Single Female Grey with Eggs

[Heatherl33]

Hi! My husband and I have an 18yr old female Congo African Grey that we’ve had for 15yrs. She’s been a typical grey thus far, independent, smart, playful... never any feather plucking or behavioral issues. Exactly 36 days ago she laid an egg for the first time. Then within the same week, 3 more came. Through all the research I’ve done I’ve upped her calcium intake, made sure she’s eating healthy, and she seems healthy except for she will rarely leave the eggs at all. She sits on them still night and day and has become very aggressive. I kept reading “leave them in the cage she will lose interest” well it’s been over a month and she’s just as attached to them as the first week. Her demeanor has changed drastically, and I’m worrying about her health at this point. When I do I just say enough and take them out? Do I take one at a time over a period of days? I miss my bird.

 

[JLcribber]

A normal clutch for a healthy Grey is 4-5 eggs. Nothing wrong there. Normal incubation period is 28 - 30 days.

Your situation. Even though she is 15 she is actually in the prime of life. You could compare that to someone who is 25-35 years old. So it would not take much of a trigger for her to decide to lay an egg. (Usually) Only happy healthy hens decide to lay eggs. What triggered it is something has changed in the birds life. Environment/people/diet. Now consider your hen is new to all this. She is also trying to be a good mother and not giving up on those eggs so easily. She also does not use a calendar and her instincts are telling her to stay there until something hatches. So she could push that incubation period another 10 days (I know this from experience) before finally giving up on them. She will give up on them. This also lets the hormonal cycle throttle down naturally and dissipate until "next time". Taking them away risks her trying to replace them.

Some reading for you.

Hormonal Behavior in Pet Birds - Introduction — For The Birds DVM — Avian Vet

Table of ContentsIntroductionPsittacine BehaviorsPet Bird Behaviors UnraveledTherapeutic RemediesConclusionReferencesIntroductionThe value of better understanding the basis and development of companion psittacine birds will be a new ability to intervene early in degenerative...

www.forthebirdsdvm.com