Roy is an egg machine?

[markklb]

My Sun Conure Roy has laid 3 eggs and I am curious about a few things about what would be the best course of action.

1. Even though her eggs are unfertilized and will never hatch she is treating them as they will. How long should I let her try to incubate her eggs?
2. She started having the eggs nesting in her sheltered tent that she sleeps in but has since moved them down to the cages floor pan and has constructed a simple nest from the newspaper strips i use to line her cage. Should I remove these eggs while she is actively trying to incubate these?
3. Now that i know she is a female would it be better for her to seek out a male and allow her to breed and perhaps raise a clutch? Would that be beneficial for her or not?
4. Should i adjust her diet? She loves Sunflower seeds, and parrot mix and fruit and Rolling Rock Beer which i believe caused her to have eggs. Party Parrot.

 

[weco]

Leave the eggs & try not to disturb her too much. She will probably lay one more, but could lay up to 6 total. She should have already started sitting the eggs hard (all the time), but if not, will as soon as she lays her next one.

Removing eggs, fertile or not, can cause some hens to replace the lost eggs (not good for her).

You should also be giving her calcium rich foods & a cuttle bone would be a good idea.

She should abandon them in 20-26 days & you'll be able to remove them without the threat of bodily injury from her. During her incubation time, she'll ignore you, other than to protect her eggs, but you'll still want to talk to her as you normally do. It would be wise to just place food & water in their bowls & not try to change papers on the bottom, since she's made a nest there.

Since this is her first nest with you, mark your calendar, so you'll know next year to prep some type of nest box a couple of weeks before.....moving eggs from a sleep tent could cause breakage & subsequent egg replacement or her possibly eating them.

Alcohol in any form is not good for birds and sunflower seeds should be only about 4 percent of her diet, if that. They're high in fat & Roy is not flying around from tree to tree all day.....she just has to climb over to her feed bowl. Fresh fruits, veggies & pellets is what she really should be eating.

 

[MonicaMc]

I'll probably repeat quite a bit of what weco has already supplied... but here's my response.

1. Even though her eggs are unfertilized and will never hatch she is treating them as they will. How long should I let her try to incubate her eggs?
If you are willing to let her incubate the eggs, 4 weeks is an ideal time for her to sit on the eggs. Mind you, this is four weeks after she starts incubation, not the time when she first started laying. She should, in theory, 'give up' on the eggs and abandon them.

2. She started having the eggs nesting in her sheltered tent that she sleeps in but has since moved them down to the cages floor pan and has constructed a simple nest from the newspaper strips i use to line her cage. Should I remove these eggs while she is actively trying to incubate these?
If you want to remove her eggs, you need to take measures to keep her from laying again. Here's a list.

Here's a list of suggestions you could try to get a hen out of egg laying mode.

• Remove Eggs
  • Rearrange the cage
  • Move the cage to a new location
  • Use a cage grate
  • Get a new cage/Use a different cage
  • 12-14 hours of complete darkness
  • Decreace calcium and protein within the diet (if she is on a high calcium & protein diet prior to laying eggs)
  • Remove anything that could be taken as a nest
  • Remove anything that could be used as nesting material
  • Don't allow her in any dark place or enclosed area
  • IMPORTANT: save the eggs in the fridge
  • If she lays more than 3-4 eggs, put them back in the cage
• Leave the Eggs
  • Leave the eggs alone in the cage
  • [Optional] Replace with fake eggs (prevent eggs from breaking)
  • Increase calcium
  • Let hen sit on eggs for 3-4 weeks or until she gets bored of them
  • Once done sitting, toss

3. Now that i know she is a female would it be better for her to seek out a male and allow her to breed and perhaps raise a clutch? Would that be beneficial for her or not?
Do you want to become a breeder? If she is your pet, are you willing to lose the bond you have with her to a male sun conure? Is there a demand for sun conures in your area? Do you have an avian vet that could assist you in case of emergencies? Do you have a breeder in your area that can teach you how to hand feed as well as tell you what supplies you'll need for hand raising chicks?

Yes, it's beneficial for her to have a 'buddy' of some kind (same sex or not), but if you answer "No" to one of the above questions, then no, I can't recommend getting her a mate. Not to mention, you could buy a mate for her, and she may not get along with him anyway...

4. Should i adjust her diet? She loves Sunflower seeds, and parrot mix and fruit and Rolling Rock Beer which i believe caused her to have eggs. Party Parrot.
Either remove the sunflower seeds or sprout them.

A "parrot mix" does not sound healthy. If she's not on a healthy diet, she requires pellets in her diet. Breeding hens also require a diet higher in protein and calcium. If she is not receiving this, she could deplete her system of the required nutrients to lay eggs, and if she continues laying eggs, may have problems laying them.

Fruit is ok as a part of the diet, but she also requires a variety of vegetables, grains and healthy legumes. White rice wont cut it. You can view the following thread to get an idea of healthy foods you can feed her.

http://www.parrotforums.com/general...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html


As mentioned, alcohol is a big no no. Alcohol, caffiene, table sugar, salt, avocados and chocolate are all items that *should* be avoided for the health of our birds.




Please, get her onto a healthier diet!

 

[markklb]

Thank you for the very concise and instructive directions. As Roy was a rescue and she has been with me for 5 years now we have grown close. I will certainly change her diet immediately and will leave her eggs in place until she leaves them on her own volition.
Just to clarify when i mentioned Rolling Rock as part of her diet was said in jest. When i get home i will have a Rolling Rock and she will want to sit on my shoulder and get petted and preened by me and will occasionally venture down and explore and try a sample of the beer. She won't take more than a taste though.
Thanks again for the information.

 

[Conurebreeder]

I give one of my conures wine, champagne, and beer. So I see no huge issue with it. I give one to three sips. Animals get wasted in the wild all the time, especially birds. Parrots consume rotting fruits until black out drunk falling all over. I've even witnessed conures consuming peyote in Mexico and there were no fatalities.

 

[EclectusRoratus]

I'm no expert but I don't think it's safe to give your birds alcohol.

 

[MonicaMc]

I'm sorry, but IMO, there is a huge difference between intentionally providing alcohol to your pet birds and birds accidentally ingesting it.

10 Toxic Foods For Parrots | African Grey Parrot Centre ? Blog

8. Toxic Food For Parrots: Alcohol

Although responsible parrot owners would never dream of offering their pet parrot an alcoholic drink, there have been instances in which free roaming parrots have attained alcohol poisoning through helping themselves to unattended cocktails. Alcohol depresses the organ systems of parrots and can be fatal. Make sure that your parrot stays safe by securing him or her into their cage whenever alcohol is served in your home.

BBC News - Alcohol poisoning, not avian flu, killed Romanian birds

Dogs and Alcohol - Alcohol Poisoning in Dogs and Cats

How Hazardous Is Alcohol To Dogs And Cats?


If alcohol is so bad for dogs and cats, it's not hard to imagine how deadly it can be for parrots.