been breeding parrots for many yrs and this one as baffled
me this pair of yellow sided conures.. early part of last year layed 5 eggs 4 hatched, then later in the year layed 4 eggs two half size two full size none hatched this year2023 just check 5 egg two half size might have one thats ok in incubator hen is only 6yrs old
Hi Ken,
Most likely this is a genetic issue. An occasional small egg is normal, but not when it happens regularly.
Yellow-sided conures are not a true species – they are just a color mutation of the Green Cheeked Conure, so the correct term is yellow-sided green cheek conure or parakeet. The problem with the green cheek color mutations is that they were developed over a relatively short period of time – about 20 years. Many of the mutations were achieved through in-breeding – breeding related birds. This has resulted in a relatively small gene pool, and there are a lot of health and reproductive issues in these birds. Your hen has some sort of problem going on in her reproductive system. You can have a complete health workup done in case there is something treatable.
It doesn’t sound like she has been overbred, if she only had two clutches last year and the one this year so far. Green cheeks should not be set up as breeders until 3-5 years of age – 5 being ideal. So unless someone was trying to breed her before you got her, then her age is fine. Small eggs can be the result of poor nutrition, hen being too young, overbreeding – allowed to lay eggs more than twice a year, infection, virus and genetic issues. There can be other causes but those would be the most common. So it sounds like most likely she has a health or genetic disorder. If no health reason can be found, then it’s probably best to retire her from breeding and either let her live as a non-breeding adult or see if you can find a rescue to take her. It’s important that any new owner is aware of her egg issues.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
