Eggs??

The breeder lied or did not know what they were talking about is how this happened! Hello and welcome, Mike. If there was one bird in the cage and two eggs on the floor, your bird is a girl. Many female parrots lay infertile eggs, a little like chickens. The best advice is, during the breeding season, to feed her lots of protein rich foods like hard boiled eggs and sprouted seeds and beans, and to make sure she has a ready supply of calcium. This can be provided in a calcium block, in ground oyster shells (often sold at pet shops) or using a calcium supplement, such as calcivet. The best way to provide calcium, though, is through leafy greens such as spinach and dandelion leaves. Keep an eye out for egg binding in the bird; if she is straining, having trouble sitting on her perch, panting and drooping or wondering around on the bottom of the cage consistently for a long period of time, take her to the vet. I've also been told that allowing female birds to bathe in lukewarm water helps to lower the risk of egg binding, but I'm sceptical about how true this is. Protein and calcium, however, are absolutely crucial. Congratulations, it's a girl!

Hi Mike. You'd actually do better to leave the eggs until she loses interest. I made the mistake of removing them from my grey's cage the first time, and she just replaced them. She will lose interest. You might pass that on to your daughter.

That will be an easy name change.   

The best thing for her is an all-around good diet. If she's on a good pellet supplemented by veggies, she's will probably get what she needs. You can offer her extra calcium, but I wouldn't try to make her take any. An avian vet will give you the best direction on supplements. 

I was advised by an avian vet this year to cut back a little on protein as the breeding season begins. Nothing extreme. I switched to a lower protein version of the regular pellet, which took it from something like 18% to 15%. Lots of protein is one of the signals that it's a good year to feed babies. You can switch back after she comes out of her broody period. Just one of the little things you can do to discourage her from laying in the future.

If my female tiel and pigeon were any indication, it takes about three or four days for the potential mama to get bored and give up, though Greta (the tiel) was a lot more stubborn and would sometimes sit on infertile eggs for days and days. I never took them away until she gave up on her own because, as other people said, she'd just lay more, and that's very hard on their little bodies.

I wouldn't add anything to her water. It can discourage them from drinking. If you do add it, make sure she is actually drinking it, and if she isn't, replace it with fresh water. You can give her a little dish of oyster shell or a calcium block, and let her decide if she needs a supplement.

Maya drinks the calcium liquid as well, but I am very careful to replace her water every day so that it doesn't become dangerous. Maya is also happy to chew on oyster shells when she needs it. She has a calcium block but rarely uses it. I don't know if others might have different opinions, but my vet said to me that I should only give supplements during the breeding season, the rest of the time, I should make the calcium available, but not worry too much if she doesn't take it. There is a little bit of calcium provided in her pellets, so I know she's always getting some, and I can offer more during the breeding season if she needs it. Also, Calcivet is a pretty good supplement, my vet recommended it to me, and it should be commercially available.

Okay I am back and was just checking what was written. I ordered a powder calcium supplement to sprinkle lightly on the food. I have never used the pellets. I'm not familiar with oyster shell other than eating the oysters myself. Is it called oyster shell ? And Toni is still a sitter. The cage has always been open except when company would ocme or if Toni was bad. She does come out sometimes but does not stay out long. Very protective as to when I walk in front of the cage going to the bathroom. She will fly out and try to bite or peck at me. So glad there is another walkway in this house other than that one.