A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

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AJPeter
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Soho road might be easier for me AlphaWolf as llive just round the corner in Wellington road, however l know Small Heath area and Coventry Road as l used to live over there, but now l remember the Asian super market at Perry Barr.

Billie can twist me around her little finger and because she begs for food l have to eat my porridge in the kitchen. She had some cooked chicken tonight and ate most of it but shredded the remainder and was using it as cement l thnk she has grand designs on a semi in my BR

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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Billie scratches her feet like a dog on the plastic tray there is only her water bowl and bits of food she has turfed out from her feeding bowls, and bits from a foraging bucket l bought from Northen Parrots. I clean the plastic tray every day and make sure her water bottle is working. When she sits on my shoulder she still butts me gently in my ear which l think is part of the mating ritual and l stop her quickly. She has not stood in the water for a couple of days, and is not interested in a spray. When she is scrabbling around on the tray she will sometimes give let off a wail, sounds like frustration.
When she steps down from my shoulder she likes to put her beak on the cage before moving her feet but is she is in my hand she likes my hand to be lower than the cage so she steps up.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

I gave Biillie a card board box today and she had great fun shredding it, she was sitting in the mess and l told her "That is not a very good nest!"
she replied "You are joking, this is a carpet!"
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Went shopping today forgot the things l need most and will have to go again tomorrow but saw in Asda some Dragon fruit, gave Billie some and she turned her nose up at , also Kiwi fruit maybe its an acquired taste`but there is so much l want to give her that she nows has fruit bowl and a veg bowl a tthe same time
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sanjays mummi
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by sanjays mummi »

It will be trial and error for a while, there are things Sanjay wouldnt touch at one time, he seems to have "grown into"
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Well Sanjays Mummi it is cigars all round as l am now a daddy, Billie laid an egg last night, l was quite amazed at how big it was almost the size of a pullets egg. There it was in the cage it looked dirty so l picked it up to wash and and dsicovered the shell was broken, it was quite cold. So l got rid of it in the bin.

Bille has been quite diiferent today several times she just sat on my shoulder with her eyes closed, she is eating well but l noticed her vent was t dirty, which may have been the figs l gave l know figs give me the runs maybe she too so l towelled her and with some cotton buds already in warm water l cleaned her up.

There was no blood and her cloaca was moist but l did not want to delve any further. So put her back in her feet. She had a couple of searches for the egg but it does not seem to have bothered her, maybe she is an old hand at egg laying.

What l want to know will there be any more and how many? And does this mean the end of the breeding season?

Billie eating habits are changing all the time she leaps on a cheastnut but totally ignores grapes, l htink l must reduce what l put in her bowl as the choice is to many,

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sanjays mummi
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by sanjays mummi »

Well, if Sanjay lays an egg I will know for definite what gender he is!, the jury is still out. :roll: :roll:
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Well if Sanjay does lay an egg then she is a female and if he does not then hs is a male, unless he is ***!
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by Skyes_crew »

I think you have skipped over daddy to grand daddy :wink: poor Billie...she must be feeling pretty wiped out. Since she has gotten to the point where she has laid an egg...make sure she gets plenty of food to build up her strength again. Hopefully she stops at the one. If she does lay another, leave it with her if it is not cracked. Let her abandon it on her own. Lots of love to Billie
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

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Ah! For some reason notifications are not getting through but it is good to hear from you l have just sent an email to you thinking l might have been dropped form the forum as l have had no notification of replies since November.
I have to take Billie to the Vets this afternoon a friend is going to give me a lift, Billie's vent was soiled yesterday so l tried to clean it with warm water and a cotton bud but today her abdomen is swollen and there are no feathers around the vent.
She seems to be in good health eating well poops are a bit heavy and not much urine, yesterday and today she sat on my shoulder and just cloesed her eyes l think the egg laying has sapped her energy. The egg was huge almost as big as her head!
She allows me to towel her and turn her over without struggling becasue she is a darling.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by Skyes_crew »

Sounds like another egg on the way possibly. Just keep her quiet and calm. Was the egg fully formed...not soft or dented anywhere?
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

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The egg she laid was huge and was white it was sticky when l picked it up and then l noticed it was cracked so threw it away. As far as l could tell it looked normal although l think there was a blemish on it, the vet today said that Billie was about to lay another egg and l think that is why her abdomen was swollen. If Billie does not lay tonight the vet wants me to phone tomorrow, it was hugely expensive £58.30 which included some oral calcium for £3.30 and advice on pellets. Would it be harmful if l waited another day?
A friend of mine gave me a lift in his car and we were there in 15 minutes, Billie was very good in the cat box. But when we arrived they had an emergency and we had to wait for ages.
The vet said Billie had a respiratory problems and it would cost £230 for xray and treament but if it was clymidia l could catch it. But they coukld do a blood test for £28.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by sanjays mummi »

Chlamydia? isnt that human problem? this is all new to me, how old is Billie?, I am wondering if Sanjay has not laid an egg because he/she is too young?, aww dear, I DO hope Billie is better soon, :|
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

The vet said something about red eye and that it would clear up but l have left Billie in a warm dark room while l freeze in here. The vert said lweave beeding material for her and hope she lays an egg tonight and if not phone tomorrow but it coast £58 for a consultation. Still no use crossing bridges before l come to them.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by InTheAir »

Chlamydia in parrots is also known as psittacosis or parrot fever. The vet I use always tests for it in new bird appointments, it is contagious to humans as well as parrots and can be quite bad. Get the blood tests done!

There are many things that can go wrong with egg laying, especially in a less than healthy bird. Please take the advice of your vet. If your bird does not successfully pass the egg, waiting another day before you visit the vet can be fatal, at best it could just lead to more complications which will probably contribute to the bill.

Umm and your bill was not too bad, Sapphires new bird check cost almost 4 times that to find out she is a healthy bird. Nilas was double Sapphires bill, to find out he had elevated cholesterol levels... :wink:
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by Skyes_crew »

Peter...you can catch it...and at your age it would manifest as pneumonia. Please get Billie tested and get yourself tested as well. In the meantime wash your hands after touching anything of billies and boost your vitamin C intake. See if you can get some echinacea drops also. Good luck to you both.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Claire and Melisa many thanks for your warnings, I can also put the bill on my credit card. If Billie passes the egg, l will phone for an appointment tommorow for the xrays next week but if she does not then l shall try and get the tests done tomorrow. Of course she has to to be xrayed and then the vet can see what to do.
Notifications are coming through now so that is one less hurdle.

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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Thank you Sanjays mummi both Intheair and Skyes-crew recomned l take the test for both Billie and me l can always put the cost on my credit card. I think Billie is 3 or 4 years old. It is now that l regret not taking out pet insurance which h wuld have cost £60 pa and coverered £1000 plus in vet bills.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

You have to laugh LOL here l advise people to take samples of poop to the vets and l completely forgot to take any of Billie's poop especially as it had been rather sticky lately

Now of course being the hypochrondriac l keep thinklng that what ever Billie has got then l have got it too,

I would like roses

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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by Skyes_crew »

With as much as you've done for Billie...you deserve roses :D
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Good, thank you.
So the good news is Billie laid another egg last night, when l first looked at it l thought the egg was intact but later l saw one end had broken away. Could Billie have attacked it? She had built a tower with large plastic triangles a conker (Horse chestnut) from last year which had gone rock hard and when fresh is supposed to deter spiders, the wicker basket she stripped into bits; some news paper l had put in and sawdust it was about an inch high and the egg was balanced on top.

So now l have cleared all that away given the cage a clean but will give it a thorough clean tomorrow, the itchy red eye Billie took away from the vets has cleared up.

I have booked her in for a full (£230) Chlamidia test 14th January l am sure my friend will take me in his car but l shall have to leave her at the vets all day. I have made enquiries about bird insurance and cover of £2500 in vets fees will cost £80 pa but it will have to start a month after the all clear.

OOPs! Ishall have to get a move on l am due at the church for the computer club and choir practice at 11 am

Thank you all for your concern
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by Skyes_crew »

She may have tried to move it to her makeshift nest and it fell or she passed the egg while perched and it fell down. Either way, I am very glad she is doing ok.
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InTheAir
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by InTheAir »

It may be worth ordering some dummy eggs for Billy. If you remove her eggs because they are cracked she will probably keep laying to replace them.
In a normal breeding situation the hen will lay an egg every day or every other day and starts sitting on them after she has laid the last one.
Laying eggs is hard work for the hen, especially when they are not in top shape.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

I have not seen any dummy eggs do you know where l could get some?

I found some white peppermints but they wecame sticky maybe she was licking them becasue she loves peppermint and will spend half an hour or more trying to chip a sugar free polo mint. There is a wooden ball from a necklace which l leave in and also some conkers which are about egg size.

She wanted to be covered up quite early tonight but l made her wait until 6.45 and then she started construction of a replica NYGrand central but about 8.30 it went quite so l came in here.

I am not expecting her to lay tonight but l left nest material in case, l crumpled a newspaper earlier and she was intrigued kept reaching down form a perch and pushing it to see if she could stand on it. I also left her bath water in although it will be pretty cold.

Her vent area is still soiled bu she was preening down there earlier, no sign of a moult, if she lays a last egg and then sits on it would that in the morning?
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by Skyes_crew »

Peter...these are dummy eggs...

http://www.dummyeggs.com/

If the egg is only cracked but not broken open, leave it with Billie.

If you do decide to order some, measure her egg and order ones as close to her size as possible.

Normally birds will lay one egg every 48-60 hours
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Thank you for that, I shall keep the link and measure the next egg. The first egg was cracked and l could have left it with her but the second the top was completelly off which led me to think she had opened herself but the next one l will leave with her. I do like to keep the cage as clean as possilbe.
I have just gone in to where her cage is becasue some idiot outside was making bird calls, and l discovered l had turned the gas fire down too low and the gas does not burn propperly and smells, so l turned up the fire and called to Billie but she did not answer so l ifted the blanket and she was on the top perch and very annoyed l had disturbed her.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by InTheAir »

Aj: Do you have a good library near you? It may benefit you to get a couple books on parrots and their reproductive cycle.
I'm on the other side of the world in a subtropical climate, so I don't really know much about the breeding season where you are. Also, personally I have very little interest in breeding birds, so I have not done a lot of study on it.
Over here the egg laying season seems to start in July for the early birds, the hen then incubates the eggs after she has laid her full clutch. After incubation the eggs hatch, the parent birds raise the babies, the babies seem to wean at about 12 + weeks. After that the parent birds start their moult. By the time the parents moult it is late spring/early summer.

I sure Melissa will fill in the gaps, make corrections etc and add the incubation time as I can't remember.

It is recommended that pet parrots be allowed to keep their eggs until they stop sitting on them.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Thank you Claire, you are on the other side of the world Melisa is half way in Hawaii yes we do have libraries but l am not a good reader lf l read one book a year it will have been a very good year at the moment l am struggling with Don't shoot the dog MissK recommended that.
All Billie's eggs are infertile but if any hatch out l would have a heart attack. I sorta have this idea that if you ignore a problem for long enough it will go away. The two eggs Billie laid were cold so she has not been sitting on them.

To think this all going to happen next year! But at least l have been forwarned!
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by InTheAir »

I've mentioned this twice already today, the hen will not start sitting on the eggs until she had finished laying as many as she is going to lay.

The reason I am trying to explain this to you is that Billy does not know her eggs are infertile, she will behave like they are fertile. Therefore if you have a good understanding of where she is at, you will be able to act appropriately.

If you keep removing them she will keep laying. THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR HER.

Next year, if you implement all the steps for reducing hormonal behaviour, you may be able to avoid the egg laying.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Claire if the shell is broken and yolk and white are on the cage floor are you advocting that l leave the egg alone?

I am a bit dyslexic l don't always read what l see and sometiems letters are inverted when l type, but l hope you will perservere with me.

kind regards
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by InTheAir »

No. That is why I have recommended you use dummy eggs. You will have to search for a local supplier yourself. Your vet may know where to get them. Or try a Google search.

Situations like this are the reason I advocate anyone who gets a parrot should research as much as they can before they start running into problems!
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by Skyes_crew »

Ok...everyone calm down lol. A broken egg of course has to be removed. A dummy egg would be a good idea for situations like that. Peter, Billie, is laying eggs because her body is telling her to. She has no way of knowing as Claire has said that her eggs are infertile. But, it is natures way to replace what is lost. So when one egg is removed or damaged, she will produce another. This is very taxing on her body. It can quickly deplete her stores of calcium if it is allowed to continue. Please supply her with cuttle and crushed oyster and plenty of dark green leafy veggies. Cook some lentils and corn and offer that to her. We are beyond the no cooked food rule. Keep her as warm as possible. Put a shoe box in the bottom of her cage with some pine shavings or a cotton towel. She will rearrange it how she sees fit. Once it seems as if she's done laying, let her sit for as long as she wants. Usually they will abandon the nest after 3-4 weeks. Then we can talk about next year :D
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Chicken tonight. Billie laid an egg day one and day three tonight it is day five. We have done everything possible to make sure the egg has has a safe landing, l have been handing in bedding material and she has been ripping it up, l removed her bath water and tray this afternoon, all she has on the floor is tons of ripped up newspapers and extra wood chips. I hung up some camomile hay.

She has been scoffing seeds and for the first time ate a lot of pellets. She ate a lot of fruit this morning including pomegranite seeds, l took that out tea time and put in a bowl of green vegs including cabbage. She has been chipping away at the cuttle fish bone and l gave her some extra dipped in water which she likes. Quite often she drinks her bathing water so l put some liquid calcium in that, the vet said she was low on calcium and gave her an injection.

The vet said that Millet spray harbours mites that are bad for her so l have thrown out all the millet spray.

My flat is quite small one bedroom and l have nothing like a shoe box but l shall keep a look out.

The next egg she lays Melisa l will measure and order some from "Dummy egg" unless l find something more local. Would she know the difference between brown and white? I have a load of old conkers that are brown and rock hard. The pet shop has crushed oyster shell l will get some monday. Would noodles be any good as l have quite a lot of dried egg noodles.

They do say a little knowledge is dangerous Claire and l hold a City of London diploma for Animal Husbandy and Pet shop management and l have bred rats. And because of handling animals in the pet shop when Billie was abandoned last year and was sitting on the end of cat box that was being waved by a neighbour Billie came up my arm as l put my hand out.
I have read a little, used my judgement and found l was out of my depth and have been greatly encouraged by you, Melisa, MissK, and Ellie and if l knew then what l know now l would not have walked away but have taken better care of Billie.

Billie goes back to the vets for a chlamydois ( l think that was the word) test on January 14th, xray, and medicine it will cost £230 but so be it, and if her condition worsens over the next few days l will be able to take her to the vets and pay another £59 consultation fee. But what the hell you cannot take it with you. :D
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by sanjays mummi »

Sometimes pet insurance can be tricky, we always put insurance via the kennel Club on our litters, to cover any mishaps in the first few months of new ownership, but some companies will not pay out the full amount, they expect you to pay it all up front, and then quibble, and only pay a fraction of what THEY think is correct. Better to have a Billie piggy bank, Sanjay has one, and it is his pin money for emergencies. If you buy "Parrots" magazine, due out on or around the 21st of each month, there are companies advertised which do parrot pet insurance. Personally I tend to distrust pet insurance.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Oh l agree with you Sanjays muumi if you have it you never need it and if you don't have it youneed it all the time. 20 years ago l took out hospital insurance paid my premimums waited to claim £50,000 and have never claimed!
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by Skyes_crew »

Peter...I would go to the market...find the smallest chicken eggs you can and boil one or two of them and let them cool completely. Then stick them in billies nest. Try to keep the length of the egg under two inches. The average Alex egg is about 1 1/3 inches long.

Egg noodles are a good food to feed as well as crumbled hard boiled egg, sweet potatoes, and cooked peas. You're doing great :D
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

The good news is that Yes we have no eggs today, well last night, What an anticlimax, Billie ripped up three newspapers scattered wood chip all over my carpet l hate to tell you where the straw ended up, but each piece has to picked up by hand as the vacuum cleaner refuses to touch it, this morning l thought it best to leave the tray alone but after l got back form church l could not stand the mess any more so cleaned it all up and no egg, broken or otherwsie!

And looking at her abdomen l think is unlikely we shall see one tomorrow, she was almost back to her old self today, and tuesday is normally shopping day so if everything stays as it today then l shall not rush out tomorrow. Tonight Billy ripped up the paper l put in the tray and l added a sheet for her to rip up. But no wood chips or straw. I cooked some chicken for her tonight but she took on look and said no thank you. She had her own bowl for some shepherd pie and veg but she wanted to get on my plate for the choicest items.

It was the same for breakfast which l have about 2 pm. I like my porridge extra sweet so ladle in golden syrup and a spoonful of sugar so when she decided she wanted some l managed to keep her way until l had nearly finshed and then she grabbed a beakfull, she has been through hell and high water.

It amazed me how she knows it is 7 pm and wants to be covered up, l mange to watch tv for an hour with the sound turned down and light on low but she still bangs around and moans so l leave her to it at 8 pm.

She is beginnig to eat more pellets, mainly because the seed bowl ran out, and she was tucking into the fruit bowl today.

Does all this mean we have given up laying eggs for this year?

Too early to tell
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by Skyes_crew »

I think Billie has given up the egg laying for now. For this year??? I have no idea. Lets wait and see what Billie has in mind. :D
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

I have just ordered some dummy eggs from Amazon hope to get them next week 1.5" made of plaster.

She is not keen on the egg suplement so l will buy some small eggs and cook them for her how many a week? 3 for her and 3 for me sounds about right. Do you think she would like soldiers?

Okay Billie it up to you now. But l will put the dummy eggs in when they arrive to see what you think after all you might restart laying.

Is there anything l have forgotten to do?

Thank you Melisa and Claire for your help at this difficult time,
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by Skyes_crew »

I think 3 might be too much. Hard boil one and mix in some crushed crackers with it and just spoon a little in with her food. Too much protein is just as bad as not enough. So maybe keep the eggs and chicken to once or twice a week.

The dummy eggs will be good. It will give her something to do besides laying. :D
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by ellieelectrons »

Hi AJPeter

I'm just reading through all of this now as I'm on holidays. So sorry to hear you've had so many dramas. I hope you and Billie are both okay.

Best wishes.

Ellie.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by sanjays mummi »

You can buy egg biscuita, and canary seed and bars have egg added, it might be more convenient for you?
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

How d'ya like your egg in the morning?

Billie laid a lovely white egg last night l carefully skirted round it when l cleaned the cage, later l found a nice felt lined metal cuff link box and put the egg in there with some sawdust. But when l covered her up tonight she was scrabbling around in her cage so lifted the covers and she was inside the box trying to get her egg out so l got rid of the box and left the egg on the hard shoulder.

I went shopping today to get a small egg l tried 6 different shops but none of them had small eggs, so l shall be looking tomorrow when l do my main shop. I ended with a hair cut.

Yes thank you Sanjays mummi l will try out that idea. The insurance proposal came this morning it will cost £139 pa plus a £35 excess plus 10% excess for fire or theft, exlusions on going treatment for the first year after treatment has ended and anything that could be linked to a previpus condition. I like your idea of having a piggy bank account just to cover mediacl bills. Buit l shall call it a parrot bank account.

Thank you Ellie for you well wishes, Billie has laid three eggs the first was cracked the second became egg bound and l had to take Billie to the vets. They gave her a calcium injection then she laid another egg, but l think she ate that one. The end was missing and the contents. This one looks good and is intact. l hope to have some dummy eggs from Amazon on Jan 9th. The next big drama is l have to take her to the vets for chlamydrois test on 14th January, a friend has offered to take us in his car. The vets said that Billie has to have an xray and if proved positive the treatment and xray will cost £230

Thank you Melisa, cooked one it is although l hope to get small chicken egs tomorrow which might be okay until the proper dummy ones are delivered and being small eggs perhaps she could have two with crushed crackers. Should l put out two hard boiled chicken eggs straight in her cage? To make up for the two that broke? Billie has been crunching her way through a cuttle fish bone.
sanjays mummi
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by sanjays mummi »

What about quail eggs? too small? wrong colour?
AJPeter
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

In the pet shop we kept quail as bottom feeders in the aviary but l have never seen a quail's egg. Not to worry l have 6 parrot/pigeon dummy eggs coming bewteen thursday and next Monday. These are slightly larger at 1.5" to IRN eggs at 1.3"
But thank you for your concern.
AJPeter
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Well after two days of totally ignorring the egg she had laid, today she broke it open and there was yolk and album all over the cage floor so l cleared that up. Can't wait for the dummy eggs to arrive. Thursday on. Went shopping today and could not find a white egg any where and no one has small eggs. However l bought 6 medium brown eggs and when l got home l hard boiled one for Billie. Mixed it with a cracker and spoon fed her she loved it, l put the left overs into her cage and she was tucking in later/

From the supermarket l bought a teething toy looks like a rabbit. I gave it to her and she went for the hard bit the kiddie bites so l took it away and then propped it in the corner but she did not like it there and dragged it to the centre of the cage l was able to distract and put it up in the rafters where she has left it alone.

She ate lot of cuttle fish bone, and l gave her veg such as brocoli and green cabbages, she might lay but does not look swollen but that is what l thought on Sunday night and she laid then. A strange thing happend today she sat on my shoulder and just leant her beak against my cheek for ten mimnutes or so, not moving and then later on the other shoulder just leant her head up against my cheek l could hear her wheezing.

I did not have time to go to the pet shop but bought some sanded bottom of the cage budgie sheets from the supermarket becasue they have oyster shell, Billie likes ripping paper up and scratchingher feet like a dog so l thought these sheet swould wear her claw down, give oyster shell, keep her ocupied with something new. I also bought corn on the cob as a change for her.
She is still looking for nesting sites but thank goodness we have moved on from the mating period.
AJPeter
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Billie has been cat napping all day, eating a lot of fruit and cuttle fish bone, so l think tonight is the night. A coule of days ago l put in a cuff link box into her cage, it is metal and heavy and Billie did not like it. But l put it back tonight and put some soft tissues in it. She quickly pulled those out and then seemed to check the box over looking at it from dffferent angles, then left it so l think she has accepted it as a possible nest. I folded up a tea towel and put it in the box with a large wooden bead on top as a sort of hint! She was quite intrrigued with the cloth, lifting the sde to see underneath.

Her vent area apeared swollen early on today but at bed time it looked normal. Dummy eggs might come tomorrow, and in any case she goes to see the vet next tuesday Shush! Not so loud.
sanjays mummi
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by sanjays mummi »

Thank you for the updates AJ, they are the first thing I look for, as I think about Billie all the time.
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by AJPeter »

Thank you Sanjay's mummi, Billie and l appreciate being appreciated! Never get a hen!
ellieelectrons
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Re: A thread for AJ and Billie about hormonal behaviour.

Post by ellieelectrons »

Where is she laying her eggs? The reason not to give a nest box is to prevent laying. If she is laying any way you can give her a nest box of some description. It may help protect the eggs.

Ellie.
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