Max my African Grey has started laying eggs which is not something we have experienced before. We noticed about 6 weeks ago she had laid 2 eggs which broke on impact. Obviously laying an egg from a lofty perch will never end well and why we gave her a towel and some old material in case she laid any more. When we were away overseas she laid 3 more and has not moved off them since. If I approach the cage she will wander towards me, but anyone else they are met with a growl and a fluffed up aggressive bird.
What is quite funny is I named my parrot Max as I was not sure if it would turn out to be a Maximus or a Maxine. When we got her 25 years ago the breeder though it was a male and now we know he was very wrong. Sexing a parrot is not easy and why mistakes are often made.
Apparently in the wild they do not lay unfertilized eggs and it only happens in captivity. The egg laying can be bought on by petting or a change in seasons like birds in the wild and is seen as normal. The not so good thing is I cannot do the weekly cleaning of her cage as she is very protective of her eggs and this could last anywhere between 2 and 6 weeks.
Other family members have been bitten recently and I am the only one who is welcome. They normally choose a favorite from day one and why a parrot is more of a personal companion as they choose you. An African Grey can live anywhere between 40 and 60 years in captivity so it is a lifetime commitment when you decide to bring one into the home.
Max has an inside and outside cage so during the daytime in the summer months she spends her days outdoors. The dogs and cats know to leave her well alone as they have all been pecked or bitten at some time in the past.
Her vocabulary is limited and you can hear her practicing new words or sounds at night. She can do the low battery sound on your cell phone, dishwasher and washing machine button sounds, burping and farting, calls the dogs by their names and even has conversations on the phone. This is actually quite funny as fist she performs the ringing sound and then answers the phone with a "hi how are you" before cutting off.
When we moved back to South Africa from England she spent 3 months in quarantine at Heathrow airport somewhere near a runway. The plane engine sounds she had mastered during her 3 month stay were unreal and need to find some sound footage for her to practice these again. This would not take long as they are extremely clever and their memory is seriously good.
Parrots are generally destructive birds and you find out very quickly how smart they are. This is her third cage as the other two could not contain her as she would undo the bolts that were holding the cage together with her beak and it would fall apart.
I am now hoping this egg laying business stops soon enough and we can continue as normal as these days she spends the entire day sitting on the eggs not wanting to move.
