How to Control Your Parrot's Egg Laying Habits

How to Control Your Parrot's Egg Laying Habits

An egg is a miracle of nature. Can you imagine small enclosed container containing a life form and sustaining it for days on end with all the vital life processes going on inside it silently? It is simply amazing to say the least but it is a feat that is achieved by your parrot and is controlled by many factors like food, male partner and climatic conditions. However egg laying may give rise to problems that will be very difficult to tackle. You will suddenly find your pet bird laying more eggs than you can or even she can handle! So you have to know what you need to do in this situation.

The signs that your pet will give if she is pregnant

Birds usually have a tendency to not release their droppings when they are pregnant. Usually the excreta of birds are not stored but birds do have the capacity to hold it back if they want to. This is done so that the nest is clean and does not have any germs in it when the eggs come out. Therefore when the poop is ultimately released then it is very odious, loose and extremely discoloured. The foul odour of the excreta is due to the bacteria and yeast which have grown in the poop while the bird was holding it inside. This is a sure way to know that your bird is pregnant.

Why prevention of excessive egg laying is important

Egg laying is no easy job and when it becomes excessive the problem is doubled. The calcium for any egg that a parrot lays comes from the calcium of its bones. Now if the bird starts to produce eggs maniacally then imagine what will be the state of its bones, the bird will suffer from hypocalcaemia which is the deficiency of calcium in bones. Not only will this deficiency affect the bones but will also prevent the uterine walls from contracting to push out the egg. As such the egg will stay inside all the time leading to seizure and brittle bones that easily get broken. As such either you prevent egg laying or you keep the health of your bird up. Keeping your bird healthy is the easy solution because sometimes eggs get laid without the presence of any male partner and you have to take care of your pet.

How to prevent egg laying

Make sure that when she does lay an egg it is not removed from her cage. It has been found that removal of eggs actually stimulate birds to lay more eggs. Also make sure that there is nothing in her vicinity that is egging her on to producing eggs. During her breeding season never allow her to access dark enclosed places like cardboard boxes and the like. These places arouse the wish to lay eggs leading to disaster. Never stroke her on her back and remove any toy she has from her cage. Generally female parrots use these toys to masturbate and you should discourage any such activity to prevent her from laying eggs. You can make EVEN You alternate some changes DEPENDING on your parrot's play habits and all of it is listed in our parrot training newsletter.