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    male love bird

    My male lovebird lost his female partner 3 weeks ago, since that time I have discovered eggs in the nesting box in which he will not leave,will anything eventuate from the eggs, how do I know if they have been fertilized?

    +4  Views: 1139 Answers: 1 Posted: 13 years ago
    doolittle

    Please let us know what happens!!
    west-bus

    07. March 2016
    Please tell me if there was a happy end, I do hope so.
    pythonlover

    Moderator
    Hi there west-bus. No, unfortunately there was worse to come.Nothing came of the eggs.I purchased another mate for him, sadly they did not get on and was attacking each other.I took them both to a bird breeder and surrended them.
    These days I have two cockatiels that get on magnificently.

    1 Answer

    Are you sure the surviving bird is a male? Did you get the birds as a pair? It's more than likely he is a male if they had paired themselves already when you got them.

    I'm going to guess the female died because she got egg bound. This would make the eggs to be about 3 weeks old. It takes about 21 days for love birds to hatch. So if they're fertilized, then they will be due to hatch soon.

    You will have to shoo him from the box. He won't like it but you need to get at the eggs. You can take each egg and hold a flashlight to it. If you can't see through it at all, this will tell you there's a chick in there. If he sets on the eggs and they hatch, he will do just fine caring for them. If too many hatch and it seems he can't care for them all, you're going to have to learn how to hand feed a baby. There are books on how to do it. Don't worry about him spending hours in the box and that he wont leave the eggs to eat. He will. Eggs actually need a cooling off period, usually long enough for the adult to eat. Make sure he has a water dish or cup large enough that he can wet his chest and under feathers in. He will need to do this to moisten the egg shells periodically and especially when they are due to hatch. The shells will need to be softened so the babies can break their way out of the eggs. Do not assist in the hatching! Let them and the adult bird handle that part.

    Love birds are birds who need a mate. They typically do not survive long without one (though some have been known to do OK being single). If any babies hatch, when they're old enough, he may take a female as a mate. This is fine and acceptable in the bird world. If you find the eggs are duds, you can remove them. He might act upset for a day or two but he will forget about the eggs after another day or so.
    pythonlover

    Moderator
    Thanks so much colleen,i will take your advice on board.Iwill put the dish of water in and check the eggs with a torch i will let you know how it goes. thanks


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