Hello everyone... 7th Egg laid by my lovebirds

[Cowboy&Chica]

Hello,

I've had these two lovebirds Cowboy and Chica for almost a year now. A couple of weeks ago I noticed mating behaviour and I bought them a breeding box. The next day they laid their first egg. Every other day (sometime they skipped two days) they laid an egg until the 6th egg without any problems. This morning I woke up to find the 7th egg laid in the floor of the cage and not next to the other 6 eggs in the breeding box. Not sure what to do. Should I leave it in the floor or move it to the breeding box next to the others? Any recommendation would help. I heard lots of stories before about not touching the egg with the fingers as the parents would not sit on it anymore but not sure if this is true or not. Please help as this is my first experience. Should I expect anymore eggs or 7 is a complete clutch now?

 

[Jas]

@Zara knows a lot about this.

Parrots sense of smell Is poor so if you touch then they won't reject it because it smells different. Yet disturbing them can be stressful.

(is she interested in the egg?)

Also make sure to Increase the amount of. Calcium the female receives to make sure she doesn't become egg bound. What's their diet like?

I would also recommend you watching hand feeding videos and ask breeders or your avian vet to learn how to hand feed babies. Since this is their first clutch it's unlikely that the babies will survive full term or mum starts to not feed some babies.

I would get some small syringes (without the needle), hand feeding formula, digital scales and a brooder. Just to be safe

 

[Zara]

Hello,

I've had these two lovebirds Cowboy and Chica for almost a year now. A couple of weeks ago I noticed mating behaviour and I bought them a breeding box. The next day they laid their first egg. Every other day (sometime they skipped two days) they laid an egg until the 6th egg without any problems. This morning I woke up to find the 7th egg laid in the floor of the cage and not next to the other 6 eggs in the breeding box. Not sure what to do. Should I leave it in the floor or move it to the breeding box next to the others? Any recommendation would help. I heard lots of stories before about not touching the egg with the fingers as the parents would not sit on it anymore but not sure if this is true or not. Please help as this is my first experience. Should I expect anymore eggs or 7 is a complete clutch now?

Welcome to the forum

How old were Chica and Cowboy when you got them? Did you hand raise them?

Candle those first eggs. If it has been weeks they are no good. 7 is a large clutch.
This could be why Chica laid the egg outside of the nest box. She has a new egg and the non viable expired eggs are in the way in the nest box.

A 2 week old non incubated egg (not sat on by the hen) is no good. Candle it to be sure. If they are expired, then pick up the 7th egg and put it in the nest box and do it now. If you leave the egg on the floor she may not sit on it.

Dont put the new egg with the old ones without candling them.

Wash your hands thouroughly and dry well and gently move the egg with your finger and thumb. Don´t start handling it. Just pick up and put in the nest. If you are a little paranoid, you can pick it up with tissue paper, but be very careful not to break it or let it slip out of your fingers.



@Jas makes some good points. But you can hold off on the brooder and formula until you candle the eggs and see veins. Research the brooder setup. But you don´t need to purchase just yet. Scales are good to own even if the eggs don´t hatch.

Another important note. If you do not want chicks, or are not prepared. Or do not have the time to put in to caring for them. Now is the time to destroy egg 7.
If you have to pull a chick early or it´s not getting fed by the parents, you will have to feed that baby every 2 hours at first depending on its age.
Have a look at my thread 41 days | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
It has been 45 days feeding my slow growing chick - he´s 7 weeks old today and still on 3 formula feeds a day. I have hardly left the house. I know it´s not going to happen to everyone but it could happen.
Also, you must ba able to home these babies, either with you or in another loving home.
Just things to consider

Edit;
I´ve just been hunting for this video again. It´s quite useful. Best to candle in a darker room, or in the afternoon/evening with the lights off.

 

[Cowboy&Chica]

Thank you Jas and Zara for your replys.

I moved the 7th egg into the Breeding Box. I still have to candle all the eggs I have not done that yet. But I wanted answer your question Zara, they were about 4 months old when I got them. Also, Chica has been sitting on the eggs most of the time. She just come out sometimes to eat or the mate with cowboy in between eggs. She is sitting on all 7 eggs right now as i am writing this. (that's why i did not candle them yet).

 

[Zara]

Candle them when you can. You should get a clear result after about 8 days, so those eggs will candle clearly. Aldora never laid additional eggs while sitting on the clutch.
Hens normally lay a full clutch and then start to sit full time.

Have you handfed a parrot before? Did you read the last part of my post about what you will do with any chicks that may hatch? What is your plan?
Are you at school, do you work? Are you able to take time off to look after the chicks. Maybe you work from home like me?

I have just thought... Look at your setup. Do you think it is possible that the eggs fell out of the box? It could be that she laid the egg with the others and you didn´t notice it, and now it has fallen out.

 

[Cowboy&Chica]

To answer Jas about their diet: I have been feeding them their regular seeds in one plate plus Egg and Honey mix in another plate, mallets and as of yesterday I crushed two chicken egg shells and place it in their cage in a separate plate for them.

 

[Cowboy&Chica]

Not sure how it will fall out of a breeding box i think it is impossible. Here is the picture right after I put the 7th egg in with the others. I have to wait until she step out of the box so i can try to candle them. I will do that this evening when it gets a little dark and I will report back here on what i find out.

 

[Zara]

Coax Chica out of the nest and candle the eggs. Call her and give her some treats. Remember to use a cool light. I like to leave a nice little treat in the nest box after every time I´ve been in for something.
You may want to give her some finely chopped green veg.

Have you handfed a parrot before? Did you read the last part of my post about what you will do with any chicks that may hatch? What is your plan?
Are you at school, do you work? Are you able to take time off to look after the chicks. Maybe you work from home like me?

 

[Jas]

To answer Jas about their diet: I have been feeding them their regular seeds in one plate plus Egg and Honey mix in another plate, mallets and as of yesterday I crushed two chicken egg shells and place it in their cage in a separate plate for them.

Egg is good for protein but not too much. Maybe once a week? Honey is something I'd avoid as it contains sugar and doesn't have many benefits. Seeds provide fat, again should be feed in small amounts but the parents will appreciate the extra energy.
Egg shells can be a source of calcium but can puncture the crop if they arent ground down.

Mallets? I assume you mean pellets? These are good to feed.

Try offering them so veggies like carrots, sweet potato, broccoli, peas, Kale, mustard tops etc for some healthy sources of calcium and vit a.
Dark leafy greens are a must.

 

[Lady Jane]

Not sure what to do

Hope you know how to proceed. If you do not want baby birds there are options too.

 

[Zara]

Hope you know how to proceed. If you do not want baby birds there are options too.

Another important note. If you do not want chicks, or are not prepared. Or do not have the time to put in to caring for them. Now is the time to destroy egg 7.
If you have to pull a chick early or it´s not getting fed by the parents, you will have to feed that baby every 2 hours at first depending on its age.
Have a look at my thread 41 days | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
It has been 45 days feeding my slow growing chick - he´s 7 weeks old today and still on 3 formula feeds a day. I have hardly left the house. I know it´s not going to happen to everyone but it could happen.
Also, you must ba able to home these babies, either with you or in another loving home.
Just things to consider

Have you handfed a parrot before? Did you read the last part of my post about what you will do with any chicks that may hatch? What is your plan?
Are you at school, do you work? Are you able to take time off to look after the chicks. Maybe you work from home like me?

 

[BirdField]

Please try to get the female at least some calcium. When you feed eggs, crush the eggshells into small pieces into the eggs for them to eat. But without any D3, the calcium is also useless. They need to either eat a pellet that contains D3 or to go outside into the sun in a travel cage. Only when it's warm enough though. The female will eventually start to have egg issues if she isn't provided both calcium and D3. Laying so many eggs takes a lot out of females and they need lots of extra nutrients that they are losing to their eggs.
Start to include some healthier options in their diets, as too many seeds can lead to obesity and liver issues. While eggs are good packs of protein, they should not be fed daily, maybe once a week at most. Animal protein can be very harmful if fed too often. You should start adding in more veggies into their diets, Jas gave you a good list here:

Try offering them so veggies like carrots, sweet potato, broccoli, peas, Kale, mustard tops etc for some healthy sources of calcium and vit a.
Dark leafy greens are a must.

Good luck with them, but please don't have the babies if you aren't prepared to care for them yourself. Babies are very delicate and will need very particular care that you may not be able to provide.

Hope you know how to proceed. If you do not want baby birds there are options too.

 

[Cowboy&Chica]

Please try to get the female at least some calcium. When you feed eggs, crush the eggshells into small pieces into the eggs for them to eat. But without any D3, the calcium is also useless. They need to either eat a pellet that contains D3 or to go outside into the sun in a travel cage. Only when it's warm enough though. The female will eventually start to have egg issues if she isn't provided both calcium and D3. Laying so many eggs takes a lot out of females and they need lots of extra nutrients that they are losing to their eggs.
Start to include some healthier options in their diets, as too many seeds can lead to obesity and liver issues. While eggs are good packs of protein, they should not be fed daily, maybe once a week at most. Animal protein can be very harmful if fed too often. You should start adding in more veggies into their diets, Jas gave you a good list here:

Good luck with them, but please don't have the babies if you aren't prepared to care for them yourself. Babies are very delicate and will need very particular care that you may not be able to provide.

Thank you BirdField for your reply, The Pellet/seed mix I am using has lots of veggies, fruits and nuts in it with all the vitamins they need including Calcium.
The Egg and Honey mix I am feeding them it contains D3 and E vitamins among others.
I also have vitamins liquid substitution that i add to their food and water.
The Egg Shells I gave them yesterday i crushed them very fine before I serve it to them.

 

[Cowboy&Chica]

Coax Chica out of the nest and candle the eggs. Call her and give her some treats. Remember to use a cool light. I like to leave a nice little treat in the nest box after every time I´ve been in for something.
You may want to give her some finely chopped green veg.

I tried to candle the eggs now but i was not to see anything either all the eggs are empty or i am not knowing what i am looking at (my first experience with Birds eggs ). So, I am going just to leave it to nature and wait a couple more weeks and see what happens and deal with things as they come up. In the meantime if i have any other questions i will post them here and seek your help.

 

[Cowboy&Chica]

Hope you know how to proceed. If you do not want baby birds there are options too.

Thank you Lady Jane for your reply. I think i know how to proceed but i would not interfere in nature and stop my brids from having their babies if they want to try. Thank God we are not living in China where they force control how many babies a family can have.

 

[Cowboy&Chica]

Mallets? I assume you mean pellets? These are good to feed.

Sorry for the typo i meant Millets.

 

[Jas]

Thank you Lady Jane for your reply. I think i know how to proceed but i would not interfere in nature and stop my brids from having their babies if they want to try. Thank God we are not living in China where they force control how many babies a family can have.

Thats more to do with population control as there aren't enough resources to support them. Though they have increased it to two I believe as there aren't enough girls.

The demographic transition model is very interesting.

We well be here if you have more questions

 

[Cowboy&Chica]

By the way here is the Egg Food mix with Honey I use in case any one is interested

 

[Cowboy&Chica]

And here is the MultiVitamin liquid I use which also has D3 in it in addition to all the other Vitamins a bird needs.

 

[Cowboy&Chica]

We well be here if you have more questions

Thank you Jas