Laying Eggs & Feather Plucking

[Jazmine]

Well, Lilly is a girl after all, haha! I noticed that she started to pluck her chest. So, I looked in her nest, and I saw four little eggs :) I wanted to know; should I throw them out asap, get egg substitutes, or let her sit on them for a little while? On the feather plucking note, I do offer her paper and cotton....but I guess thats not what she wants, would anyone recommend something else? Should I rip open a feather pillow? LOL

[Jazmine]

Also, should I think about getting her a little stud (aka boyfriend!)? She is hand-fed and never been around other birds since she was 2 weeks old.

[linda040899]

Many hens will pluck their "brood patch" (located on chest area) so they can make better incubating contact with their eggs. Not all hens will do this, but many will. Even though she has no male companion, it's important to let her complete her breeding cycle and she will abandon her eggs when she's done with them. Clean paper that she can shred is about all I ever offer, other than clean palm fronds.

As for getting her a companion, you will not be able to introduce a male to her as long as she has eggs. She will view him as public enemy #1 and could easily kill him if you put him in her cage. What you need is a DNA sexed male who is more than 12 months old, as a young male won't be able to satisfy her needs and he could easily get injured as a result of that, too. All new birds need to be quarantined for a minimum of 30 days and then placed in a separate cage next to the intended mate so they can get to know each other. Also be aware that male + female = potential offspring so you will need to think about what you will do with babies should there be any produced.

Hope this helps.