WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Introduction to DummyEggs®.com

If you're a bird owner dealing with unwanted egg laying from your feathered friend, it's important to know what to do when your bird starts laying eggs. You have three options:

1. The first is to do nothing and allow the bird to lay her clutch and let nature take its course. If they hatch, this can mean you will have round-the-clock feedings and have to find homes for the surviving chicks. If the eggs are infertile, you can let the bird continue incubating them, but after some weeks, the real eggs spoil and probably break.
2. The second option is to remove the eggs, and your bird will continue to lay replacement eggs until she has a full clutch. This can lead to calcium depletion and egg binding, an urgent medical condition which requires immediate care by a veterinarian.
3. The third option is to replace your bird's real eggs with DummyEggs®. These eggs mimic the look, feel, and weight of real eggs and can trigger incubation WITHOUT HER LAYING a full clutch of her own eggs. By using DummyEggs®, you can limit the number of eggs your bird lays and prevent potential health complications.

DummyEggs® can also be used in the same manner when your bird first starts to display hormonal brooding behaviors that you will be sure to notice. These can include not wanting to be touched, wanting to be touched too much, and unusual aggression. Both males and females will show these signs, and using our plastic eggs can both calm and satisfy their need to reproduce.

So, which option is best for you and your bird? The choice is yours, but we highly recommend considering the use of DummyEggs® to limit the number of eggs your bird lays, minimize stress for you and your bird, and prevent potential health complications. The proper way to use DummyEggs® is to put in the same number of eggs as she would lay in a full clutch. This "fake clutch" tricks her to stop laying.

Common advise is often to make your bird feel less secure, less comfortable because hens won't lay if they feel threatened or food insecure. Our philosophy has always been to give them what they really want, A FULL CLUTCH OF EGGS. This is when nature signals to stop laying more eggs. Birds count their eggs! A bowl of dummy eggs simulate a full clutch of eggs that your hen can sit on until she looses interest. She feels fulfilled and you are in control. So simple! So healthy! If you follow our directions, they can work like magic! 

While it may be tempting to just dispose of them, replacing them with dummy eggs from Dummy­Eggs®­.com can provide numerous benefits for both you and your bird. Using dummy eggs can help reduce stress and anxiety for your bird. Birds can become emotionally attached to their eggs and removing them can cause distress and confusion. By replacing live eggs with dummy eggs, your bird can continue to lay and incubate on a full nest, without the risk of stress from damaged or missing eggs.

By placing a full clutch of dummy eggs in the broody hen's nest, you are providing her with the signal that her clutch is complete, and that it is time to begin incubation. The dummy eggs are designed to mimic the size, shape, and weight of real eggs, so the broody hen will treat them as if they are real eggs.

Made from durable, non-toxic plastic, our bird eggs are designed to mimic the size, shape, and weight of real eggs. By replacing your bird's real eggs with our plastic ones, you can help break the cycle of hormonal egg-laying behavior, reducing the risk of eggbinding, calcium depletion, and other health problems. They're easy to clean and sanitize, so you can reuse them again and again.

If your bird has already laid a real egg, it may be helpful to measure its length and compare it to the selection of eight sizes we offer from Finch to Macaw. Please note that while it's ideal to select the best-fitting size, it doesn't have to be an exact match. Our selection of different sizes allows for some flexibility, and choosing a size that's close to the real egg's size should work well for most birds.

Determinate Egg Laying

"Determinate egg laying" refers to the reproductive behavior of some species of birds, in which a female bird lays a set number of eggs during each breeding season. This contrasts with "indeter­minate egg laying," in which a female bird can lay eggs continuously throughout the breeding season. Most all common pet birds are determinate egg layers.

In species with determinate egg laying, the number of eggs laid in a clutch can vary depending on the species but is usually consistent from one breeding season to the next. For example, a common clutch size for a domestic chicken is around 10-12 eggs, while a parakeet might lay 4-6 eggs per clutch.

In general, there are several types of pet birds commonly kept in America that are known to be determinate egg layers. These include:

• Cockatiels
• Lovebirds
• Budgerigars (parakeets)
• Canary birds
• Finches
• Quaker parrots
• Indian ring-necked parakeets

It's important to note that while these birds are known to be determinate egg layers, individual birds may have different egg-laying patterns depending on various factors such as age, health, diet, and living conditions. Once a female bird has laid the set number of eggs for the breeding season, she will typically stop laying and begin the process of incubating and raising the chicks that hatch from the eggs.

In species with deter­minate egg laying, the reproductive cycle is typically triggered by external factors such as changes in daylight or temperature. The female bird's body will produce a set number of eggs in response to these triggers, and once those eggs are laid, the breeding cycle for the season is considered complete.

For some species, deter­minate egg laying can be an advantage in terms of conserving energy and resources. By laying a set number of eggs, the female bird can ensure that each egg is well-­developed and has a better chance of surviving to adulthood. In fact, breeders have been using dummy eggs for years to increase chick survival rates by replacing laid eggs with plastic and mechanically incubating the real ones.

However, there are also potential downsides to deter­minate egg laying, particularly in captivity. In situations where a female bird is not able to incubate and care for her eggs properly. If her eggs are removed, she will keep laying replacements until a full clutch is complete. This can be physically and emotionally taxing, leading to health problems such as egg­binding, calcium depletion, frustra­tion, and stress behaviors such as feather plucking.

When a hen becomes broody, her body undergoes hormonal changes that trigger her instinct to incubate eggs. She will seek out a nest, often hiding in a secluded location, and will begin to lay eggs until she has a clutch of eggs that she feels is sufficient to begin incubation.

Using a bowl to hold your dummy eggs can have several benefits. Placing your dummy eggs in a bowl can help keep them stable and prevent them from rolling or shifting around in the nest. This is important because a broody hen may become agitated or abandon her nest if the eggs move around too much. Using a bowl to hold your dummy eggs can make it easier to move the eggs around or replace them as needed. This is especially true if you need to remove the eggs from the nest to clean them or add new eggs.

“Mimicking real eggs and promoting natural incu­bation benefits your bird’s health and well-being.”

Once the hen begins to incubate the dummy eggs, her body will continue to produce hormones that encourage incubation behavior, and she will continue to care for and protect the eggs until they would naturally hatch. Simply place the dummy eggs in a bowl inside her cage and let her instincts take over. The eggs will signal to her DNA that it's time to stop laying and start incubating, without any negative side effects. This is beneficial for the hen, as it allows her to fulfill her instinctual desire to incubate, while also preventing her from laying additional eggs that could be detrimental to her health.

Several species of pet birds share incubation duties, including many parrot species. For example, Conures, Macaws, African Greys, and Cockatiels are among the species where both the male and female share incubation duties. It's worth noting that while these species are known to share incubation duties, individual birds may vary in their behavior and parenting roles. Additionally, some species may have differences in the amount of time each parent spends incubating eggs, as well as in the number of eggs laid per clutch. Other species of pet birds, such as Canaries and Finches, are typically cared for only by the female during incubation.

Don't let unwanted egg laying disrupt your bird's health and happiness, order your plastic bird eggs from DummyEggs.com today and enjoy a stress-free solution for both you and your feathered friends.

Melanie & Kirk
DummyEggs.com
dummyeggs@comcast.net
melanie@dummyeggs.com
info@dummyeggs.com

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THE VET’S ADVICE

It is usually quite the surprise to parrot owners when their pet lays an egg, especially if they thought it was a male, or if it lives without a mate. Just like with production chickens laying eggs for consumption, any single bird will become reproductively active and can lay an unfertilized egg during its life in captivity. This article will focus on some key points to help explain the answers to the most frequently asked questions our clients have regarding this behavior including: why it happens, possible harmful complications, what to do when it happens, and how to prevent it from happening over and over again. Since reproductive disorders are common in pet birds, prevention and self-education are better than treatment, especially since some of these conditions can be life-threatening.

Why did my bird lay an egg when there is no mate present?
Egg laying can start whenever the species becomes sexually mature and can continue throughout the bird’s lifetime. Some birds will lay only once or twice in their lives, others will lay several times a year depending on the home environment and stimuli. In the wild many natural factors influence egg-laying and female parrots will generally not lay eggs unless they have a mate, a suitable nesting site, and the right environmental conditions and food availability. Their reproductive behaviors are often guided by food abundance and seasonal changes such as daylight hours. In captivity however, this behavior is often stimulated by other factors we may not even be aware we are providing. Some companion birds are more prolific and much more likely to lay eggs than other species based on genetic predisposition, such as budgies/parakeets, cockatiels, and Aratinga conures. Others can randomly lay due to the stimulants we provide in captivity.

• Increased daylight hours: when birds think it is springtime, they are more likely to reproduce. When we wake them up early and keep them up with us at night, they don’t understand that our artificial light is not the sun and they can become reproductively active.

• Constant sources of rich foods: when birds have ample foods high in fat and protein, their bodies become prepared to reproduce. In the wild, they reproduce when these kinds of natural resources are available based on the season. In captivity, when they are given these rich foods every day, their bodies are constantly ready and amped up for reproduction!

• Inappropriate pair bonding with humans or inanimate objects: when birds perceive that there is a mate present, their bodies will think it’s time to make babies. An inappropriate mate is most often a chosen person in the home- often someone who allows the bird to physically be with them more than others, allows regurgitation behaviors, and is very affectionate. Occasionally this perceived mate could also be a mirror, a stuffed animal, or a favorite toy that the bird cuddles with, regurgitates on, or spends many hours a day with.

• Excessive allopreeing: it is very rewarding to have a bird that enjoys being scratched, rubbed, and will reciprocate with straightening our hair or giving sweet nibbles. However, this behavior directly mimics what parrots and their mates do in the wild. Scratching under the wings, over the back, under the chin, and around the face/beak are all behaviors of bonded pairs of parrots in the wild. Doing this can encourage reproductive behavior such as egg laying.

• Having access to a nesting sites: of course purchasing a nest for a bird is an obvious nesting site, but often people don’t realize that allowing a bird to forage/play in a cardboard box, offering the fuzzy tents sold in pet stores, allowing them to explore the kitchen cabinets, or burrowing in our clothes/bed linens are all nesting sites as well! In the wild, birds seek out small, dark spaces to make a nest such as a tree hollow or rock crevice. There are many of these “sites” in our homes and allowing birds to find them can induce them to lay eggs sometimes in these sites.

What are the potential complications?

1. Eggbinding: When birds lay eggs, they need to be in optimal condition in order to be able to produce the protein required, the calcium to shell the egg, and the energy to lay it properly. A poor quality diet for a bird that is not exposed to natural sunlight (to aid in calcium absorption) and that does not fly or have exercise may be deficient in many nutrients and vitamins and be in poor body conditon that is required for healthy egg laying. If the eggs are not shelled properly, they could be soft or lump or, they could have difficulty or even get stuck moving through the oviduct. If the bird does not have good muscle development or calcium stores, passing the egg may be difficult or impossible. These conditions can cause dystocia, or “egg binding” in birds. Birds that are having difficulty laying eggs may have the following symptoms:

Sitting on the bottom of the cage.

Difficulty breathing, which can appear like a tail bob, open beak panting, or a wide-legged stance with increased respiratory effort.

Blood coming from the vent (the opening where they poop from and where the egg passes). Straining or pushing excessively with no egg produced Pathologic bone fractures: When birds produce eggs, their bodies mobilize calcium from their bones, leaving them weak. Over time it is common to see fractured wings and/or leg bones occurring with no trauma, especially if they are not getting enough calcium and vitamin D3.

2. Egg yolk peritonitis: If there is reproductive disease, either from chronic egg laying or pathology in the oviduct, ovarian follicles can develop and instead of passing into the oviduct to be shelled normally, they fall into the body cavity. This can cause a serious inflammatory process that causes the coelom (abdomen) to fill with fluid. This can be very uncomfortable for birds, causing them to not be able to breathe well, become lethargic, and have a decreased appetite.

3. Hyperlipidemia: When birds are constantly laying eggs, there is often a high amount of circulating fats and proteins in the blood to facilitate egg production. This can cause dangerous thickening of the blood, with the potential to cause a bird to have a stroke (sometimes referred to as “yolk stroke”). These changes in the blood are often impossible to change with diet and exercise, and in many cases only hormone therapy or spaying will stop the condition.

4. Behavior problems: When birds are in a state of reproduction, they often have hormonal changes that make them irritable and uncomfortable. They can turn from a human-friendly buddy, to a vicious cage protective demon! Birds will often aggressively protect their eggs and/or nest area by lunging, hissing, biting, and screaming. They also will sometimes pull feathers from their body to make a nest (called a “brood patch”) in order to keep the eggs warm with their skin contact on them. But this behavior can preclude chronic feather picking behavior.

What do I do now that my bird laid an egg?

These recommendations are based on the assumption that you are not trying to breed your bird. The staff at the Center strongly discourages breeding of pet parrots, especially by non-experienced pet owners. If you are trying to breed, please consider discussing this with your avian veterinarian prior to breeding to learn about the potential for health problems, financial expense, and ethical reasons why we do not recommend breeding parrots.

A few species of parrots are sexually dimorphic (you can tell the gender based on the physical appearance) and others are not, so many owners don’t know if they have a male or a female. (We strongly recommend bringing birds in for testing BEFORE a crisis occurs- we can easily determine the gender with a single drop of blood.) If you have a male and female, or are not sure, it is possible that the egg could be fertile, so as soon as you see an egg, you should remove it and replace it with a fake egg. Alternatively, you could boil or freeze the egg, but then return it to the nest. It is important to return some sort of egg to the nest because some birds will continue to lay eggs, trying to replace the lost ones. Once the eggs of a clutch are all laid and exchanged for fake or sterilized eggs, leave them with the birds, regardless if they are nesting them or not, for approximately 3 weeks. Then, remove them one at a time every other day until they are gone. This will hopefully give the female the time she needs to understand that those eggs are not viable and will not hatch. In most cases the birds will abandon the eggs after a period of time.

While she is laying/nesting on the eggs, be sure to communicate with your avian veterinarian regarding diet and possible nutritional supplementations. Each situation may be different based on history, species, diet, and other variables. Your pet’s doctor may recommend extra calcium, full spectrum light, protein, or other supplements during this time.
If you see any symptoms as described above, please give your avian veterinarian a call right away to schedule an appointment, or potentially bring your bird in for an emergency visit. These situations can be very dangerous and life threatening so you should not wait.

Tips to prevent laying eggs

1. Move the bird’s cage to a different area of your home. Sometimes making birds feel a little uncomfortable will make their bodies recognize that it is not an ideal time to lay eggs.

2. Rearrange any perches, bowls, and toys in the cage. Again, making them feel just a bit like things are different or strange, less comfortable, they may not be as likely to lay eggs.

3. Remove any objects that your bird associates with “nesting”. These are usually cardboard boxes or fabric toys that your bird can “hide” in. Food bowls are also often used as make-shift nests and changing sizes and location may limit this behavior.

4. Remove any objects that your bird considers a “mate” such as mirrors, stuffed toys, special favorite perches, or even other birds. Sometimes birds may need a time-out from a mate or a perceived mate in order to prevent chronic egg laying.

5. Limit time with the bird’s human “mate”. Avoid bonding behaviors like grooming, kissing, and sharing food.

6. If your bird spends a lot of time out of its cage, discourage all nesting behavior. You may need to keep the bird caged for a while to prevent them from laying eggs in closets, behind/under furniture, or in cabinets.

7. Alter your bird’s light/dark schedule by covering the cage for at least 12 hours a night. Keeping them quiet and dark during these hours will create a sense that it is not springtime and not the time for making babies.

8. Keep your bird away from direct, bright sunlight during the day. It also may help to keep them away from windows and in a normally lit room.

INTHE NEW YORK AREA 212-501-8750 or email us at CAEM@avianandexoticvets.com
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