Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 6/2/2006

Question
Hi again.. I have a few more questions and I really do appreciate your replies.  The female was laying on the egg but she kept on leaving it to eat and just move around and check things out around the cage then would go back to the egg for a little while more then leave again etc.  I checked the box this evening and she was sitting on it.  I went away for awhile and came back and found the egg destroyed and thrown out of the box.  I assume the male did it again.  Now would he have possibly done it because it wasnt fertile or maybe he still felt threatened?  He and I never bonded and he seems nervous when I come near and I also have a cat and dog that will peak in on them once in awhile. The female is calm around me and my other pets. He also seems pretty intent on mating, but she has no interest when shes with the egg or getting ready to lay another (which looks like she'll be laying another really soon), so I also wonder if he feels the female's interest in the egg is keeping him from her. I guess at this point should I wait it out a little while longer or should I just remove him because its my understanding she'll keep laying fertile or not as long as theres no egg to fulfill her nesting instinct which i also understand laying too many is dangerous and if they eggs are fertile and if hes removed would she be able to manage them without him?
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Answer
Hi again, Amy.  I think you need to keep the cat and dog away from the cage and nestbox.  This might be the very reason the male is destroying the eggs...the cat/dog are threats to the survival of any offspring.  What your keets are doing (laying eggs/nesting) is perfectly natural...what Mother Nature intended them to do, so I do not believe the male is "jealous" of his mate tending to their eggs.  This type of behavior is characteristic of humans, not other animals!  I would recommend you locate your keets in an area of your home where they can be by themselves to tend to what they want to do, IF this is what you want them to do.

Your hen will most likely continue to lay until she has a full clutch of about 6 eggs.  Most parrots don't start incubating eggs until the second egg is laid.  This is why your hen is moving about the cage.  I wouldn't remove him...he's only doing what's natural in my opinion (protecting his offspring).  You have to keep the dog/cat away...the keets are frightened of them...the dog/cat are predators as far as your keets are concerned.  As long as there is a predator around that can get right up to the cage, the male might continue to destroy the eggs.  It just isn't natural for a male to destroy eggs without a very good reason.  

You shouldn't allow the female to manage this entire process herself.  It's too much to lay the eggs, try to incubate them while still needing to be nourished, hydrated, and able to defecate, then when the babies hatch, attempting to nourish all of them while trying to stay nourished herself, etc., etc.  She'll never have time to rest, thus, could become ill in the long run.  If you allow this to happen, it will shorten the life of your female.  

Chrys