Incubation Period

[jack300s]

I'm excited and worried.....I'm new at this. My lovebirds laid the first egg in the nest box on August 4th and then every other day for a total of five.

Do you start counting from the day the first egg was laid or the day after? Counting from the day the first egg was laid its 23 days today. I checked and nothing seems to be happening.

The hen seems to be spending more time in the nest box today. And the male seems to be eating more.

BTW, I haven't checked the eggs to see if they're fertile. Just decided to leave them alone.

Should I be feeding them anything extra? Seems I read somewhere that you should soak some seed in water. Anyone ever hear about this?

Thanks everyone...The waiting is so hard!

[linda040899]

The day the egg is laid is considered day 1. Time until hatch is approximately 23 days. Something is usually happening on the 23rd day, even if the chick hasn't hatched.

Before you do anything else, candle the eggs with a small penlight flashlight to see if there are any developing chicks. If there are and there are blanks in the clutch, egg #1 could be one of the blanks.

[jack300s]

The day the egg is laid is considered day 1. Time until hatch is approximately 23 days. Something is usually happening on the 23rd day, even if the chick hasn't hatched.

Before you do anything else, candle the eggs with a small penlight flashlight to see if there are any developing chicks. If there are and there are blanks in the clutch, egg #1 could be one of the blanks.

Hi Linda,

I just took your advice and used a small penlight to candle the eggs. WOW, I don't know why i was so nervous. .....

I wasn't sure what I was looking for? But two of the eggs look white with a yellow area. I'm assuming they are the blanks? Three of the eggs looked more solid and I really couldn't see anything. Does that sound to you like I have three fertile eggs?

The hen didn't seem to happy with what I was doing. I closed off the entrance and covered the cage until I was done. I sure hope I didn't disrupt her nesting of the eggs? Both are back in the nest checking out what I did....

[linda040899]

Lovebird hens are very dedicated to their eggs and babies, so you didn't deter her in the least!! :)

Sounds like 2 of the eggs are blanks (infertile). If the other 3 appear to be a dark reddish color inside, there are live chicks in those eggs. The one that will hatch first out of those 3 is the one with the largest air cell. Three babies in a nest is a nice number. While they have to compete for food from mom, the competition isn't as fierce as it would be if there were 5 or more chicks in the box. Given the choice, I like clutches of 4 or less.

[personatus]

Hehe, I remember the first time my birds had eggs, so so so so nervous! I remember it like it was yesterday. I also remember jumping around like nutcase when I peeped in and seen a little chick lol!

I have had the odd egg take 26 even 27 days to hatch before! Good luck with them! :)