c3honey84
New member
Hello everyone! Haven't been on in awhile, just wanted to update everyone on Roxy. I know many of you are experienced eclectus breeders, but I just thought I would share what I have learned from Roxy over the past year for those who are new to female parrots. Roxy is a Solomon Island eclectus that I adopted from someone when she was 3 years old. She is going to be 7 in May! 
She laid her first non-fertile egg when she was 5 1/2. I did everything possible to keep her from nesting prior to this (no shreddable material in the cage, at least 10 hours of sleep but try for 12 hours, and I never let her go under the couch or blankets or anything) but apparently it didn't matter!
Anyway, she laid her first two eggs last January. I let her sit on them for 30 days, and by then she was sick of them so I took them out, and she was back to normal. And guess what! 3 months later, she laid another set. It's always one and then a second one 3-4 days later. I always move the eggs onto a towel for her to use as a nest and then remove the towel when I remove the eggs after 30 days. The reason why I do this is to keep the eggs from breaking, because she will just lay more if they break. In her second and third clutches, she kept breaking the eggs. I guess because she is inexperienced, she would try to make a nest by kicking around and would accidentally kick the eggs! She then proceeded to eat the eggs after they broke :11: which I hear is normal. (One time I found one egg that fell completely through the grate at the bottom of her cage and didn't even break!) I am thinking about moving the eggs into a little nest with walls so that they can't break. Again, I only do this after she lays one.
Roxy seems to be having natural nesting behaviors every 3 months which is normal. I only feed her natural foods and no pellets (as all eclectus owners should) so she gets her calcium from egg shells and other calcium rich foods like quinoa. So far, all of her eggs have been perfect and there has been no egg binding or anything. HOWEVER, after she lays an egg, I do give her a calcium supplement in her water for a few days because of how much calcium is depleted from her body. Also, she molts A LOT when she is nesting. From what I have read, this is normal. After all, feathers are a great nest liner and some female birds also develop a "brood patch" on their chest when nesting.
Other things to be prepared for are: Strange noises! Roxy clucks, squeals, and squeaks when she is nesting. She never makes these sounds at any other time. Also, she gets more edgy and aggressive. She is more aware of her surroundings, and more sensitive to certain objects. For some reason, she hates my cell phone! Also, when I am holding her and I try to pet her, she is more jumpy at my hand coming towards her, when not nesting she is fine. She also eats significantly less when nesting, because she is spending so much time at the bottom of her cage. She does still chew on her toys a bit, and will even take baths in her bowl, and I open the cage and still let her out, but she will come out for just a few minutes and usually go right back to her eggs. Anyways, I am sure there is a ton more to learn and I look forward to it! Just wanted to share
PS-Fun photos below!
She laid her first non-fertile egg when she was 5 1/2. I did everything possible to keep her from nesting prior to this (no shreddable material in the cage, at least 10 hours of sleep but try for 12 hours, and I never let her go under the couch or blankets or anything) but apparently it didn't matter! Anyway, she laid her first two eggs last January. I let her sit on them for 30 days, and by then she was sick of them so I took them out, and she was back to normal. And guess what! 3 months later, she laid another set. It's always one and then a second one 3-4 days later. I always move the eggs onto a towel for her to use as a nest and then remove the towel when I remove the eggs after 30 days. The reason why I do this is to keep the eggs from breaking, because she will just lay more if they break. In her second and third clutches, she kept breaking the eggs. I guess because she is inexperienced, she would try to make a nest by kicking around and would accidentally kick the eggs! She then proceeded to eat the eggs after they broke :11: which I hear is normal. (One time I found one egg that fell completely through the grate at the bottom of her cage and didn't even break!) I am thinking about moving the eggs into a little nest with walls so that they can't break. Again, I only do this after she lays one.
Roxy seems to be having natural nesting behaviors every 3 months which is normal. I only feed her natural foods and no pellets (as all eclectus owners should) so she gets her calcium from egg shells and other calcium rich foods like quinoa. So far, all of her eggs have been perfect and there has been no egg binding or anything. HOWEVER, after she lays an egg, I do give her a calcium supplement in her water for a few days because of how much calcium is depleted from her body. Also, she molts A LOT when she is nesting. From what I have read, this is normal. After all, feathers are a great nest liner and some female birds also develop a "brood patch" on their chest when nesting.
Other things to be prepared for are: Strange noises! Roxy clucks, squeals, and squeaks when she is nesting. She never makes these sounds at any other time. Also, she gets more edgy and aggressive. She is more aware of her surroundings, and more sensitive to certain objects. For some reason, she hates my cell phone! Also, when I am holding her and I try to pet her, she is more jumpy at my hand coming towards her, when not nesting she is fine. She also eats significantly less when nesting, because she is spending so much time at the bottom of her cage. She does still chew on her toys a bit, and will even take baths in her bowl, and I open the cage and still let her out, but she will come out for just a few minutes and usually go right back to her eggs. Anyways, I am sure there is a ton more to learn and I look forward to it! Just wanted to share
PS-Fun photos below!
