RB2

[Pammie]

Hi all,

If you have a female how do you manage egg laying with no male in midst?

Do you use fake eggs?
Do you let her lay then discard?
Is egg binding an issue or depends on the individual bird?

TIA

 

[wrench13]

Hi there. A lot of folks swap out the real eggs for fake ones at the first opportunity. Some parrots can get rough or even try to break eggs, and who wants that mess inside the cage of nest box! She will lose interest eventually and they can be removed.

Egg binding happens occasionally within a given population, but I believe that once it happens to an individual, you have to keep an eye out for it in the future. Could be wrong about that last bit.

 

[Pammie]

Hi there. A lot of folks swap out the real eggs for fake ones at the first opportunity. Some parrots can get rough or even try to break eggs, and who wants that mess inside the cage of nest box! She will lose interest eventually and they can be removed.

Egg binding happens occasionally within a given population, but I believe that once it happens to an individual, you have to keep an eye out for it in the future. Could be wrong about that last bit.

If there is no nesting box will she find somewhere else to lay?

 

[hiriki]

If there is no nesting box will she find somewhere else to lay?

This question depends on your individual bird. I have a lovebird who, even with an enclosed dark hut where she sleeps every night, has never laid an egg. I had a cockatiel previously who hadn't laid eggs and then laid 8 the moment I gave her a nest box (I just wanted to give her a cozy place to sleep, it was a rookie mistake lol). Meanwhile, I also had a cockatiel who, regardless of nesting prospects, would occasionally lay single eggs off of her perches (they would just break on the floor of the cage and need to be cleaned up). For her, it was always just one egg at a time maybe three times a year or so unless I gave her a basket or something that she saw as a potential nest, in which case she might lay 2-3 and keep laying until I removed the nest. And, I have a conure who I thought was male and discovered recently is actually female who has never once displayed egg laying or hormonal behaviors the entire time I've had her (about 10 years).

That being said, some other types of birds are going to go out of their way to find a place and will lay eggs no matter what you do. I know pigeons and doves are like this, I don't personally know of any parrot species that are quite as prolific egg layers but it may exist. I give my doves a basket to nest in because if they don't have a dedicated nest, they lay eggs in their food bowl. If they didn't have a food bowl I'm sure they would lay eggs on the floor of the cage. They are a bonded pair, but even for the brief time I had a lone female (her mate had died), she was laying eggs... I think once they start they just keep going regardless of mate lol.

I think the most important advice here if you have a lone female is to monitor hormone levels, make sure she gets a solid 10-12 hrs of sleep a night, and avoid giving her dark/enclosed nesting places to lay eggs. You'll also want to remove any toys that she tries to mate with because masturbation will absolutely trigger egg laying if unchecked. If you're new to birds and you're not sure what masturbation looks like, they basically just rub their bum on things... if she seems to be doing a rubbing motion, it's probably unsavory behavior lol.