Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have a 15yr old military macaw. Last year she laid two eggs. Now she has laid six in the last 3 weeks. Is this unhealthy? Should we look for a male to breed her with? Her main diet is sunflower seeds with fresh fruit and she also eats dinner with us (a little of what we're having). She seems normal/ healthy otherwise.

This can be normal in birds. Many will lay eggs even without a mate and not this doesn't mean run out and find a bird to mate her with. I would change her diet a bit. Try for a lot less or no sunflower seeds which are very unhealthy. The veggies are good but also add pasta, grains and even some fruits. Having the same as you can also be good (as long as you eat relatively healthy LOL!). Since she is laying eggs I would suggest adding some more calcium to her diet. You can do this by adding cooked crushed egg shells into her food, or buying a calcium supplement to give to her (Do not use tums or rolaids with calcium as these are not made for birds!) You can also purchase egg foods at many pet stores which even though she won't be hatching out babies to feed she is still depleting her vitamins and needs any help she can get.

That being said if possible shorten her daylight hours. Make changes to her cage etc to throw her out of her egg laying cycle. By adding toys, moving around toys and dishes and possibly even completely moving her cage besides shortening the daylight it will usually decrease their cycle so they will quit laying eggs.

Thanks for the reply. We will implement the suggestions you provided.