sun conure laying eggs

[mariposa08]

Hi All,

I have a 17 yr old sunny who has decided to lay eggs for my boyfriend. She has laid some eggs in the past, but this time is excessive. She laid 2 eggs about 2 weeks ago, no interest in them at all, so I tossed them out (this is what I have done in the past, she has only laid 2 eggs at a time about 2 or 3 times total in the 8 years that I have had her). She has now laid eggs 3 and 4 and is sitting on them in a little nest (fleece bed).

Is there any way to get her to stop laying eggs? She is getting the calcium supplement in her water and I make scrambled eggs (with shell) for her. We are careful where she is touched when we pet her (head and neck only). What else can I do or not do? HELP!!!

Thanks!

I am in New Hampshire, USA, we are in the throes of a cold winter, the daylight hours are increasing...

[marie83]

Just let her sit them until she shows she is not interested in them at all any more then throw them away.
If she lays again then leave the eggs with her until a couple of days after she stops laying, sometimes they dont show any interest is sitting on them until they have a full clutch.

You do right to not overstimulate her with petting, keep doing what your doing, short and sweet is much better.
Find out when your sun would breed in your country (sorry didn't notice where you are)- what season is it? are there more hours of daylight or less? does it rain more at this time of year, how hot/cold is it compared with non breeding times? So if your conure breeds when there are less hours of light, when its damper and cooler then do the opposite of that, offer less baths, dont let the room temp dip too much and increase the daylight hours with artificial lighting.

Also how much do you feed? its important not to feed more than your conure needs in a day, parrots wont usually go to nest if there isn't food going spare, otherwise how will they survive and rear their young? search the boards for food management and have a read through the posts that come up.

One last thing to end this with, give it time because hormones dont just change overnight when it comes to breeding cycles, its a gradual thing so the body can prepare itself.

[mariposa08]

thank you very much for the insight... I am now going to look at the natural habitat for breeding conures and do just the opposite!

[marie83]

Oh just to add if there is anything in the cage such as a nest box or similar (happy hut etc) then its a good idea to remove it.

[Polarn]

She has now laid eggs 3 and 4 and is sitting on them in a little nest (fleece bed).

Was about to say, remove any "cozy" spots that could be considered nests, like the fleece bed.

[mariposa08]

My sunny is a handicapped fid... one wing and one foot with toes, she cannot perch like a normal bird and so needs a resting spot... I have a happy hut for her to sleep. If I should remove this, what should I replace it with?

[marie83]

You can get shelf type perches or shelf type bits of wood similar to what chinchillas have in their cages. You could line it with fleece to make it softer