{"id":38287,"date":"2023-10-17T13:37:06","date_gmt":"2023-10-17T18:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?p=38287"},"modified":"2025-10-27T22:52:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T03:52:46","slug":"inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-athenas-shock-over-her-first-egg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-athenas-shock-over-her-first-egg\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Dr. Pepperberg’s Lab: Athena\u2019s Shock Over Her First Egg!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"African
Athena is seen as getting as far away from her egg as possible right after laying it (white material around it is shredded paper). Photo courtesy Dr. Irene Pepperberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, let me start by saying this is not something we wanted or for which we were hoping. Rather, this was something that we would have liked to avoid. But, it just happened, though not without a bit of warning. More on that later. A veterinarian friend of mine said that we were lucky\u2014that when a bird lays her first egg at 10 years old, complications could occur; the eggs are somewhat larger and the bird often becomes egg-bound (i.e., the egg gets stuck on its way out, and a trip to the vet is needed so that the egg doesn\u2019t break inside the bird and cause all sorts of problems). My thoughts are that our experience might be of use to others\u2026.<\/p>\n

A bit of background: When Athena first arrived in our lab, at 4 months old, Griffin was rather wary. He treated her like a teenage human boy whose mom had brought home a new baby\u2014he was slightly interested, but his whole attitude was to keep his distance. And Athena acted like the little human sister who idolized her big brother\u2014she constantly wanted to be near him and see what he was doing. Her behavior was actually quite normal, as young parrots learn many lessons from the older parrots in their flock\u2014what to eat, what to fear, and what is appropriate social behavior. Griffin, having been bullied by Alex and occasionally (though totally unsuccessfully) by Arthur, had few clues about parrot social behavior, but clearly could introduce her to the protocols of the laboratory.<\/p>\n

For awhile, we let them share food bowls. They seemed to favor different items to some degree, so they would each eat at their own bowl, then switch to graze at what the other had left. That worked for several months until, for some reason, Athena kept pushing Griffin from whatever bowl he was using! But they did learn from each other\u2026Athena learned to eat fruits and fresh vegetables and Griffin learned to love yam. (Note: Despite Athena\u2019s love for chard, Griffin still hates it\u2014although he keeps trying\u2026.) At that point, it became clear that Athena was being a \u2018pest\u2019\u2014sticking her beak into Griffin\u2019s personal space and at one point even trying to chew Griffin\u2019s toes. Thus, we instituted a rule to keep them \u201cbeak-striking distance\u201d apart.<\/p>\n

Athena’s Budding Hormones<\/h3>\n

Around the time Athena was 3 years old, her hormones really kicked in. Sexual maturity at that age would be early for a wild bird, but not entirely unusual for a pet bird that has good nutrition. Not only did she start getting defensive around her cage, but she started gaining weight and plucking her chest feathers. A trip to the vet confirmed that she was becoming \u2018broody\u2019. The recommendation was a course of Lupron, which toned everything down for several years. And, note, that until our COVID evacuation from Harvard in 2020, our birds lived in a basement lab, with full-spectrum fixtures on a strict 12hr light-12 hr dark cycle to reproduce what they would experience in equatorial Africa\u2014so light issues were not a problem. After the evacuation, we used black-out curtains in the summer and full-spectrum lights that we manipulated in winter to maintain the 12-12 cycle. We keep the humidity and their diet constant year-round. Thus we tried to eliminate what are considered environmental cues for breeding in parrots.<\/p>\n

As time went on, however, Athena seemed to get slightly more hormonal each year, and this year was no exception; it was even a bit worse than usual. For sanitation purposes, we couldn\u2019t remove the cage liner on the shelf on top of her cage, and she would shred that as much as possible. Although the students knew not to pet her body, she would get into the droopy-wing solicitation pose as soon as anyone picked her up to do training or testing sessions (interestingly, with two exceptions\u2026myself and the now post-doc who had been my senior lab manager at the time we acquired Athena\u2014she seemed to treat us as \u201cparents\u201d instead of potential mates).<\/p>\n

We were thinking about another trip to the vet when we had to move from one apartment to another\u2014a huge stressor on birds and humans alike, and something that took up everyone\u2019s time and energy. Add to that my travel schedule, the hiring of new research assistants to replace those who had left for full-time jobs, veterinary and graduate schools, and the upheaval to everyone\u2019s schedule caused by the beginning of a new academic year\u2014dealing with Athena\u2019s hormonal behavior was something we had to put on the calendar for \u2018later\u2019. It wasn\u2019t a medical emergency\u2026all her basic bodily functions were normal.<\/p>\n

Athena Surprises Everyone-Including Herself<\/h3>\n
\"African
Athena\u2019s egg is next to a quarter for size size comparison. Photo courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then came a day when Athena just seemed to be in a total daze. She ate normally, but in between meal times just seemed to be in a trance. I and my lab manager started to wonder if her behavior indicated the arrival of an egg. My post-doc, who had had a lot of experience in her graduate school days dealing with egg-laying pigeons, examined Athena for a tell-tale bulge and couldn\u2019t find anything. The next day, Athena acted perfectly normal\u2026until late in the evening, about an hour before the lab would be shut down for the day\u2026she popped an egg! According to the research assistants who were present, she acted as surprised as they were, and she actually ran away from it. They took it away and she seemed relieved. And thankfully that was the only one she laid.<\/p>\n

She is acting a bit less hormonal now, and we are trying to decide what to do\u2026She has nothing that could be used as a nest box and we haven\u2019t changed much at all in her diet (though she might be choosing more of some foods over others); as I said, we don\u2019t pet her body, and Griffin most definitely still keeps his distance (although we can\u2019t stop pheromones). I\u2019m sure lots of people will have lots of different suggestions, but so far we are trusting our veterinarian, who advised us to “wait and see.”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always something.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Athena the African grey parrot laid her very first egg, it took everyone by surprise – including Athena herself! As her caretaker and renowned animal cognition scientist Dr. Irene Pepperberg shares, Athena reacted with apparent shock. 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