Lovebird laid 2 eggs! When can I take them out?

[WhiskeyNebula]

Hi guys,


long story short:
Whiskey laid 2 eggs which is adorable. They are clearly duds (we checked) but we left them for her of course so she can take care of them and follow her nature.


I read that they usually abandon them after 3 weeks but it´s been 4 weeks now and she´s still all over them.


Does anyone have experience with this? I don´t want to make her sad and take them but I am also worried that they´ll go "bad" if you know what I mean?


What´s the best procedure here?


Thank you for any help! (Also, I bought fake eggs so that she doesn´t have to go through laying them anymore. Her poops are GINORMOUS now haha)

 

[LaManuka]

Well, congratulations, I think??

My lovely Lilly the lorikeet is a mad keen egg layer, despite not having a boyfriend. She laid her last clutch in December 2019 and she is such a dedicated sitter I swear she would still be sitting on them to this day if it was up to her! The incubation time for her species is around 17 days, and I let another week go by after this before I removed her last eggs. It took her probably half a day or so to fully adjust to the fact that her egg and nesting site were gone but after that she really was pretty much back to normal and thankfully I've managed to keep her from laying any more since.

I would think you would be safe enough to remove your little one's eggs by around now, and very well done you indeed for investing in dummy eggs should this problem arise again! You will also need to remove and prevent access to anything and everything that she might even slightly perceive as a nest site, whether it is inside or outside the cage. My Lilly has a "thing" for our couch and regularly tries to nest behind the cushions, so I have to strip all cushions, throw blankets etc etc from the couch while she is out.

I'm not sure if your other lovie is a male - your little egg layer may have laid unfertilised eggs given enough stimulation whether you have a male and female or not, it happens! Your little hen may be a bit disoriented at first but I think you will find she will adjust fairly quickly once they are gone.

 

[WhiskeyNebula]

Thank you for this reply! This is a lot of good info!
My other one is definitely a boy, he has started rubbing himself everywhere, including our heads. Trying to get that to stop haha




I will take her eggs and make sure that she doesn´t have a nesting site! Thank you again so much!

 

[LaManuka]

No trouble at all, happy to help!

If your hen does lay again, I recommend substituting the dummy eggs straight away. I used to boil Lilly's until I found a fake egg good enough to fool her, and she generally does manage to bust the shell of hers after about a week of determined sitting. Swapping in the fake eggs early on would ensure that you don't have a nasty smelly mess to have to clean up in the event that your hen does break her egg.

Keep us updated and let us know how she goes, won't you?

 

[noodles123]

Leave them until interest is lost (many vet websites say 3 weeks even if they don't seem interested--even longer if it takes longer). If they are fertile, early on, you can quickly remove them and boil after marking with a pen (to prevent hatching and inbreeding among siblings etc). By marking them, you know the new from the old if more come out. It sounds liek you are past that point though, so I would consider swapping them for dummys because they may get smelly if broken at this point. The dummy eggs are pretty dang good looking and the weight is right (assuming you get the right kind for your species). I would do the swap when the bird is in another room and do it right before bed so she wakes up with the new ones and has less time to notice the potential differences. I have never gotten the lovebird variety, but the ones I have purchased did not disappoint https://www.amazon.com/DummyEggs-Stop-Laying-Fake-Bird/dp/B077DKMBLX


If you ever do need to boil fertile eggs, make sure you cool them before returning them, but do it as discretely as possible. Dummy eggs are another solid alternative and may be purchased on amazon- DummyEggs.com have really good products that they sell on their site and on amazon.



Provide access to higher calcium foods and a cuttle bone if you do not already.


Discourage future laying by making sure you have no tents, huts, coconuts, shadowy spaces, access to boxes, under furniture, low shelves, blankets etc (nothing nesty). Nets boxes and sleep tents = bad news for a variety of reasons.


Pet on the head and neck only and be very cautious about disrupting their light cycles. NEVER cover during the day (unless dealing with a bird in medical shock) and make sure they have a set bedtime and wake up schedule with 10 hours solid, dark sleep per night. This regulates hormones and mood but also is essential for keeping your bird's immune system healthy.


Avoid warm mushy foods during hormonal periods and the same should be said of easily shreddable toys like paper, wicker, balsa etc--- if it can make a nesty pile easily, avoid it. The warm food and shredding thing is short-term/during hormonal spells, but the 10 hours, petting rules, and avoiding shadows should apply to adult birds indefinitely, unless breeding is your goal.

 

[johnbirds]

Hi guys,


long story short:
Whiskey laid 2 eggs which is adorable. They are clearly duds (we checked) but we left them for her of course so she can take care of them and follow her nature.


I read that they usually abandon them after 3 weeks but it´s been 4 weeks now and she´s still all over them.


Does anyone have experience with this? I don´t want to make her sad and take them but I am also worried that they´ll go "bad" if you know what I mean?


What´s the best procedure here?


Thank you for any help! (Also, I bought fake eggs so that she doesn´t have to go through laying them anymore. Her poops are GINORMOUS now haha)

The cycle for approx 21 days if you leave them they may stop cause to cycle is over of lay another clutch of eggs. Now if its a single bird leave them so the don't keep laying eggs it depletes the body of calcium. If it a part pull them after candling after about 7 days you should start to see something if clear pull them so the lay agin. you need to give a supplement breeder diet are ok