Ellie the Ekkie HELP!!??

[Kimberleygott]

I’ve had my parrot Ellie (Ekkie) since I was 15 Im now 23 after finding a place to live on my own I was able to have my her back, I had to move from dads to mums before hand and had to leave Ellie at dads. I was apart from Ellie for 4 VERY LONG years. Which was very difficult. having her with me is amazing our relationship hasn’t changed. I’ve had her with me about 3 months now and as it has spring she has laid an egg, but she has never in all the years laid any, i know she is very settled now has a great diet she’s hardly ever in her cage (which she had been in ALOT over the 4 years we were apart) so she chose her nest place and laid an egg. she destroyed the egg herself and I removed it. I have blocked off where her nest was and tried to prevent her getting a new one. She’s constantly clucking for my attention. She uses her beak to try and tell me to feed her as if she were a chick again. She’s plucking her feathers. And is driving me insane to be honest! Does anyone know what I can do?

 

[chris-md]

Hello Kimberly, and welcome!

And a HARDY welcome to hormone season! The barbering (that's what it is, shes chewing the feathers, not plucking them out) is fairly common, as they use the feathers to line the nest.

Sounds like you're doing what you need to: restrict nesting sites. But are you following all the other hormone control measures:

1. Drastically reduce sugar intake - this includes fruits, a major contributor to sugar intake. Go heavier on vegetables and some grains at the moment.

2. Make sure she's getting 12 hours sleep, minimum

3. The food you give should be slightly cooler than you usually serve. Warmed food has the temperature and texture of regurgitation, so that can trigger hormones

4. No inappropriate touching - no touching anywhere except the head.

There are more - have a good look around the internet - there are resources everywhere that talk about hormone control. Understand these measures won't ELIMINATE the hormones. They may just take the edge off, and keep them from getting worse.

Really, the primary thing here is time. You really just have to kind of wait them out. You can't stop hormones, to be clear. Just make sure you aren't making them worse with your care.

Best of luck!

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and Ellie, glad you had a great reunion! No, they never forget their people!!

What is the "nest" you describe? Is it an attached box or an area she prefers to snuggle? You'll want to remove all covered or secluded areas to reduce an urge to lay eggs. Hopefully the egg laying is one time aberration. By following the techniques suggested by chris-md, you may prevent future unwelcome eggs.