Parrotlet

Question
Hi Dianna,
I am thinking of getting a baby hand-fed,tame parrotlet from a breeder.  I wanted to get a male, however, i may only be able to get a female.  I didn't really want a female because I didn't want to deal with eggs.  If she does not have a mate, will she still lay eggs?  If so, how often?  Is there anyway I can discourage her from laying eggs?  How common is egg binding and how can it be prevented?  Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hello Karen and thank you for your post.
Yes, a female can and usually will lay eggs without a mate.  The eggs won't be fertile, so they won't hatch.  She may only lay once or twice a year when she reaches her maturity (which is usually around 2 years old).
Egg binding can be a serious problem for some birds, so there is no guarantee that your new friend will not get egg bound, but with the proper nutrition the problem is less likely to occur.
One thing that I have been doing for my birds is to put a couple of drops of Vitamin E into their water once every week or two weeks.  This not only helps their feathers to beautiful, but it also helps the females' vents moist (a dry vent is a major factor in egg binding for most birds).  
This can be done by taking a Vitamin E gel-cap and poking a hole in one end with a pin, then squeezing a couple of drops onto the drinking water.  Just be sure to change the water after a couple of hours to prevent bacteria from growing.
There really is no way to discourage normal egg laying, but it's really not difficult dealing with the eggs.  The female will do all of the work, you just have to be sure to give her the necessary nutrition to allow her to be able to be healthy when she does lay them.

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna