ruth
Hatchling
Posts: 1 
|
Post by ruth on Nov 16, 2016 9:55:20 GMT -5
I bought a parrot that is at least 6 years old. He has two had 2 owners. I've had her now for a little over a month. And yea that's right I bought a boy named Sam, she is now laying eggs. She was so sweet and enjoying the attention she was getting. Talking some but not much ( a lot under her breath). I guess I was giving her more attention than she was use to she was so sweet. I started giving her most sprays once a day and feeding her sunflower seeds and crackers and such. She was also getting 12 hours day light. She stared getting puffed up when I can near and when I put my hand in cage she would really get fluffy and touch my hand with on foot and strutt around and touch with other foot. Now she is laying an egg about every 2 days sometimes 3 days apart, and she has gotten mean. Tries to bite and does bite sometime when I see he turning mean I put her back in cage. I miss my sweet Sam does anybody know what I can do to get her to stop laying eggs. I have stopped spraying her daily and have stopped give Her any fresh vegetables and I'm covering her at night earlier than usual. Please help me if you can I don't want or need eggs I just want my sweet baby Sam back.
Thanks for your help.
|
|
|
|
Post by easttex on Nov 16, 2016 13:16:44 GMT -5
All this attention that she's not accustomed to has made her think she has a mate and her hormones have skyrocketed. You'll have to be patient and let her get through it this time, but there are things you can do that may head it off in the future.
For now, you don't say, but if you are removing the eggs as she lays them, don't. She'll keep laying replacements. Let her sit on them if she wants. She'll give up on her own, but in the meantime she will probably want to remain in her cage and will be very protective of her nest, as you are seeing. Keep giving her healthy foods, including vegetables, but sunflower seeds and crackers are not very good for her, and I would minimize them. Sunflower seeds in particular should be limited, as they can wind up depleting the calcium she needs right now.
In the future, go easy on the physical affection, especially as the days start getting longer. Keep to her head and neck for scritching. Especially don't stroke her back or under her wings. Twelve hours of dark is excellent, so stick with that. Foods to avoid as breeding season comes on include soft, mushy items like oatmeal - they make birds believe there's an abundance of food for baby birds. For the same reason, it can also help to reduce the protein offered, but only by a small percentage. And don't hand feed her during this time.
She he will get back to being sweet Sam, but remember her desire to raise a family is very natural. We want to watch how we contribute to their spike in hormones, but for now, just help her get through this, and if you're anxious about the whole thing, don't let her see that.
|
|
|
|
Post by cnyguy on Nov 16, 2016 20:53:30 GMT -5
Welcome to the Forum.  You've received some good advice from easttex. A healthy diet is especially important when a parrot is laying eggs, so don't eliminate fresh vegetables from Sam's diet. A few sunflower seeds make a good treat for a parrot, but shouldn't be a main part of the diet. Both parrots here enjoy a bit of cracker as a treat too, but crackers don't have much nutritional value. Misting Sam is fine as long as she enjoys it. An everyday misting isn't really necessary; a few times a week would be fine. There are Forum members with lots of experience with egg-laying birds and they may have some helpful suggestions for you too. |
|
|
|
Post by biteybird on Nov 17, 2016 3:53:19 GMT -5
Hi Ruth and Sam (Samantha?) and welcome to the Forum! I agree with what the others have said. I think you should keep giving fresh vegetables, as all birds need those. As Easttex said, just let her sit on the eggs (don't take them away) and eventually she'll give up on them. Please keep us updated on how you go. |
|
|
|
Post by julianna on Nov 19, 2016 15:02:07 GMT -5
Welcome Ruth... and Sam. I hope you are feeding her pellets?? You haven't mentioned that but it is very important that they eat their pellets are they are full of the vitamins that they need. Also, fruit... washed and peeled and they eat almost all fruits that are not citrus. In this forum there is a section on good and bad foods for quakers so may I suggest you read it.
Because she is loosing calcium during her egg laying, offer her some boiled egg and if she likes it... good.... let her have it. It will replace the calcium she is loosing.
Don't worry... once the egg laying is over... you will have your sweet little Sam back.
|
|
|
|
Post by aaron on Nov 20, 2016 23:23:39 GMT -5
Welcome Ruth and Sam! You have gotten great advice from the others. We've gone through some hormonal periods with Cupcake and most important for us has been making sure she got 12 hours of darkness every day, followed by no access to nest-like areas, followed by minimizing stroking or rubs below the neck. Those three rules make a huge difference with Cupcake. I'm obviously just repeating what the others have said, but nutrition is really important when eggs are being laid, so you are really going to want to focus on optimizing diet from this point out. Good luck and keep us posted on how things go!
|
|
|
|
Post by msdani1981 on Nov 21, 2016 23:17:41 GMT -5
I can't add anything to the advice you've been given, I just wanted to say welcome to the forum! :-)
|
|
|
|
Post by beccilouise on Nov 23, 2016 13:56:55 GMT -5
Hi Ruth, and welcome! All the advice you have been given already is great and will absolutely help. Also remember that if your bird is a rescue and has had a few owners beforehand, she may well be feeling a little of the delayed emotional strain that this will cause. Birds are like children in this respect. There is often (apparently) a 'honeymoon' period where the birds are lovely while they're settling in and then they display some behaviour resulting from the trauma of neglect. Parrots are bossy, there is no doubt about that. She will need clear, calm and patient boundaries.
When she bites, say 'no' firmly, put her down and turn your back on her for 20 seconds or so. Every time she bites, put her down immediately and say 'no.' If putting her down is not an option (you're on the loo, for example!) then shake the finger on which Sam is perched gently once or twice as you say 'no'. This is called the earthquake technique and should NOT be rough enough for the parrot to fall off, only to make them stop what they are doing. Praise good behaviour, even if that is just sitting quietly with you.
Training can sometimes help too. Teaching your bird to target a stick, to fly or jump to you on command and other tricks provides structured attention that will help to neutralise that pair bond. Ideally, you want to establish yourself as 'top bird' with Sam as one of the beta birds. This will lessen her need to mate (but not eliminate it, so pay attention to diet and hormones!) and her challenging behaviour. There are lots of really good training books, including 'The Perfectly Trained Parrot' by Rebecca O'Connor and a training guide by Michael Sazhin (also known as the parrot wizard). I don't know if Sam's wings are clipped or not, that is a personal choice for every parrot and owner. Many people on this forum do and many don't, you have to do what is right for your bird, just be aware that some of these books have strong views about clipping that don't always take into account the individual situations of bird and owner. I personally don't clip Maya's wings, but then she understand the concept of windows and mirrors and is generally a very sweet and personable bird, but I know some people clip their bird's wings for safety reasons and to prevent accident and injury on the part of the bird.
Parrots are smart, trainable and WANT to be included in a sociable environment, it's just about knowing how to make your home a parrot-friendly place. I would just advice you to read as much as you can about parrot behaviour in general, and specific to your species. I subscribe to parrots magazine which is also a really good source of information and ideas. Don't worry, your sweet little Sammie will be back in no time?
|
|
You've received some good advice from easttex. A healthy diet is especially important when a parrot is laying eggs, so don't eliminate fresh vegetables from Sam's diet. A few sunflower seeds make a good treat for a parrot, but shouldn't be a main part of the diet. Both parrots here enjoy a bit of cracker as a treat too, but crackers don't have much nutritional value. Misting Sam is fine as long as she enjoys it. An everyday misting isn't really necessary; a few times a week would be fine. There are Forum members with lots of experience with egg-laying birds and they may have some helpful suggestions for you too. 
