Brooding Macaw Hen (BG Banu) Eggs 17 & 18

[yehudasf]

Something about a dark space, wherein they hen/cock can sit on their hocks for extended periods of time will almost always (in mature Macaws) bring on the breeding cycle. It will happen if it is an "only" bird, one of a flock, or a bonded pair. I am currently dealing with BG Banu (princess),who I was hoping to eventually introduce to BG as a mate, in the midst of repetitive ovulation, along with finishing treatment for an earlier case of severe yolk peritonitis. She has so far layed 18 eggs this cycle. At the moment she is brooding the last two. Since she was having health issues because of the ovulation, I had Lupron administered, it was absolutely *NON* efficacious. So I decided to let her brood for as long as she will. Brooding (after about 7-9 days) will cause a hen's body to produce prolactin, which will shut down the ovary & prevent a new cycle for (usually) about 4 -6 months. Veterinary expenses associated with this problem have totalled over $ 3500 so far. X-rays, ultra-sound examinations, medications (for months), it all adds up. Be cautious about anything that might start this sort of cycle in one of your birds (hens obviously, although hormonal males can get quite nasty)in the interest of your sanity, & their health.
Here she is in full "brood" mode:

Her eggs (zoomed view):

Returning to nest after bathroom break, gathering eggs under her:

[spectre]

Your bird is lovely. How is she doing?

[felisdomesticus]

Originally Posted by yehudasf

Veterinary expenses associated with this problem have totalled over $ 3500 so far. X-rays, ultra-sound examinations, medications (for months), it all adds up.

Wow. Outlaw has forewarned me about Eclectus female hormonal behavior which can include biting, nesting, and feather plucking. I have recently read a real-life horror story about a 2nd or 3rd time eggbound ekkie hen who had to have a "hysterectomy". (can't remember the official term) Scarlett is only about 2.5 years old at this point so I imagine I could possibly be in the same situation eventually in the future.

I'm trying my novice-best, though, with weekly perch, toy, bowl rotations and her spending a lot of time out of the cage on her boing and with me. Ekkies are supposed to be horrid when they are hormonal--guess I'll find that out soon enough!

[yehudasf]

Spectre:

How is she doing?

Until early (02:40) this morning she was doing well. At the noted time, she produced another soft-shelled egg. I've been giving her supplements of calcium glubionate syrup, but because of the danger of D3 toxicity, I had stopped for about a week. This egg:

(thank G*d) had its yolk, which was expressed (externally) from the egg by the contractions during laying, so there is no recurrence of yolk peritonitis. Note the misshapen appearance, a function of the absolute malleability of the calcium poor shell. Once again, she will be getting calcium supplements for the next two weeks. Hopefully by that time, her prolactin production will have changed her ovulation cycle to brood-only mode.

[spectre]

Forgive my ignorance on the matter, I am relatively new to birds. It looks now like my new macaw will be a Greenwing. I don't particularly care what sex it will be as I prefer to pick based on personality.

If it turns out to be a female what can I do to minimize the chances of this happening? What do I look out for to tell me it is happening and might be harmful?

Thanks,
Jared

[Alika]

What a saint you are for patiently dealing with this problem. Those kinds of vet bills are no joke! Thanks for the warning... anyone with a hen of any type should read and by aware.

Egg problems scare the crap out of me.

[The Outlaw]

The single most important thing you can do is be observant. You have to know your bird. Secondly, an exemplary diet rich in calcium. And, don't provide the stimulus to start the hen's cycle in the first place. Once started, it can be extremely difficult to control. Yehuda has 30 years of experience breeding macaws and is totally on top of the problem. She is quite fortunate to be under his TLC.

[spectre]

What do you do to prevent the cycle and what is a good source of calcium? Even if my next bird isn't a hen one day I will eventually have one.

Thanks

[felisdomesticus]

Originally Posted by spectre

what is a good source of calcium?

I give Scarlett hardboiled egg halves--with the shell. She also gets plain low-fat yogurt with cayenne pepper mixed into it several times a week. When we have cottage cheese in the house, she loves to have a spoonful on top of her dinners. Leafy greens are a great source of calcium too--kale, dandelion, mustard greens, bok choy, etc.

My girl is a pig and will eat pretty much anything I offer her. If you have a picky eater, it's harder to incorporate variety into their diet.

[yehudasf]

Spectre

what can I do to minimize the chances of this happening? What do I look out for to tell me it is happening and might be harmful? ... What do you do to prevent the cycle and what is a good source of calcium? Even if my next bird isn't a hen one day I will eventually have one.

With Macaws, one should be careful about the manner in which they are touched. Once they are sexually mature, stroking the flanks, tail, or grabbing & holding the maxilla all can trigger unwanted breeding behaviours. In my experience, the biggest risk factor is allowing the hen to find & spend (any) time in a darkened, somewhat secluded space. Combine this with shredding (newspaper, cardboard, even wood) & you are almost guaranteed an ovulation cycle.
Some of the more obvious warning signs are: regurgitation (to the object of her affection), presenting (when she sees you the tail goes up & the vent is fully exposed), frottage (more males than females, but still sufficiently prevalent to warrant inclusion) Ignoring usual activities in favour of trying to seek out a nesting cavity. Marked loss of tolerance for other human companions (exclusive of the object of affection).
The best commercially available source of avian compatible calcium I've found is calcium glubionate syrup. One has to perform a bit of a balancing act, in that to much supplementation when the hen is actually out of ovulation cycle, can cause D3 toxicity. Generally the best practices are to control the photoperiod so that the hen never gets the light-cycle induced cues to begin the cycle, if suspicious "breeding" behaviour is observed, reduce the fat in her diet to a minimum, & give absolutely no seeds (these are foods associated with the breeding season) assure that no affectionate contact is of the sort to trigger breeding urge, & finally avoid allowing your bird to be to much of a floorwalker, thereby cutting off any access to dark spaces wherein she would, almost certainly, begin down the road to egg - laying.