# Female lays only one egg, wants safflower



## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Our adult female, Fiona, has only laid one egg the past four times she has been broody. I swap the eggs for fakes. She was reluctant to eat pigeon mix except for picking out safflower seeds. I got her and her mate Higgins safflower gold parrot and Kaytee safflower seeds, and mix a bit of these into her regular food (Winners Cup pigeon feed). She seemed more energetic. Now she is again kind of “ off”. Her poop looks fine. But she doesnt sit on her fake egg. Do females sometimes lay only one egg instead of two as they age? She and her mate raised two “ oops” babies before i realized her mate was a male. Is safflower bad for her? They seem to like the black licorice scented seeds as well. Our vet is not available until after the holidays. She doesnt seem ill. But i am worried because she only lays one egg routinely. Am i making her depressed, swapping out her egg?


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## Garye2 (Mar 30, 2019)

Aggie in the beginning was laying only one egg. OMG, they just love safflower seeds. Aggie will pick those out of the pigeon mix and eat them first every time. Maybe your bird is just getting on in years and is only able to produce one egg at a time.


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## jonrf (Nov 30, 2017)

Sometimes, they may lay one egg at a time in the winter, or if they are low on calcium, or are elderly. I have a broody African Collared dove which lays often (a little too often). I have to add a little liquid calcium gluconate (reptile food spray works well) and literally a few grains of kosher salt to water along with 8-in-1 Vitasol. I heard from a few scientific sources salt is necessary in the formation of the shell. Not quite sure how much calcium is in safflower seeds but I suspect very little. Ohhhh yeahhh, pigeons LOVE safflower seeds and mine ALWAYS gobbles them up first. The only thing I know they love better than safflower seeds are sunflower hearts, but they are too fatty and I reserve them for rare treats. The Omega fatty acids in Safflower seeds are much better than sunflower seeds and will not cause fatty liver disease. Sometimes I have to skip on the Safflower seeds so they will eat the millet and Niger for more protein. Some birds will self-regulate their diet and eat a balanced mixture. But youngsters take time to learn other seeds are edible.


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