My African grey is about 37years old ans she is blind in one eye. She has a 6year old male. She keeps on laying infertile eggs, although we give them a healthy diet and everything else. Is she too old? What do you think should we do?
Hi,
If you have seen them mating successfully, then she may be too old, infertile, or he may be infertile. It is a big age difference and he is just now at the age to start breeding. Are you resting the pair after each infertile clutch? The nest box should always be removed or blocked off after every clutch, whether the eggs hatch or not. In the wild, they would only breed once a year. In fact they feed their chicks for much longer than captive raised birds are, so they may even nest only every two years. In captivity, the most you should allow is 2 clutches per year – again whether the eggs hatch or not – with a 6month rest in between. If they have not been rested, I would remove the box for at least 6 months and rest them. Move them to a smaller cage or even separate them if you have to so she won’t lay eggs again right now. Then after 6 months or more, try them again. If the eggs continue to be infertile, you can have the pair checked by an avian vet to rule out health issues. If they are healthy, you may have to give up on them being breeders.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
