of the other ones …and her cage has been rearranged, and what else can I DO? being experienced, I dont pet her anywhere but her head…I did slowly take the “fist clutch “ away until she had 2 left…apparently she can count! ….so I got dummy eggs….I am worried about her health at this point…ideas? I am afraid is I DO take them away, this will just continue…for 12+ years she was thought to be a male by her previous owners…is she making up for lost time?? I estimate her age to be over 17…my other CAG is a female at age 17 and has NEVER laid an egg!!!!

 

[LaManuka]

I'm so sorry to hear that Ellie is still laying! My Lilly presented me with three clutches within six months back in 2019, and the *only* way I stopped her was to completely stop her from accessing anything that even remotely resembled a nesting site of any sort. Egg-laying can become a very serious issue if it does become chronic so I would say it's probably best to have her assessed by an avian vet to see what they think. If Ellie is anything like my Lilly in terms of her determination to reproduce, in my opinion it's best to bring in a professional - Lilly is in fact being treated for some serious reproductive problems right now which I would not even know that she had unless I'd had blood work done a few weeks ago. Not meaning to alarm you, but based on my experience with Lilly i feel it would be remiss of me not to mention it. An assessment by an avian vet will give you valuable insight and options for management too, and honestly I think this would be the best way for you to go. Wishing you both the very best of luck!

 

[Littleredbeak]

How much daylight(light is she getting?)