We have had an African grey for about 4 months. Recently she has laid 4 eggs but does not show interest in sitting on the egg. Three of the eggs broke because she is dropping them from her upper perch were she sleeps. We put a towel on the bottom of the cage to catch the egg, but she doesn’t seems interested. What can we do to stop her from producing.
Hi William,
Since she isn’t interested in the egg, you can throw it away. It’s not real common for single African Greys to lay eggs, or have issues with being a chronic egg layer. So hopefully she has satisfied the need for now. You can try several changes – meaning all of these suggested changes. First, if she is tame and you pet her, you should limit it to her head. Only a bonded mate is allowed to groom another bird on the body, so when we over pet a bird, we can trigger their hormones. Limit her daylight to 8-10 hours by covering her cage early in the evening. Limit fresh foods to once or twice a week. No eggs or high protein or high carbs. Stick to her daily diet – pellets or whatever her daily staple is. Do not give her anything to shred – no paper, cardboard, no boxes or anything she can sit inside and use as a nest. Do not give her free roam – get her out when you are handling her but don’t let her come and go or wander around the house. You can also rearrange toys in the cage, but be careful since Greys can be so resistant to changes. If she keeps laying eggs, consult with an Avian Vet about a hormone shot or implant to help her stop the cycle.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
