Rescue parrots laid eggs....what do I do?

[paper_lantern]

Okay so some of you may know that I rescued a pair of green cheeks from a horrible situation in a pet shop. After threatening to call animal welfare services on them they agreed to surrender the two parrots who were in really bad condition. (I still called animal welfare because there were other animals in danger).

Anyway, the guy had told me that the two parrots were definitely same sex since they never had babies. I've nursed them back to healthy, they've been to see a vet and everything is fine. But lately I noticed some weird behavior. They would feed each other, and I saw what I assumed to be mating. Then I started to wonder, but figured that maybe they were same sex but still attempting to mate with each other.

Well much to my surprise I found 3 eggs at the bottom of the cage this morning. I ran out and got a nesting box, but it doesn't look like the mother is sitting on them. How often should she be sitting on them? So what should I do to make sure the parents and eggs stay healthy, and how to I discourage future breeding?

Please don't tell me to throw the eggs away, I would feel horrible doing that. Also, please don't say "you should have thought of that before letting them breed" because honestly, I really thought they were of the same gender since I was told they had never had babies before.

[Michael]

You black mailed them into giving parrots to you???

[paper_lantern]

I guess you could look at it that way. But I won't be keeping the parrots, they weren't for me. I was just supposed to keep them until they were healthy enough to go to the parrot sanctuary. But now this egg thing has happened.

The owner was selling them for $300 each (separately, even though they were a bonded pair), and the conditions were horrible. Black mail or not I think I did the right thing.

[GlassOnion]

Please replace the eggs with fake ones, or boil the current ones and give them back. I don't think that breeding is a good choice, and it's possible that the chicks may be inbred for all we know. I don't find it cruel to terminate the embryos at this stage of development.

[paper_lantern]

Oh, well that is sad news ..I don't know why it hurts me to think of throwing away or boiling what could possibly become a parrot. Maybe its for the best, I'll see what others have to say on the matter and I'll make a decision tomorrow. Thank you for your advice!

[Wrong Bird Lady]

My personal opinion is that it's up to your own individual morals.

Some people don't see embryos as living or having the right to live (considering that there is a choice to be made by the parent or owner), whilst others view them all as a potential life with a future and something to be cherished. It's an age old debate with no set answer, only opinions. In humans AND animals I'm on about.

The other poster is right, you don't know their history. That being said people breed their pets all the time without knowing the exact history, both on purpose and by accident. Normally only people serious about breeding will chase the lineage of their animals back to be sure.

One generation closely related is normally ok, but if it's done more often that is where you normally get issues and deformities. That's not to say the babies are guaranteed to be normal, even unrelated animals can have sickly offspring. It's all down to the health of the parents, how well it is raised and a bit of luck.

Do what you feel is best. Maybe they aren't even fertile if they are the first eggs. Maybe the parent wont know how to raise them and you'll have to take over (a very laborious job from what I've read) but just make sure you are comfortable with your decision

[Rokisha]

If your not comfortable with throwing the eggs away you could always get an incubator for them if the mother isn't making an effort to sit on them. I know some people disagree with breeding for many reasons which is fine and there are ways posted to discourage further breeding but for the time being you could take steps to care for these knew eggs. If you do then make sure you do plenty of research as to how as well as seeing if they are indeed fertile. I myself am not against breeding so long as the breeder, be it accidental or on purpose, takes the steps necessary to ensure the offspring is healthy and happy. You could also call in a vet to help with your decision making if you wish or some one else with plenty of experience in this matter.

[Michael]

Oh, well that is sad news ..I don't know why it hurts me to think of throwing away or boiling what could possibly become a parrot. Maybe its for the best, I'll see what others have to say on the matter and I'll make a decision tomorrow. Thank you for your advice!

For all you know they are infertile. We know for a fact that females can end up laying infertile eggs in solitude. You have enough on your plate dealing with these two, it's not the time or place to be introducing more birds. It's going to be challenging enough to find homes for these two as it is.