my bird laid an egg in my hand

[gigi]

um, so yeah, its spring and shes been laying eggs like crazy (4 already) and next week she is having a hormone shot. she doesnt care for the eggs (in fact, she chewed one of them up) she just lays them and forgets all about them. but the other day i had her out and we were doing her "up up up" "step down" drills and all of a sudden she became very unresponsive. i was afraid that she was in pain and so i started to coo at her and lift her up to inspect. then she started panting and pushing and squeezing and squeaking softly. the whole process only took about five minutes but i had her perched on my hand the whole time. then out it came! it rolled right out and into my hand. has anyone had this happen? i mean, obviously the bird trusts me a whole lot to do that. or what? it was so amazing! ive saved the egg and i think i will drain and keep it as a keepsake. weird, right? :omg:

[LauraO]

I've never had a lovebird do this, but had a friend who had a little finch who would lay eggs in her shirt. I'm sure it was very stressful and frightening at first. I've seen lovies lay and it's like giving birth, but really weird if you don't know what's happening. Your lovie obviously loves and trusts you.

[lemonypickett]

How sweet, she must love you.

As to keeping the egg, not weird.... I have a story:

My sister and I growing up had Bantam Chickens (the little ones) and they were so tame, they were almost like a parrot. They would ride on your shoulder, come when called ... they were great. Well, my hen Tanaia never sat on an egg before, but one summer before I left for a week's vacation she was sitting on an egg. When I returned, I found out that she had been stepped on by one of the horses and died. I took the egg and put it in an incubator and after 3 months my mother finally was able to convince me that it was not going to hatch. I had wanted that baby so badly because I loved the mother so much. Well, I saved that egg for years keeping it inside a trophy on a bookcase. Well, one day I fell into the bookcase and knocked the trophy and the egg to the floor. A fully developed chick which had been completely dehydrated and preserved by the heat of the incubator over those months came out of the cracked egg. It was very tramautizing. So ... years later, I was able to prove to my mom that there was a baby in there! I knew it!

Sad it never hatched. I think it may have cooled too much by the time I got it into the incubator. Had to have been a day or two between mom dying and my arrival home.

[gigi]

whoa. thats amazing story! i drained the egg. i think ill make a little nest out of fabric and cotton and set it on a shelf as a keepsake.

[Mydoona]

do they lay eggs if there is no male around to fertilise them??

[Dancelady]

Yes, they can and do -- especially two females will have a batch of eggs that have never been near any male. They don't hatch, of course, but that doesn't stop her from attempting to brood. So watch out for calcium depletion if a lot of eggs are laid, and don't take the eggs away while she/they are sitting on them. Let the female just give up on them first.