My very old 20+ senegal laid another egg. He poop is very watery today. When i take her out I have always rubber her entire body, didn’t know not to. She has a bum leg and gets around on one for the most part. Should i take the egg away after a few days?
Hi,
She is definitely on the old side to be laying eggs, and of course without a male, they can’t be fertile. So she’s going through a lot of strain on her system for nothing. I would watch her very carefully for any signs of straining or distress. If she sits fluffed up, or you notice her tail pumping up and down, take her to the Vet immediately as she may be egg bound. Yes, you can take the egg away now, and do not give her anything to use as a nest.
You are correct about the petting. There are some changes you can make to help discourage egg laying, by removing the hormone triggers.
Keep in mind that to lay eggs, she needs longer daylight, warmer weather, abundant food, and a quiet, private environment. The goal is to reverse these conditions.
Limit her light to 8-10 hours by covering the cage early each evening
Do not give her anything to use as a nest – no bird huts or tents, no box, bowl, etc. If she decides to sit in a food bowl, remove it and replace with smaller cups.
Do not give her anything to shred such as paper or cardboard.
Rearrange the toys in the cage frequently.
Move the cage to a different place in the room. Move the cage about once a week, or whenever she shows signs of nesting – settling on the cage floor for example. This disrupts her idea of having a stable place to lay eggs and raise chicks.
If you feed a lot of fresh foods, stop offering any for a couple of weeks, and then only offer them in small amounts about 2 or 3 times a week. You can resume normal feeding later when the birds aren’t being hormonal.
If she is let out of the cage, do not let her get in any dark cozy places and don’t give her free roam. When you let them roam around, this mimics searching for a nesting site.
When you handle her, limit any petting to only the head and neck – do not pet a bird on the body. Only a bonded mate is allowed to groom the body. We can’t be a mate, so touching the body is off limits.
If there is no metal floor grate, then do not use any bedding or paper in the cage tray – leave it bare and clean it daily.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
