Lisa Shea Forums Parakeets Parakeet Breeding More Eggs

Hey. Four days ago I was doing my daily check of the nest box when I noticed FIVE eggs rather than four. I'm not entirely sure when Jayka laid this egg since the paper towels may have been covering up one of the eggs each time I checked. But the thing is, I placed the paper towels in the nest box almost an entire week after she laid the fourth egg!! So, there was at least a week gap between the 4th and 5th eggs which is very strange. The day before yesterday I noticed a sixth egg. Is this okay that she's laying more eggs? I saw them mating again today. Is that normal? I don't want her to continue laying eggs because I know it's extremely straining for her. Still none have hatched though which is slightly concerning. The fourth egg was due to hatch yesterday or today... should I do something to prevent her from laying more eggs? Is she starting a new clutch?

when was the first egg laid???? and when you put in the paper towel maybe you didnt notice it or she laid it right after you did.

Wow Stephen, I can't believe she's still laying and breeding and none of the first eggs have hatched yet.
I don't know what to tell ya about doing something to prevent her from continuing to lay eggs at this point. Sorry.
Hopefully illusive will be on soon with some advice.
I WOULD be sure to get some extra calcium in to her tho..as in a liquid calcium supplement. Not sure what you've been giving her as far as calcium goes, but with all those eggs taking a toll on her she needs a good boost by now. Without it, as you probably know, you risk eggbinding occurring, and you don't want that

Okay, thanks. The first egg was laid April 13th. I just saw them mating again. There are 9 eggs now. Should I do something?

Wow, 9 eggs! Well some of them are duds! It's been over a month since the first was laid, so they should have hatched by now. When those didn't hatch, she probably laid more. The duds need to be removed but I'm guessing it's almost impossible to tell which ones are the older eggs. I would suggest you remove all the eggs, the nest and all but a determined hen will lay no matter what. And removing the new eggs could cause her to lay more depleting her calcium to non-existent. I'm becoming worried about her. Have you separated the male from her cage?? If she's not breeding, she may not have such a need to lay. I have no idea what to tell ya. I can't remember where I found this link but it may help. Discouraging Breeding Behavior: http://www.forthebirdsdvm.com/pages/discouraging-breeding-behavior-in-pet-birds In this article it says, "If however she does not stop at 3 – 4 eggs and continues laying, this strategy may not work, and you should call your avian veterinarian for further suggestions. Also you an, ask your veterinarian about hormone injections. In certain cases of excessive egg-laying, your veterinarian may recommend hormone injections in addition to the above environmental and dietary changes. Hormone injections are relatively safe and can help reduce egg-laying in some birds. The effectiveness of hormone injections varies from bird to bird and can not be accurately predicted beforehand." Hope this helps you and her.

Yes Stephen, you should do something...call your Avian vet and see what s/he suggests you do.
The egg laying has been going on way too long and will take it's toll if not stopped.

Let us know how it goes, and what the vet advises.


Good informative article ya got there Kim. All but the pellet diet I don't agree with
Bookmarked
Thanks

a AVIAN vet visit at this stage is a MUST for a shot to prevent anymore laying before you loose her....sorry to have to say that but it is what it is...

i had a cockie once just like this and it took a trip to get the shot ...once that was done ...everything was back to normal...

separating males from females however does not stop egglaying but it will stop breeding which of course just adds to the problems so you do need to separate the pair no matter how much they cry out for each other etc its the best you can do...i would suggest even putting them OUT OF SITE of each other and of course never let them come together at out times...

otherwise you need a VERY large cage and not to feed a gourmet table of foods so to speak and shorten up daylight times...also strategic placement of perches need to be looked into so they can not keep their balance when trying to copalate...at the end of the perches where it hooks to the bars place toys so the female cannot reach out with a foot to the bars on the cage to steady herself...remove ladders also for this purpose...place perches on a steep angle instead of level also...this is a big help.

remove stimulating toys mirrors etc and shreddy toys...DO NOT supply a nesting box or one with PAPER TOWELS or any nesting material in it

a straight good balanced overall nutritional diet WITHOUT a gourmet being offered in other words veggies eliminated will also help stop the breeding need and laying urge...

there is many time suggestions are made to keep rearranging a cage to discourage ...i TOTALLY disagree with this as when hormones are flying this does not stop that cycle and if they want to lay its like a pregnant women...nothing is going to stop her from giving birth...when its time..i believe that just stresses them more IMO...

be sure tho to pick up some POWDERED OYSTER SHELL for calcium sometimes you wont find it in the bird section of stores but will find it in the reptile section or just ask i believe petco does carry this or at least they use to...

sprinkle liberally over seed

your vet may also give her a calcium shot along with the other shot

a cuttle bone is useless in these situations so dont depend on that as the calcium from a cuttlebone is often not utilized sufficiently anyway by the bird.

there are somethings in that link i do NOT AGREE with however.

having bred show cockies for many years i use to keep a mixed flight of males and females together all the time and they wouldnt breed or lay eggs till i signaled them thats what i was looking for...there are ways to avoid this....i dont know the size of your cages either but larger is better to prevent unwanted matings also...along with a WELL BALANCED DIET and this does not necessarily mean pellets either NOT TODAY in this age...go organic with a wide selection of grains and seeds and keep protein levels at 11% NO MORE

good luck keep us informed

my computer seriously wants to die on me so im hoping i will be able to continue to boot up and log in

I remember Baby's story all too well PB. So sad
HOPEFULLY others will learn from Baby's story and her loss will save others.

Stephen,
it really is imperative that you get Jayka to an Avian vet asap. Since this is her first time going in to the crazy egglaying frenzy, hopefully the lupron shots WILL stop her. It has worked for many others and I do think it is your best shot.
If you don't stop her soon you are going to lose her

Please let us know how things go.

If you go to www.aav.org/search and put in nc you will see 15 avian vets in north carolina. Find one near you and go

Please let us know how it goes after she gets back from the vet