Khushie laid an egg

[mfiguei]

Hi All
We have had Khushie for over 2 years now. When we bought her the guy told us she was female. We always thought he was right (because of her personality) and now we know he was right. She laid an egg yesterday. She is a lone lovie so the egg is not fertilized.

What should I do? If I take it out, will it cause her any stress?

Thanks!
Mark

[mangotiki]

I would leave any eggs until you can see that they have been abandoned...otherwise she might keep laying. She might want to sit on it for a while. Or you can swap it for a fake egg, or boil it and return it.

good luck,
traci

[BarbieH]

No need to boil these eggs if she is a single hen; there's no way they can be fertile without a male. (Cue up everyone who is going to bring up parthenogenesis ...)

Set her up with a little cardboard nestbox and let her finish laying the clutch. Move food and water dishes so she can get to them easily. She should abandon the clutch roughly 23 days after the last egg is layed.

Good luck!

[mangotiki]

silly me. i do know that it takes two... :) but I was also thinking of longevity...(rotten egg, you know? does boiling make a difference?)
Traci

[mfiguei]

Thanks! This explains how weird she has been acting. I read about the opening of wings and lifting of tail on the discussion board. I thought it was cute. She started doing this with me a couple months ago. I thought it was cute I and then I read it was mating behaviour. I guess she wanted me to fertlize it. :)

Please excuse my ignorance. Is the "cardboard nest box" something I can buy or did you mean I should make one? I just want to make sure she is comfortable.

She is such a joy. We got her two years ago when my wife had a miscarriage. She wanted something to take care of. Unfortunately, Khushie became attached to me (should have realized she was female) and now all she does is attack my wife when she comes near her. I feel bad for my wife because I know she wants to be close with her too.

[mangotiki]

you can go ahead and just make one out of a small box (kleenex box works well).
traci

[BarbieH]

Yeah, Kleenex tissue boxes are great. :) Make sure to use a box from unscented tissue, and remove all plastic from the place where you pull the tissues out. If it's a cube-shaped box, you can lay it on its side, put some shredded paper inside the box, and place in the egg. If it's a long box, remove the top and lay the box open-side up on the cage floor. Again, add shredded paper and the egg.

As for the old eggs aging, I wouldn't want to crack one open near the end (phew!), but they won't harm anything in the nest. Eventually they just dry up inside.

Make sure you feed your little hen calcium-rich foods like brocolli and kale, and foods with vitamin D -- dry-scrambled chicken eggs are good, or hard-boiled eggs.

Good luck!

[mfiguei]

Thank you. Within minutes of putting the Kleenex box in the cage she is already in there.

Now I wish I had a male. It would have been nice to have little babies. :(

[mangotiki]

yep, babies are great...
maybe now is the time to start looking for a boy...by the time you find one and quarantine him, then introduce them, she might be ready for another clutch. ha ha ha ha! :D

Traci

[cam98]

Hi mfiguei
If you want your lovebird to be very tame i wouldnt get another bird for her but if you dont mind spending less time with her id get a male lovie and before you know it you may have lots of little lovies even tamer than Khushie.
good luck with the eggs
CAM

[mjm8321]

If you spend time with a pair of lovies...or more, they will still be tame and sweet. If you are considering a mate for Khushie, give her some time to rest after this clutch of eggs, since it could be her first.

MJ