Last fall I bought a 7 year old experienced mated pair of lovebirds. Mom has been sitting on her fourth nest of eggs this past month. The oldest egg is 4 weeks now. None have been fertile. I also moved to a new house in April and I'm thinking they are still adjusting to their new house. Dad gets very bored and paces in the cage a lot so I was opening the door and letting them fly an hour or so. Mom mostly stays around the door of the cage but will come out occasionally to sit on my shoulder. When I got them the previous owner said Mom brooded babies year round at least 4 nests a year. I figured she needed a break and removed the nest box and put Dad in another cage. She gets so frantic throwing food around the cage and pacing and rattling things in the cage all day long I didn't want her to stress so much and put the box back in the cage. I see them mate frequently and Dad will even mount anything he can find around the house to mate with as well when I open the cage. I have wanted to try hand-feeding but no babies yet. Both birds seem to like me and during my move in April Dad even got out of the cage outside but came back to me and I got him into the cage again!

One friend said Mom might get too stressed by letting the door open and Dad flies away from the cage and to keep them inside. So that's what I've been doing. When I first got the birds Mom was so weak from sitting on eggs she could hardly fly across the room. Not much exercise. Any suggestions?

Remove the nest box immediately! At that age they are probably getting to aged to breed successfully. The male may be getting infertile. No need to remove the male if there isn't a box. At seven years old the hen should not be laying all those eggs 4 times a year! That would increase the chances of egg binding and similar complications. I'm not sure if this applies to lovebirds BUT I know with budgies that they should not be bred more than 2 times per year and the females shouldn't be bred over 3-4 years, male 5-6 years. Yes, they COULD breed about 4 times a year, but it wouldn't be healthy and would NOT increase their lifespan.

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My Fids!

Budgies~

Marigold
Skye
Thimble
Lexi
Chubba Chubs
Zeus
Betty
Dude
Fang
Elly
Chloe
Zoe
Nixon
Phil
Cam
Annabell

Cockatiels~

Buzza
Jasper

How can a bird who can live up to 25 yrs and is still ovulating be unable to lay a fertile egg? An animal that can no longer bear young is one that stops ovulating.

I didn't say that they would be unable to lay, just that it is dangerous to their health.

__________________
My Fids!

Budgies~

Marigold
Skye
Thimble
Lexi
Chubba Chubs
Zeus
Betty
Dude
Fang
Elly
Chloe
Zoe
Nixon
Phil
Cam
Annabell

Cockatiels~

Buzza
Jasper

I found this quote from Lovebird Lovers.com

"Every two years, it is suggested to take the nest boxes out of the aviaries or cages for a six-to-eight-month resting period. This way you will be preventing stress and certainly will have good breeding pairs for eight to twelve years."

So, does anyone else have Lovebird experience to help my pair lay fertile eggs?