Conure laid an egg.

[jenster]

Hello everyone just wondering if anyone could give a bit of advice, I have a pineapple conure who is around 1 year and half and on Wednesday she laid an egg around 5 o'clock I think she stood on it accidentally and it broke and she ate some of it, this is the first time she has ever laid an egg! The day before she laid it she was swollen down the bottom of her belly and she almost acted as if she was dozey just wanted to keep her eyes closed sleeping. Today she is acting the same she is eating and drinking fine she has a cuttle bone in her cage and a box for her eggs, we also have a camera in the box so we can keep an eye on her. I'm just wondering how long it should take for her to lay her next egg as it's been 3 days today I know they say every other day but is this too long? I don't want anything happening to her or becoming ill! She is housed with a male and they are very bonded. Is there a way to discourage this the next time they try to breed? I spoke to a bird specialist on Thursday about her eating her egg and she said let her have another try at it and if she does the same then he advised me to take the rest of the eggs and put them in the incubator! He said that's she is still learning with it being her first time, I know it's a lot of hard work and feeding and do this yourself but me and my partner are willing to put the time and effort in to doing this for her. These are her babies I haven't got it in me just to throw them away! We just want what is best for her. Thank you for looking

 

[ZephyrFly]

Average clutch is 3-5 eggs, normally laid 1 a day or so. Best to leave the eggs with her as taking them away can encourage hens to laid more eggs. She's gunna need more calcium to and nutrients in general to help boost her in this time but don't do this forever, just for the next month or 2.
Remove the broken egg if you haven't and try to gentle clean of any area the raw egg got to (with some water, vinegar solution is best).

The best way to discourage breeding is separate cages but this wont guarantee anything, just give them less opportunity. It's not recommended when having 2 birds of any gender to house them together as they could have a falling out and hurt each other, or mate.

I don't know enough about caring for baby birds or dealing with eggs to help more than this so give your birds some space for the time being, the hen especially may get protective of the eggs and both bird may get territorial over the cage in the meantime.

There'll be someone here soon that can help you more.

 

[ZephyrFly]

Bumping this so more people can help.

 

[Piasa]

Has she laid again? Check her body to see if her abdomen is swollen with another egg. If she isn't laying, talk to your vet about helping her pass the egg because she may not be able to pass it herself. I've heard wait no more than 48 hours for an egg to pass.

 

[jenster]

Hi thanks for your replies, yes she laid the egg lastnight

 

[jenster]

So I've just got back home check on them and they have ate parts of the egg! I have now removed the egg from the box. I'm really not sure what to do if she lays another egg is it best to remove it or not?

 

[ZephyrFly]

It's generally best to leave the eggs with the hen unless you have a fake egg to replace it with. taking eggs away can cause a hen to continue to lay eggs which uses up alot of energy and nutrients from the hen, plus increasing chances of egg binding.

But if she keeps breaking them then it may be a good idea to get some fake eggs.

 

[jenster]

Hi so I took her to the vets today as I'm really worried about her, she is still looking dozey very sleepy and she hasn't laid another egg I thought there could be something wrong. I felt for a egg or anything around thay area and there was nothing, soo took her to the vets today he said that she is low on calcium and vitamins so he gave her a injection one for antibiotics and one for vitamins, also gave me drops for her water and powder for her food one calcium and vitamin again, she has to have antibiotics in the morning though the syringe. He checked for egg and he couldn't feel anything neither which is good! She still is eating and drinking fine plus pooing! She still is looking dozey do you think she will be ok? Thanks

 

[ZephyrFly]

I would imagine she's in need of those nutrients and will perk up again soon but I am hoping someone with more egg/breeding knowledge turns up soon.

You can try cooking some scrambled egg in the microwave (no oils, butter, or milk, just the egg alone) and offer her some of that when it's cooled down. It's full of good things for a bird that's laying/laid eggs. But not too much, a few beak fulls should be fine. Supplements and nutrient rich food don't go down well in birds (causes a build up in their system that they can't properly handle).

 

[jenster]

Thank you Zephyrfly for your replies I really do appreciate it, she seems to have perked up abit trying to chew things and her eyes are abit wider, she has scrambled egg a couple of days ago but it's a new food for her so she still abit iffy with it.. but ill keep trying! See how she is in the morning thanks again.

 

[rosembers]

Laying eggs is very dangerous and can cause "egg bound" where an egg gets stuck inside the body and that is fatal. Did your vet do an ultrasound or xray to be totally sure? Sometimes an egg can be stuck but not have a firm shell so it cannot be felt. I would make sure she doesn't have any type of nest or happy hut because that will encourage egg production and nesting behavior, which also can lead to aggression. And definitely make sure she has a cuddle bone for calcium since producing eggs causes the body to lose a lot of calcium.

Some birds need to keep their eggs in order to not continue laying and give the body a break from it. That is generally more for poultry (I asked our avian vet about this because we have parrots and also have doves and the doves will lay and lay and lay so we let them keep the eggs and that makes their bodies produce less). But parrots are different. Parrots can go years or even their entire life without laying eggs - the best prevention is by eliminating nests, huts, and not encouraging mating behavior with your bird (ie not allowing to eat a bite of food from your mouth, and no touching the bird anywhere below the head because that is a mating touch to birds).

You can give her organic plain yogurt and boiled egg as well, and soften her pellet food (I would buy Harrison's high potency while her body is strengthening back up from this). I would also give her cooked and cooled organic whole grain quinoa because that is packed with nutrients and birds love it. I hope your baby is okay. Sending positive thoughts your way...