Removing Eggs?

[sonjabird]

Our lovebird, Jelly, is in her second nesting cycle in less than two months. Four eggs the first go around (in August) and now three in the past week. She currently has a happy hut in her cage that she LOVES and we don't have the heart to pull it out. Unfortunately, this is where she lays her eggs, and they quickly roll out the back and onto the bottom of the cage and crack open. She pays no attention to the egg once it's fallen to the bottom of the cage, at which point we remove them (she's never been seen trying to incubate one of these fallen eggs).

1. Do we really have to remove her happy hut? :( For how long?

2. Should we not be giving her boxes to shred/play in inside her cage? What if we just gave her boxes as a treat when she's outside of her cage? She loves them almost more than her happy hut!

3. Should we not be removing her eggs when they fall to the bottom of the cage?

She's already a vicious biter (her nickname is Jaws), so having her in a perpetual hormonal state turns her into a little witch (substitute a "B" in there if you want).

Thanks for any help you can give!

Sonja

[linda040899]

Hi Sonya and welcome to Lovebirds Plus Community!

While Jelly may love her Happy Hut, it's the reason she's laying eggs. Mature hens will search out what they consider to be cozy places to raise a family and Happy Huts qualify in that department. If you want to give it to her for sleeping at night, that's fine. However, during the day it needs to be out of her cage!

As long as she has material inside her cage that's shreddable, she will continue to build nests and lay eggs. Outside her cage might work as long as you supervise what she's shredding and where she's doing it. Lovie hens are very clever when they make up their minds that they want to do something!

Remove the eggs that fall out of the hut. She won't pay any attention to them if they are broken.

[sonjabird]

Hi Linda, thanks for the welcome and for the advice.
I guess we just need to take out her happy hut. Unfortunately she is quite the biter so we wouldn't be able to put it in just at night- at least not right now- perhaps something to strive for? She also is a crazy shredder. I read someone on this forum talking about using posterboard in the bottom of the cage to discourage shredding even down there. My other question is... what in the heck is Jelly going to do if she can't hang out in her hut and she can't shred? She never pays attention to toys (maybe she would if she couldn't shred?). So she has a relatively unfullfilling life because we have yet to get her to trust us (working on that) so she doesn't get tons of attention from us other than episodes of clicker training, and us talking to her. Should I let her continue the nesting, since it is a "natural" part of her biology? Or is that what is hampering our ability to bond with her? Perhaps if we get her to stop nesting she will be more receptive to us in her life?

Thanks for any help you can give!
Sonja

[Chickobee]

Nesty hens do not make friendly pets! They want to raise a family and will not be interested in you as long as they are in breeding mode. Also, continued egg laying is bad for your hen because it can deplete her calcium levels.

Some hens will continue to lay more eggs to replace the ones that have gotten broken until they have a full clutch of eggs to sit on.

If you take out the happy hut and give her a bowl or small box (Kleenex box) with a bit of nesting material in it in the bottom of her cage she will have a place to finish laying this clutch of eggs. Then she will most likely sit on them for 23-28 days and then abandon them. When she abandons them you can remove everything. (You can boil each egg as it is layed and give it back to her or replace them with fake eggs.)

You want to break the egg laying cycle and that may take some work. When she is finished with these eggs you will want her to feel that it is not safe to lay more. Frequently rearranging everything in her cage and even moving the cage to a different location can help. Other things that help are: no happy hut, no shreddable materials, and covering the cage at night so there are less than 12 hours of daylight.

Does her cage have a bottom grate so she is not able to reach the cage liners? Being allowed access to these shreddable materials may be all it takes for her to think about nest building.

Does she have a swing? They are the favorite toy of my lovebirds. They also enjoy beads, bells, leather strips, and toys they can dismantle (but not shred!). They enjoy toys that make noise and bright colors. Also foraging toys make them work for their food.

Other people may have other suggestions. When your hen is out of her breeding cycle it will be easier to tame her. For now she has other things on her mind.

[sonjabird]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply.
The happy hut is out, and yesterday morning I gave her a small box which she quickly started loving and hanging out in. Last night, though, she laid another egg, from her top perch (she usually either lays it in her hut or from this top perch) and it fell down and crashed onto the bottom of her cage. I guess only time will tell if she'll use the box for nesting or if she'll just keep laying from up high.

[FuzzyAga]

It could be your hen prefers the security of a high place and not the insecurity of the bottom of the cage to lay her eggs. It could also be a case of old-habits-die-hard.

If you have a flat platform, you might try placing the small box on the platform, at about the level of her favorite perch. Make sure the box doesn't slip/slide off the platform. I bought the platform at DrsFosterSmith. I like them as they are so handy for making intermediate places for them the hang out.

[thebubbleking]

Not much i can suggest the others havent as far as egg laying but i can tell you i will traded you "jaws" for my "landshark" for a week and and you wont complain she bites hard after lol oh and incase you dought me ask the forum and there are pictures lol