strange behaviour of my fifteen year old african grey

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strange behaviour of my fifteen year old african grey

by lisa williams
(newcastle.uk)

my african grey is fifteen year old. originally owed my my mother in law from a baby, so grew up with my husband and during that time they had a very close bond.
about five years ago my mother in law gave the bird to her bother, and in March this year he moved in with us, were we have, two kids, two small dogs, two budgies, a hahns macaw.
the house he came from was very dark and he didn't get much stimulation, he only picked up two new words in the time he was there. Living with us he seems so happy and loves my husband ( even 5 years away from him he has never forgotten their bond)
He is out of his cage all the time, his favourite place is the kitchen, were he enjoys tearing up paper in top of my units!! About a month ago, he was really quite, wasn't eating and didn't utter a word, just wanted to sleep with his head tucked in.
That afternoon he did climb onto the kitchen units I asked my husband to get him down and to our amazement she laid an egg in his hand.
we were advised to remove the egg, and she didn't seem bothered. two weeks later she laid another egg from her perch which cracked so again i removed it, during this time she still seemed very sleepy , not talking as much as usual, but thankfully eating. I now getting concerned as today she is back to showing the signs of what she did the first day, she does look a little swollen in her tummy, so possibly could have another egg. I have been giving her calcivet on her food.
How long will this behaviour last? Is not talking and feeling sleep a sign of nesting?

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strange behaviour of my fifteen year old african grey

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Aug 07, 2011

strange behaviour of my fifteen year old african grey
by: Linda

Stop with the calcium supplement as this will do nothing but cause a dietary imbalance. Calcium supplements are more for very young parrots still eating from a syringe and even then the formula they eat contains all they need without putting anything else in the mix. Birds need a high quality, wholesome organic food like pellets to remain healthy in all ways. When fed this way, birds get sick less and are active, healthy, happy birds.

As Tracie said, you need to get this bird changed over to organic pellets, and Harrison's is the best on the market. Here is a link about how to go about the change, and an examination by an Avian Vet is recommended BEFORE any dietary changes as this causes some stress on the bird:

Switching Birds To Pellets article

We recommend yearly exams by Avian Vet to make sure birds are healthy. Birds who have eaten all seed diets for this many years can and do have problems with liver and possibly kidneys because they have never received proper nutrition.Back in the old days that I come from, we had no pellets or Avian Vets either. We had to cook for our birds to make sure they had a balanced diet, and if they became ill, lots of times, they would die because dog and cat vets were still learning about them and not able to help birds. Today, we have all the advantages, and need to use them to keep our birds healthy and happy.

Keep in touch and let us know how your birdy does.

Linda

Aug 06, 2011

African grey not talking
by: Tracie

If you have not taken your bird to an avian vet, then this would be a good time. Not talking and inactivity is often a sign that something internally is wrong.

Please read the Chronic Egg Laying article that was written by an avian vet. If your bird is eating a healthy pellet diet, like Harrison's or Roudybush then there are no worries about egg binding.

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