Wrong pairing of the lovebirds

[Rajatp]

Hello,
I bought a pair of lovebirds about 8 months ago and now they have been laying eggs. Apparently, there are 11 eggs in the same nest and both the birds incubate the eggs. Its been over a month since the first egg was laid and All the eggs are infertile. Are both the birds females? I was planning to get a new male male or get one of my females exchanged for a male from the seller. He is willing to do that. How practical is breaking a lovebird pair and changing the partner? Any tips? Thanks in advance.

[linda040899]

Apparently, there are 11 eggs in the same nest and both the birds incubate the eggs.
Yup. You have 2 hens that, apparently, get along fairly well, which is not usually the case. :) Is it your intent to breed or do you just want a pair of lovebirds? Lovebirds are very prolific breeders so, unless you want babies, keeping what you have might be the best thing to do. Now, on the other hand, if you want little ones, then, yes, you can switch partners. Keep in mind that male + female will normally create babies and that can bring about its own problems, such as what happens if mom doesn't feed the babies? Would your plan be to pull the babies at a certain age for hand feeding or would you let the parent raise the babies and you just socialize?

Just a few things to think about.

[Rajatp]

Thanks for the response. Its been a year since I started bird keeping and I intend to experience breeding in my lovebirds. My budgies have been successfully breeding and my cockatiels are reluctant when it comes to that. All of these infertile eggs made me sad. When my budgies bred, I let them feed the chicks and socialised them twice everyday. I intend to do that with the lovebird babies as well. I am ready to handfeed the babies should the hen stop feeding them.
How should I switch the lovebird pair? Like, what is the process of separation and introduction, so that all the birds are comfortable? As far as I have heard, lovebirds bond strongly and would respond violently to a new bird.

[linda040899]

Thanks for the information regarding your intent to breed. I always have to ask so I'm prepared to help should the need arise.

Normally, Lovebirds are very good parents and they are very devoted to their babies. Occasionally, I had a hen that would not realize the babies needed to be fed in order to survive but that was the exception rather than the rule.

The first thing you will need to do should you decide to trade a female for a male would be 30 day quarantine of the new male. You want to make sure he's healthy. I do this even if I know the breeder well and the breeder has healthy birds. That's just a rule of thumb with my own flock. Introductions are made in side by side cages after quarantine. Let them get to know each other through the safety of cage bars. You will be able to tell if they like each other just by watching them. Once you feel they are ready, put them in a neutral cage, not his cage or her cage, and keep an eye on them. I always put the male in the new cage first because hens can be cage territorial and it can take less than 10 seconds for a hen to declare the new cage is hers alone! (That's a female for ya! :lol) I wouldn't give them a nest box immediately. Again, by watching, you will know when the time is right.

Hope this is helpful.

[Rajatp]

Thank you so much again. I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll update about how it goes. :)

[linda040899]

Thanks! Looking forward to hearing how things go with your Lovebirds.