My 10 year old Quaker, Sami, suprised me this afternoon with an egg!! She hasn’t laid an egg since I brought her home in 2003 and showed absolutely no sign of even thinking of laying an egg. That’s how her name got changed from Sammy to Sami—her previous owners had no clue she was a girl, and I guess until I got her and she got on a good, healthy diet, correct lighting and lots of love, she wasn’t able or wanting to lay an egg. :eek:
I’m waiting for my new Quaker, Ginny, to surprise me with an egg. She’s another 2nd hand bird, coming from a slightly less upsetting environment than Sami. She’ll be in quarantine till the beginning of June, and I get the feeling she’ll have an egg laying fit too.
Pictures soon, promise!
You don’t really want them to lay eggs, do you? We give our cockatiels and budgies calcium and mineral blocks and try to discourage them from laying*, but they do pretty routinely.
One of our hens died a few years ago from egg-binding, so we take it pretty seriously.
*manage the daylight is the main trick. We got to using Lupron hormone shots on Buddie but she laid right through the shots, so we discontinued. She’s not laying right now but she laid eggs in batches and sat on them most of the last year until a few months ago; she’s very dedicated.
Nope, I don’t want her to lay eggs. In fact, this was a BIG surprise and I still have no clue what’s prompted her to do so. Everything, as far as I know, hasn’t changed—light amounts, food, etc.
Thankfully I’ve got some great parrot books and know the signs of egg binding, and I’m going to be watching her—and Ginny—like mad over the next several weeks.