Backing Off On Protein

I have a pionus hen who has started laying eggs. Now, I know that the pionus requirement for protein is very low - in the single digits - so I typically mix more veggies and greens in the pi girls' afternoon salad, and give a higher ratio of sprouts to veggies/greens to the rest of the flock. Yet, my girl is still laying. This is her 2nd laying cycle in about 90 days, the first time yielded 3 eggies, each of which I had to discard as they were dropped from her perch onto the grate, and broken. She waited nearly 3 months before starting again. This cycle, she has laid 2 eggies, the 2nd one today. Again, I need to discard it because it is broken. She has no hidey-nesty spot in her cage but I guess when you've gotta lay, you've gotta lay...still, no more sprouts for her for a while, we'll stick with the veggies, especially all of those important vitamin A veggies to keep her cloaca supple and well-lubricated, and help prevent egg-binding.

While I'm on that subject: Egg-laying is a natural function of the female bird's body. So why do so many captive birds bind? I've even heard people go so far as to say they won't have a hen because of the chance of that happening. I don't go that far because (a) most hens don't lay without the necessities being in place first, and (b) of those hens that do lay - a natural process, remember - most don't bind.

I'd rather my pi-girl not lay. But since she is, I will meet her nutritional needs as best as I can to provide the mineral and carotene support for her body. And hope that she will stop.

Just for the record, even while she's laying eggs, she's still a sweetheart of a bird who has remained cuddly and precious, seeking out time with me (I'm careful not to do the cuddling part these days though!) and as gentle as can be, never even a hard nip. But lots of pi-talk. Lots and lots of her special love-language that means she's feeling particularly mushy.

God bless her sweet little birdie heart...