My Conure Laid Eggs

by Nicole
(Anchorage, AK )

Hello, My conure laid eggs, I am unsure exactly when but we noticed the first one on Christmas Eve, and within a few days there were three total. Her and the male have taken turns sitting on them and the female is now bald on her belly due to plucking her feathers for the nest.

At this point I don't know what to do. What do I do if they hatch, am I suppose to do the feeding and all that fun stuff. Please advise me when I should take the eggs out if they don't hatch. And what do I do with three baby conures if they do hatch. I'm confused. HELP!

Thanks, Nicole

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Dec 30, 2009
My Conure Laid Eggs
by: Linda

Well, when you put a male and female together who were breeding age, this is what happens. You need to study and learn all the facts about breeding the birds including how to hand-feed the babies if necessary.

The parents usually do a good job of feeding, but sometimes the smaller baby or babies will need some supplementary feeding until they are same size as the two older ones. The older babies will shove the smaller ones out of the way and take all the food, so the smaller ones have to be hand-fed to keep them up with the larger ones. Eggs are laid every other day, and the babies hatch out the same way every other day, so your first one will be bigger than the other two, and the last one will be the smallest of all.

So, it usually takes around 25-28 days for eggs to hatch if they are fertile. Your birds need to be in a nest box which is hung on outside of cage with the front opening on the inside. The babies will be very cold if this has happened on the floor of the cage not to mention the filth. The babies will need to be seen by an Avian Vet as soon as is possible as well as the parents.

Bacterial infections are common, and when one has an infection, they all do. Babies will die from the infections if not treated. You can find the handfeeding formula for baby parrots on this site, and you'll need to learn how to do it correctly or risk aspirating the babies. I suggest you talk with some breeders in your area and let them show you how to do it. Your Avian vet may also be a good idea to show you how and give you the right size syringes.

After this, I suggest that you separate these birds into two cages until you have done your homework on what they need.If eggs don't hatch, throw them away and keep birds away from each other until you learn how to do this. It is not easy to breed birds and is more expensive than most people realize.

There are some books here and many other resources on the internet. You need to know about proper diet, how to set up a cage with natural branch wood perches, and a lot of information on breeding and setting up a breeding cage with a nestbox. Most of this will be basic information we have to learn before we even bring birds home. Birds are not toys, and they are not something that can be thrown in the trash if everything does not work out. They are sensitive, sentient beings who require wholesome food, large caging and trips to Avian Vets at least once a year.


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