Chronic Egg-Laying in Female Pacific Parrotlet

Hi Sandee, I sent you an email before Christmas respecting my female parrotlet, Skye. She has now laid her fourth clutch since September 2011. She has laid a total of 19 infertile eggs! I have an appointment with the vet on Thursday, and she is going to administer Luperon in order to try to shut down the egg laying process. But, I do have a concern. Skye has started laying another clutch and laid her first egg yesterday morning. She usually lays 5 eggs. I’m afraid that if she gets an injection there may be an egg forming in her body and, Skye may become egg bound. Should I delay the hormone shot until she has finished laying all her eggs? I did everything you suggested in your previous email. But I think I may be the problem. Skye thinks I am her mate and absolutely loves me. I love to kiss her little head. Should I stop handling her? Thanks for your help. It is sincerely appreciated. By the way, will there be a parrot show in Victoria this year? Kind regards, Sylvia Dear Sylvia: Thank you for your email. I can’t answer your question because I have never had a bird get Lupron shots. I would make sure you do all the research you can but in all actuality, no one knows what the answer is. Unfortunately, most avian medicine (and certainly Lupron administration is right up there) is more of an art than a science and most of the time, they really don’t know what the outcome is going to be. If you read my article on Lupron, even vets that are pro-Lupron admit it is at best a ‘bandaide’ and not something that can be reasonably relied upon to manage the issues for which it is usually prescribed. However, 19 eggs is a lot and I would certainly, under these circumstances, give the shot if everything I had tried (reducing daylight hours to less than 10, removing all nest-like structures and providing extra calcium in her diet) didn’t work. I would ask your question of your vet – I would think it might be a problem but again I’m not a vet nor do I have any experience using Lupron in my birds. As for bonding, bonding isn’t what makes birds lay eggs. All birds think their owners are their ‘mates’. Kissing the bird on the head I wouldn’t think would stimulate egg laying at all. Generally, in large birds such as Amazons, petting them on their backs can trigger a hormonal response but I have no idea in parrotlets. After all, they may be parrots but they are all different species. I will say that in 30 years, this is only the 3rd or 4th parrotlet I’ve ever heard of that couldn’t be managed with environmental changes to stop egg laying. It simply is not a common problem in parrotlets. I know that doesn’t make it easier for you but I am a honest breeder and don’t make up things or rely on what I’ve read online and repeat it. If I don’t have experience with something, I say so and this is a very unusual problem in parrotlets. As for a bird ‘show’ not sure what you mean. I don’t believe the Parrot Symposium is going on this year, haven’t heard anything about it. As for bird shows, i.e., sanction competitions, I haven’t heard anything and as for bird marts, those things go on all the time. I’m sure if you look online, you can find one. Best of luck and let me know how it turns out. Sincerely yours, Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S. The Parrotlet Ranch, Owner, www.parrotletranch.com Join the International Parrotlet Society, – the World’s Largest and Oldest Parrotlet Organization www.internationalparrotletsociety.org A Chattering Bird Builds No Nest. Camaroonian Phrase I will keep you posted. Have a wonderful weekend. Sylvia Thanks. Yes, please let me know. Sincerely yours, Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S. The Parrotlet Ranch, Owner, www.parrotletranch.com Join the International Parrotlet Society, – the World’s Largest and Oldest Parrotlet Organization www.internationalparrotletsociety.org A Chattering Bird Builds No Nest. Camaroonian Phrase Dear Sandee, Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to answer my questions. The vet also said that the underlying problem has to be resolved, as Lupron may not resolve the problem. I decided to forego the Lupron until Skye has finished her clutch. She has now laid two eggs. Thank you for advising me that this is an unusual problem because I have never owned a female parrotlet before. I have all boys (3). I got Skye from a rescue organization in Vancouver and the rescuer told me that the girl gave up Skye because she didn’t have time for her. I did email the rescuer and tell her about Skye’s egg laying problem, but she didn’t respond. I’m starting to think she knew Skye had a problem laying eggs. I feel so sorry for this little bird because I know that it is very stressful for her when she is laying an egg. I ensure she has lots of calcium on her food and water. Thank you for being honest with me. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, if she doesn’t stop laying the eggs. I will try restricting the light situation for more hours. I will make the bottom of her cage uncomfortable for her, as I have paper towels on the bottom right now. Last time, I had a little hut in her cage and she laid eggs in it. That has now gone. I’m glad that kissing her head is ok because I love this little bird. She is so sweet. Yes, I was referring to the Parrot Symposium. I hope the Parrot Symposium comes back again. I will let you know what transpires with Skye. Many thanks again for your kindness. I have the highest respect for you as a breeder. Kind regards, Sylvia Thank you Sylvia for your very kind words. Best of luck. Please keep me posted. Sincerely yours, Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S. The Parrotlet Ranch, Owner, www.parrotletranch.com Join the International Parrotlet Society, – the World’s Largest and Oldest Parrotlet Organization www.internationalparrotletsociety.org A Chattering Bird Builds No Nest. Camaroonian Phrase Hello Sandee, I hope you, your family and little parrolets are all keeping well. I would like to give you an update on Skye, my female rescue parrotlet, who was laying unfertile eggs non-stop. Skye finished laying another clutch of 6 eggs in March. I took her to a vet for a check-up, and he recommended the Luperon shot, if I wanted it. He also told me that the parrotlets are up and coming prolific egg layers! He gave me various suggestions (same as you suggested), in order to help her stop laying eggs. I decided to forgo the Luperon shot. I remember you telling me that these little birds are hardwired, and it is best to leave the eggs; so that is what I did. Skye has been sitting on the eggs since March. She even pecked two eggs, in order to make small holes (interesting). I took all the eggs away, except two, three weeks ago. She is finally fed up with sitting on the eggs and is now interacting with me, grooming herself and sleeping on her highest perch (thank goodness). I am still leaving the two eggs in the bottom of the cage just in case. She is such an intelligent little bird and very loving. Thanks again for your advice; I thought you would like to know the outcome of the chronic egg laying. Best, Sylvia Thanks so much Sylvia for letting me know. Glad to have been of help! Sincerely yours, Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S. The Parrotlet Ranch, Owner, www.parrotletranch.com Join the International Parrotlet Society, – the World’s Largest and Oldest Parrotlet Organization www.internationalparrotletsociety.org A Chattering Bird Builds No Nest. Camaroonian Phrase

Egg Yolk Perionitis, Egg Laying Hens, Lupron, Diet

Hi Sandee:

I have a Pacific Parrotlet who is just over one year of age. She had a medical crisis on Wednesday that we fortunately caught in time that turned out to be egg yolk perionitis. She's going to be fine now ($500.00 and a lot of worry later!) but the vet says that it's unusual for this to happen in a younger bird. I am of course concerned that this is going to become a regular occurrence now that she's clearly sexually mature. We do cover her cage so that she only gets 12 hours of light a day, and there is no nest box or anything like that in her cage. The vet thinks that one thing that may help is to get her on pellets instead of the Volkman's parrotlet blend she's currently on, as he says the seeds are too high in fat and that can trigger ovulation. But he doesn't see many parrotlets and he's been on me to put her on pellets since the first time we went there even though from what I read a high quality seed blend and lots of fresh food (which she gets and eats) is better for the bird.

What do you think? Will pellets help? Was the egg yolk perionitis just a fluke? Is there any thing I can do more than I'm already doing to ensure that she doesn't lay another egg - she had one lupron shot and gets another in a few weeks to stop it for now but what about next year?

Thanks.

Monica

Dear Monica:

Thank you for your email. I tried calling you this AM as you have requested a lot of info and I felt it would be better communicating by phone rather than email. I will tell you have several articles on my website about pellets, Lupron and I even think egg laying pet hens that have no males with them. I do know all of these subjects are thoroughly covered in my books, especially the latest one, The Parrotlet Handbook published by Barron’s.

It is unusual for a hen to have egg yolk peritonitis at a young age but I sincerely doubt that has anything to do with diet. First, ovulation is a natural process in birds and doesn’t need ‘fat’ to trigger it. Second, seeds are a natural part of a bird’s diet – there are no pellet trees in the wild. Also, pellets are simply processed seeds with artificial colors and flavors. I don’t eat processed foods and no one will ever convince me that feeding processed foods to our birds is better than feeding fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, grains, legumes and sprouts. Even pellet manufacturers, the honest ones anyway, will tell you they can’t MAKE a pellet more nutritious than a diet rich in whole foods.

No one can tell you whether or not this was a ‘fluke’ with your bird or if it has some kind of congenital issue or if was triggered by environmental changes. Only time will tell. As for lupron, well, I have an article about it on my site that is based on dozens of vets opinion’s not just one. If the bird is a color mutation, it is more likely this is a birth defect or even genetic abnormality but only time will tell. I will say that reducing daylight hours to less than 12, keeping nest like structures out of the cage and feeding a diet rich in fresh, whole foods is a much better preventive measure than lupron shots or pellets, in my opinion, which is based on 30 years of keeping parrotlets.

Hope this helps and if you wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Sincerely yours,

Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S.
The Parrotlet Ranch, Owner, www.parrotletranch.com
Join the International Parrotlet Society, – the World’s Largest and Oldest Parrotlet Organization www.internationalparrotletsociety.org
A Chattering Bird Builds No Nest.
Camaroonian Phrase

Egg Laying Female Pacific, Talking Male

Hi Sandee,

I rescued a five-year-old, female, parrotlet, from Vancouver last September. Since then she has laid two clutches of eggs. The first clutch was five eggs. At the present time (second clutch), she is sitting on six eggs. One fell out of the birdie hut, where she sleeps and keeps her eggs. The last egg was laid November 28th. I have decided to leave the eggs, until December 23rd, as this is the incubation period of the parrotlet. I am also taking away her lovely hut since she likes to lay eggs in it. I read your site, where you suggested reducing the hours of sunlight/natural light she receives (cover off at 8:00 am; cover on at 8:00 pm). I hope she doesn’t produce anymore eggs. Do you have any other suggestions? I also have three male parrotlets (she doesn’t like them), who talk. I put her in my bedroom after she laid her first clutch so she wouldn’t hear the other birds. I don’t like doing this, as I like them all together.

I thought you would be interested to know that I rescued a tiny green, male Pacific parrotlet from Vancouver, who is five-years-old. I don’t know his history, but he is very frightened. No one wanted him because he wasn’t tame. Since I adopted him, he has calmed down quite a bit. He is a very quiet little boy. Last night I was watching my other two blue males sitting on the counter in my kitchen, while they were eating a kiwi and birdie bread that I make. They both talk. To my amazement, I could hear talking and at first thought it was one of the birds on the counter. But it wasn’t because they were eating. It was the little green male, Riley, who was talking up a storm in his cage! This confirms that these little parrotlets (males) can learn to talk even if they are older. I absolutely love this species of bird. They continue to amaze me.

Kind regards,
Sylvia

Dear Sylvia:

Thank you for you email. As I have posted on my website, blog and in my 3 books, the two most important ways to prevent pet female parrotlets from laying eggs is a) to reduce the number of daylight hours to less than 12 and b) to remove any ‘nest-like’ structures in the cage. These two factors will stop 99.9% of most female parrotlets from laying eggs. Of course, there are no guarantees and should she continue, I would definitely have her vet checked. Certain medical conditions can be a factor but generally speaking it is a husbandry problem that can be rectified by changing the environmental factors that stimulate hormones and cause egg laying in pet hens.

I will say should also be supplementing her with additional calcium – both in the form of supplements such as sprinkling a powdered calcium supplement on her fresh foods, providing her with cuttlebone (as much as she will eat) and mineral block plus in her food sources such as green leafy vegetables and broccoli. Cup for cup, broccoli has more calcium than milk and green leafy vegetables such as bok choy, mustard and turnip greens and even the tops of carrots and beets are excellent sources of calcium. I would avoid spinach because spinach is thought to bind calcium and make it harder for the body to absorb. Boiled, chopped eggs with the shell are also excellent and will provide protein and vitamin e as well.

I would not remove the eggs. Mother Nature has hard-wired these birds to sit for a certain period of time and while incubation of eggs generally is 21 days to hatching, she may longer for a variety of reasons. Removing the eggs before she has completed her cycle, regardless of what the calendar says, may cause her to lay again. This is probably why she ‘double-clutched’ in the first place so just leave those eggs alone and let her do what she has been designed to. Not only can she become egg-bound with another clutch, she can also suffer from a prolapsed uterus, extreme blood calcium deficiency and brittle bones…all of those are extremely serious and can result in death.

Also, I would put all the birds back into the same room. There is no reason to believe that the males being in the same room had anything to do with causing her to lay. She doesn’t like males, has obviously imprinted on humans (which is why she is a good pet in the first place) and in the wild, parrotlets leave the company of the flock to go off and raise their offspring on their own. I would say that it has been my 30 year experience that a female would want to fight off these other birds not be so entranced with them that it has caused her to lay eggs. Unfortunately, there are no “Elvis Presley’s” or “Frank Sinatra’s” in the bird world. If there were, it would be a lot easier for people who are trying to breed parrotlets.

I do love the story about your male but I would have to say that he did not suddenly, spontaneously learn to imitate human speech. While you certainly can ‘teach an old parrotlet new tricks’ what you are describing is perfectly normal behavior for an adult male parrotlet that is going through the stress of a move and a learning to adapt in a new environment. I am certain he knew how to mimic human speech but was quiet since speaking in human words is extremely unnatural for a parrotlet and probably would have done it in a few months anyway but when he heard your birds, he joined the conversation. Probably just to say “hey, I’m here! Can I join your flock?” Besides, when parrotlets are learning to speak they take several weeks or months making very garbled sounds that don’t sound like human speech at all. They generally will say words or phrases to themselves for a while before they attempt it to their human owners. It is a well-known in the bird community that teaching any bird to talk is MUCH easier and faster when another bird teaches them – in fact there are videos and CDC’s of parrots talking available to teach birds to speak human language. But if your bird suddenly started “talking up a storm’ it was because he already knew how, he just didn’t feel comfortable until your other birds started talking.

I hope this helps and best of luck with your flock. As I’ve said, I’ve kept parrotlets for more than 3 decades and they are amazing little parrots, for sure! I hope you and your family have a wonderful Holiday and I wish you a very happy New Year!

Sincerely yours,

Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S.

Parrotlet Hen Lays an Egg, International Parrotlet Society

My little Lily (my parrotlet) has layed an egg and ate the shell, what
does this mean? Also do you sell catalogs, articles or any kind of
monthly subscriptions for the Parrotlet?

Dear Anthony:

Thank you for your email. Although not as prevalent as is seen in cockatiel hens, pet parrotlets kept as single pets can produce eggs without a mate. The egg, of course, is infertile and won't hatch but Nature will cause her to cycle as if it were. I can't tell you why the bird laid an egg since I don't have any information as to her age, how she is kept, what kind of diet she has, if there are other birds around, how many hours of daylight she is exposed to or if there are nests or nest-like structures in her cage. However, I can explain the behavior and how to best to deal with it.

Generally speaking, a hen that is producing eggs almost always is being exposed to too many hours of daylight. I recommend that you cover her cage at night to ensure darkness and limit her hours of daylight exposure to no more than 12, 10 is better. I uncover my pets at 8 AM and cover them at night at 8 PM. They don't sleep all that time but the reduction in daylight hours will affect their hormone production. My breeding pairs have lights that are on timers and they are scheduled to be on 14 hours a day. The 14 hour days, just like with wild birds, will cause hormone production to occur and get them ready for breeding.

Make sure she has access to lots of calcium both in the form of supplements and in calcium rich foods in her diet. Supplements such as calcium powder should be sprinkled on her fresh foods every other day. Also make sure that cuttlebone and mineral block are available at all times. Many hens consume great amounts of cuttlebone when they are laying eggs to replenish the calcium lost in the development of the eggs. Mineral blocks will make sure she has the necessary trace minerals if needed.

Foods that are rich in calcium and excellent to feed to parrotlets are broccoli, green leafy vegetables such as bok choy and chard and nuts like almonds.

Be sure and remove all nest-like structures from her cage. This could be anything from an actual nest to 'tents' or 'houses' designed for birds. Some hens will burrow under a feed cup (in which case they should be replaced with dishes that cannot allow access under it).

Your hen may or may not continue to lay eggs. If she does, it will probably be every other day or so. Do not remove the eggs or she will continue to lay eggs to replace the ones that were removed. This is bad as it can cause her to completely deplete her body of calcium and lead to a very dangerous condition called 'egg binding' where she cannot pass the egg and it has to be removed usually by surgery which parrotlets often do not survive. The best thing to do is to leave her alone, let her brood (sit) on her eggs, reduce her daylight hours, remove the nest-like structures and give her lots of calcium. When her cycle has been completed, she will abandon the eggs and you can then remove them. There is no set period of time for brooding infertile eggs - she may not do it at all or she may sit for the entire 3 weeks it takes for a parrotlet egg to hatch.

During this period of time, your hen may be much more moody and nippy. This is because of her hormones and her instinct to protect her offspring. It is completely natural and will pass once she gets through the egg laying and brooding cycle. Just be patient and not push her when she does not wish to be handled.

I hope you try the suggestions I have given. Laying eggs is a natural process for birds to that in and of itself should not hurt her if she is a normal, healthy adult bird. However, excessive egg laying can be a very dangerous condition and in a pet parrotlet it is unnecessary since she will not be able to produce chicks without a mate. Btw, this is NOT an indication she 'wants to breed' or prefers to be with a male. It is just a normal process brought about by artificial conditions.

As for the International Parrotlet Society, we are an non-profit educational organization that helps people take better care of their parrotlets whether they are keeping breeders or pets. We also raise funds for veterinary and nutritional projects and support conservation and preservation of rare and endangered species of parrotlets. We produce a bimonthly journal which is full of informative tips on disease control, behavior, training, new color mutations, rare species, showing and just about anything that has to do with parrotlets.

I hope this helps and best of luck with your bird!

Sincerely yours,

Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S.
Secretary, International Parrotlet Society