Hello All

[dimulec]

I came here for a solution. But first, a little introduction. This is about a Hawkhead girl Lilu. She was born in 2005. I got her when she was about 4 months old and still eating from a syringe. You can see some baby-bird food stuck under her beak.

This is her in 2005.



So, she is now 16 year old woman and today out of nowhere she laid an egg. I don't really see it as an issue because many birds (like chickens) do it without mating. But maybe someone knows - what should I do? Finding her a boy could be a problem. If that is what she is asking for. Also, even though I know how to feed parrot-chicks (done it twice), but I prefer not to deal with it again. I just don't have conditions for this. Also, I've heard she could lose a lot of bone calcium if she keeps laying eggs. Any advice would be appreciated.

Same age.

 

[Owlet]

eliminate things that can trigger hormones. Like petting anywhere but the head, dark corners, beds/huts, etc.

 

[LaManuka]

Welcome to the Forums dimulec and the lovely Lilu! What a beautiful and very naughty girl she is!

I have a little experience in the whole egg-laying department, being the lucky mother of a highly hormonally charged purple crowned lorikeet called Lilly Pilly who will lay eggs every chance she gets! Owlet is right in that you do need to eliminate petting anywhere other than the head and neck, and removing anything and everything that might even vaguely resemble a nesting site. I have to strip all the cushions off my couch because Lilly WILL try to burrow amongst them and nest at every opportunity, and I certainly cannot allow her to get too cuddly with me because it WILL trigger her to form eggs. She is probably much more chronic than Lilu but you get the idea!

As far as what to do with the existing egg, I guess it will depend on how much interest Lilu is showing in it. If it was me I'd be inclined to boil it and keep it just in case she lays another. If she shows no interest at all and no other egg appears in the next few days, great! Often when one egg appears there is another already forming, although I am definitely not familiar with hawkhead physiology. If however she does start getting broody straight away, like my Lilly does, it's best to let your hen sit on it and work off her maternal yearnings for a few weeks until she realises nothing is hatching and loses interest. Boiling the egg allows the hen to sit on it if indeed she shows interest and means that if she breaks the shell after a week or more of determined sitting, you don't have a nasty smelly bacteria laden mess to have clean up! Lilly broke the shell of hers after about 10 days but I then replaced it with a fake egg substitute which I had bought in the meantime. You can buy fake eggs for all sorts of various species from the following website...

DummyEggs.com, Dummy Eggs Help Stop Egg Laying in Pet Birds! Fake Eggs, Solid Plastic Eggs in all sizes.

It's a good idea to have some fake eggs on hand just in case this behaviour repeats itself. Removing the eggs too soon often means the hen will just lay more to replace it which can create all sorts of unfortunate complications. You will need to keep a close eye on Lilu to see if she does show interest in that egg, and to monitor whether it appears as though she might lay another. Hopefully though this is just a one-off.

Wishing you all the very best with Lilu and please do keep us updated as to how your beautiful girl is going!

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and your gorgeous Lilu. Superb advice above, though with a bit of luck this was anomaly, not beginning of problematic laying.

I have a 26 year old Goffins Cockatoo, thought to be a male. Huge surprise one year ago when an egg came tumbling to bottom of cage. Total shock, no change of environment, diet, or handling. Her vent was a bit swollen for a few days and all became normal. No eggs since!

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you! What a gorgeous little lady!

 

[dimulec]

Thank you for your responses. Implementing the countermeasures now

 

[bill_e]

Wow, I can't believe that I missed this. She is beautiful.

What's her temperament like? How's her vocabulary?

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

 

[dimulec]

She does not talk. Whispers something, hard to understand. Imitates sounds - kisses, dog barks, other 2 birds (I have 2 conures), crows... We did not try to teach her to talk, that is not the point of her existence