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egg-laying lovebird

Michl

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Michelle
Hello all,
I am looking for advice with my lovebird. This is her first time laying eggs and my first time dealing with this. This is how everything went, my girl and her mate have a 12hour sleep cycle, but on July 5th I found an egg at the bottom of her cage and left it there. On July 7th she laid another egg but in her play area with the other birds. So I decided that since she is laying that I may as well set her and her mate up in a quite corner (in my bedroom) so that they can have some piece and quiet and raise their young. With that said, she is ( I think) ignoring the first egg but protecting and kinda sitting on the other. She has not laid an egg since the 7th, but looks ready to lay again.

Here are some of my questions;
1. Should I be giving my hen a special diet? She is currently on pellets, chop for dinner with us, and she a few treats through out the day.
2. How do I know if she is egg bound?
3. Should I be giving her extra calcium? she is on the cuttlebone often

Any other advice would be very much appreciated.
 

Zara

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Diet sounds ok depending on pellets (they need to give both vitamin D3 and calcium) . You can offer an eggfood, or a little boiled egg and calcium rich veggies for a boost. Cuttlefish bones don´t really help much.

Signs of egg binding, egg bump for two days +, fluffed up a lot, loss of appetite, lethargy.

More info on egg binding:
 

Zara

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If these are the same birds; My hormornal baby
I would recommend boiling the eggs, then putting them back in the corner where you found them so your hen can rest on them.

Defo would not recommend breeding at 6 months old (it is biologically possible, but never recommended).

Save the breeding for a year down the line.
 

Michl

Sitting on the front steps
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17
Real Name
Michelle
Diet sounds ok depending on pellets (they need to give both vitamin D3 and calcium) . You can offer an eggfood, or a little boiled egg and calcium rich veggies for a boost. Cuttlefish bones don´t really help much.

Signs of egg binding, egg bump for two days +, fluffed up a lot, loss of appetite, lethargy.

More info on egg binding:
I believe the pellets do have both, they are eating the ZuPreem brand. I also have egg food, which I add to their chop.

Thank you for the clarification on egg binding, she definitely isn't! She is still very active and playful, however takes breaks :)
 

Michl

Sitting on the front steps
Joined
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Messages
17
Real Name
Michelle
If these are the same birds; My hormornal baby
I would recommend boiling the eggs, then putting them back in the corner where you found them so your hen can rest on them.

Defo would not recommend breeding at 6 months old (it is biologically possible, but never recommended).

Save the breeding for a year down the line.
Yes this is her :( I do agree 100% that she should not be breeding at this young age, and I hope for this to be her only time. I do not have the time to raise and then find homes for babies. For the time being, I simply want her to be comfortable and properly cared for. As for the male, I am not sure what to do. They have bonded, and separating them may be difficult.

Would it be a bad option to leave the eggs hatch? I almost hate to have to boil them; I will if necessary.
 

Zara

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You can leave the birds together. It will be better for your hen to have him around to help her (he will bring her food and feed her).

Just boil the eggs, they are very very young to be parents. They younger the parents, the more likely things will go wrong. I have a bunch of dummy eggs, they´re handy for anyone with a pair of birds to help control clutches. I qwould recommend picking up a set to have in the future for if she lays before you are ready(have the time to invest), or to make sure she has breaks between clutches.
 

Michl

Sitting on the front steps
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Michelle
You can leave the birds together. It will be better for your hen to have him around to help her (he will bring her food and feed her).

Just boil the eggs, they are very very young to be parents. They younger the parents, the more likely things will go wrong. I have a bunch of dummy eggs, they´re handy for anyone with a pair of birds to help control clutches. I qwould recommend picking up a set to have in the future for if she lays before you are ready(have the time to invest), or to make sure she has breaks between clutches.
Boiling the eggs might be a problem, my girl is never too far away from her cage/nest. I do prefer the dummy eggs, but have questions regarding them. How long do I leave them in the cage with her and should I be concerned if she has not laid more than 2 eggs? My girl looks like she is going to pop again, but it's been 4 days since the last lay.
 

Zara

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Boiling the eggs might be a problem, my girl is never too far away from her cage/nest.
I won´t lie, some days are really difficult to get the eggs. The girls turn into full on warrior tank mode. I´ve always managed to get them out.
If I can´t get the hen out of the cage, and she´s getting stressed, I will just use a piece of cardboard to protect my arm while I reach in and do the egg, this way she can´t see me touching the eggs either. I´ve never been bitten removing eggs.

should I be concerned if she has not laid more than 2 eggs?
It´s not common but it´s certainly ok. Clutches are usually 4-7, but some lay one or two, and others can lay up to 12. I had a 10 clutch once. My youngest lays clutches of two every time.

If she lays clutches of two often, like my girl, speak with your vet about it.

I do prefer the dummy eggs, but have questions regarding them. How long do I leave them in the cage with her
Dummy eggs are the same as a boiled egg. So they can sit on dummy or boiled eggs for up to but no more than 3 weeks. 22 days max.
Most hens will give up before then and abandon the nest.
If not, remove all eggs, nest, nesting materials. Rearrange toys, perches, bowls etc in the cage. If you can move the cage a little helps too. Add in a new toy and some foraging.
 

Michl

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@Zara As for the male, I do not want this happening again how do I prevent it? They are bonded and if not together its a yelling match between them...lol
 

Zara

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I do not want this happening again how do I prevent it?
Don´t want what happening again? Laying eggs? Or having to remove eggs?

Egg laying will likely occur regardless as you have a female bird.
You can avoid removing eggs by splitting the birds up.

Personally I don´t like to split a bonded pair, hense why I have a sibling pair, I prefer to just remove eggs and allow them to be together. Dummy eggs are super handy for us with laying hens.
 
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