Re: Help! My 'male' red eclectus has just laid an egg...

Parrot Dude wrote: 
On Wed, 9 Nov 2005 12:16:52 +1300, "geopelia" <phildoran@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:


<Parrot Dude> wrote in message
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On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 19:37:29 GMT, "hatehuck" <huck.tit@xxxxxxx> wrote:


"Joanne" <Joanne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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<Parrot Dude> wrote in message
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I've had my red eclectus parrot for a few years now and I always
thought it was a boy. I just discovered that 'he' has laid an egg on
the bottom of 'his' cage.

'He' is a lone bird, so I don't understand how this happened. What do
I do now???


I'm such a sucker for these posts, but here goes:

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww7eiv.htm

Hard to believe someone named "Parrot Dude" who has
owned an eclectus "for a few years"  doesn't know the secret.  Boys are
green, girls are red.



How can someone so ignorant look after a bird 

I was told that she was a red eclectus male when I bought her (the
shop said that there was a red breed and a green breed and that it was
simply down to a choice of which color I liked best). I've never had
any problems with her, so I never looked up anything about her
species.

What should I do with the egg? 

Which species is she, there are several eclectus? What on earth was a bird
like that doing in such an obviously ignorant pet shop? If sold at all it
should be by specialist dealers that know their birds and can advise buyers
how to care for them, or preferable by the birds' breeders to fellow
breeders.



I bought her (still feels strange to refer to her as 'her') on a
market stall about five years ago. The guy had three green and two red
in different cages. I asked what the difference was and I was told
that they were two different species. Do you have pics of the real
different species so I can compare my bird to those?


Could she be a wild-caught bird? That trade still goes on, unfortunately. 


I've done a bit of reading tonight. She doesn't have a ring on her leg
- but she has always been perfectly fine around humans.


Rare birds should be kept in suitable aviaries where they can breed, unless
they have been proved to be infertile.

Try to find an eclectus expert who can advise you of the best treatment for
her. It may be possible to breed her in suitable conditions, if she is a
young bird. The egg she has laid is infertile of course.



Can I just take the egg out when I get the chance? She's lurking
around it at the moment and won't let me near. I didn't realise they
were rare birds - do I really have to breed her? I don't want to lose
her to the other parrots.


She may be about to lay a second egg. Watch her carefully and if she seems
to have any problem let a vet see her.



Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her for egg binding - I know what to look
out for from my cockatiels.


Which country are you in?


England. 

This site will have a ton of information.
http://www.landofvos.com/articles/speciesprofile.html
Debbie
.