Lovebird laying eggs, no mate, not sure what to do

[kpanghmc]

Hi everybody,

My female lovebird, Melon, started laying eggs for the first time about 1 month ago. She did not have a mate up until then so these eggs are not going to hatch. At first, I had figured that after a certain amount of time she would give up on these eggs hatching, but that doesn't appear to be the case. She is still spending the majority of her day sitting on them and moving them around in her nest. I don't know what to do. On the one hand, I don't want to take the eggs away from her, but on the other hand I don't want her to spend all day sitting on eggs that aren't going to hatch. Does anyone have any advice for me? Will she eventually give up on these eggs herself or do I need to remove them for her?

Thanks in advance!

[Janie]

Hi and welcome! :)

I don't have hens but I've read that the eggs do need to remain with her for at least 3 weeks (maybe longer, check the breeding section of the forum) and usually a hen will then abandon the eggs and you can remove them. I've also read that it often helps to change things around, toys and perches and even cage location, to keep her mind off laying. Sometimes they are determined to lay, no matter what you do, but maybe you can distract her after this clutch and keep her from laying for several more months. I know that removing them before she's ready to give them up can cause her to start replacing the removed eggs and lay another complete clutch. I don't envy you but I think you'll find some useful tips in the breeding section.

[Dancelady]

I would leave your eggs in place until the hen is quite finished with them. Don't remove them, it hasn't been long enough yet. This way, even though they won't hatch, she will be happy tending to them. A friend let his hen go for 40 days before she quit and then she was fine. I have a hen that has laid lots of eggs, but they hatched, most of them. However, my hen started new eggs when the chicks were only 5 wks. old -- quite a different problem!

[Chickobee]

I have read that birds are less likely to lay eggs if they have more hours of darkness. Maybe after your hen is finished with this clutch of eggs you could try this, in addition to removing her nestbox and changing things in her cage, so she doesn't immediately start laying again.

Has anyone had success with this technique?

Linda