Found an egg

[Munalondon]

My Alexandrine is single horny and laid an egg. I give her loads of cardboard boxes as she loves to schred them. What do I do now?

 

[SailBoat]

If she is no longer interested in it, trash it!
If their is still an interest, freeze it over-night and wait for her dis-interest to build.
Removing an egg prior to her dis-interest may only cause a development of another.

 

[Munalondon]

Hello. I had already removed it. Now she laid another egg. I'm going to leave it. But why is she laying eggs. Can it be dangerous for her.

 

[LaManuka]

Egg laying can become dangerous for your hen if it becomes chronic, it can deplete their bodies of vital nutrients and sometimes result in egg-binding where for various reasons she may be unable to pass the egg, and that can get dangerous very quickly.

Some species show no interest in the first egg or two, and only start sitting on them when they are closer to laying a whole clutch, which in the case of an Alex is between 2 and 4 eggs. If an egg is removed prematurely, it can result in the hen laying more to replace it, so the best option in that case is to leave the eggs with your hen until she realises for herself that nothing is going to hatch. Again, in the case of an Alex, that might be three weeks or more.

When my lorikeet Lilly used to lay infertile eggs, I would boil them for a few minutes, allow them to cool, and return them to her to sit on. Boiling the egg gives it a bit more durability so that the shell is less likely to break through a period of determined sitting. Also, it means that if your hen *does* manage to break it, you don't have a nasty smelly mess to have to clean up! The very best option though with infertile egg layers is to get your hands on some dummy eggs. That way, your hen can sit on them to her heart's content until she realises nothing will hatch, and you won't have any problem with shell breakage. I'm not sure where in the world you are, but you might very well be able to obtain some online, through a site like www.dummyeggs.com. I used dummy eggs with my Lilly and they worked very well indeed.

Once this laying cycle is over, you will need to restrict her access to *anything* that even remotely resembles a nesting site of any kind, whether inside or outside the cage. I think it may be those boxes that you mention she likes to shred may unfortunately be contributing to the egg laying, as to me that sounds like pretty nesty behaviour.

I hope this helps you and your little hen!

 

[Munalondon]

Thanks. I am in the UK. I spoke to the breeder who sold it to me and he said that she laid 4 eggs last year.

 

[Munalondon]

Yes she lives boxes. What can I give her to replace them. She really likes them. Also I thought it was normal for birds to lay eggs even if no male is present

 

[LaManuka]

"Normal" behaviour as far as egg-laying is concerned can cover the whole gamut between never laying an egg her entire life through to chronic egg laying of several infertile clutches per year, and I've had hens at both extremes and somewhere in between. While egg-laying may be *normal*, it's not necessarily *desirable* to allow her to keep doing it. If the egg laying continues, it can cause all sorts of complications such as egg-binding, uterine prolapse, egg yolk peritonitis, issues with organs such as kidneys or the liver, and malnutrition from depletion of calcium and vital nutrients, all of which can be very hazardous to your hen's health.

Your hen does of course "like" the boxes, but I do think you will find that this is what is helping to trigger her egg-laying response - she likes them just a little too much I'm afraid. You can try replacing them with something like chewing or shredding toys that can be hung from the top or sides or the cage, rather than something that she can actually get inside like a box. You can also do things like reduce highly energy dense foods, such as converting to a diet of pellets and vegetables if she is currently eating seeds. It's also important for you to not inadvertently stimulate this response in your hen by petting her on her back or tail. Only the head and neck should be petted or scratched, as touching anywhere else can also end up contributing to the egg-laying that you are observing.

 

[Munalondon]

"Normal" behaviour as far as egg-laying is concerned can cover the whole gamut between never laying an egg her entire life through to chronic egg laying of several infertile clutches per year, and I've had hens at both extremes and somewhere in between. While egg-laying may be *normal*, it's not necessarily *desirable* to allow her to keep doing it. If the egg laying continues, it can cause all sorts of complications such as egg-binding, uterine prolapse, egg yolk peritonitis, issues with organs such as kidneys or the liver, and malnutrition from depletion of calcium and vital nutrients, all of which can be very hazardous to your hen's health.

Your hen does of course "like" the boxes, but I do think you will find that this is what is helping to trigger her egg-laying response - she likes them just a little too much I'm afraid. You can try replacing them with something like chewing or shredding toys that can be hung from the top or sides or the cage, rather than something that she can actually get inside like a box. You can also do things like reduce highly energy dense foods, such as converting to a diet of pellets and vegetables if she is currently eating seeds. It's also important for you to not inadvertently stimulate this response in your hen by petting her on her back or tail. Only the head and neck should be petted or scratched, as touching anywhere else can also end up contributing to the egg-laying that you are observing.

Thanks for all this.can I just flatten the boxes she can schred them but not go inside. Yes I do tend to pet her back so I will stop that.

 

[LaManuka]

You can certainly *try* flattening the boxes, but if she's still shredding them, then that may represent nesting material to your hen, so the egg-laying may well still continue. Better to eliminate access to any materials like that altogether, I would think.

 

[Munalondon]

Ok i can remove the boxes but what toys do you recommend then, everytime she sees a box she gets so happy.

 

[Munalondon]

My Alexandrine is single horny and laid an egg. I give her loads of cardboard boxes as she loves to schred them. What do I do now?

 

[LaManuka]

I am not sure exactly what sorts of toys are available in your area, but as mentioned previously, you can try hanging, shreddable toys that (hopefully!) won't affect your hen in the way that sitting inside a box and shredding it does - similar to the ones illustrated below....

You can also try to introduce foraging, so that your hen has to work a little harder for her food. If she spends a little more effort working for food, she is naturally going to have less time to spend on obsessive nesting behaviours. Some toys that may assist with foraging are illustrated here ...

Obviously your hen will miss those boxes for a while, and may even become a little bad tempered for a bit when they are removed. These particular toys may or may not be to your hen's liking, so you may find that you need to experiment with different methods of distraction and find something that works in your own particular situation.

 

[Munalondon]

Thanks

I live in London, I will have a look on Amazon