How long to leave unfertilized eggs?

[olive1324]

I have a 2 year old female lovebird, Olive, and was having a lot of behavioral issues with her this spring as she was absolutely determined to lay eggs. I tried deterring her but nothing worked so I ended up giving her a small cardboard box on the floor of her cage and let her lay a clutch. She laid 8 eggs total (I know, a lot) and has been sitting on them pretty diligently. She is eating plenty (much more than usual and has a few cuttlebones that she's definitely using) and does venture out of the box throughout the day and even out of the cage occasionally for a bit. My question is how long should I leave them in there? They have been in there for 21 days as of today, and she is still committed (siting on then most of the day). Is there a max time I should leave them if she refuses to abandon them? Thanks!

 

[Zara]

Correct, It is 21 days from starting to brood. Give her a few more days and see if she works out that the eggs are non viable. Say 3 days.
In the meantime you can add a new toy and foraging opportunities to try distract her away from the nest.

Once the three days are up and she is still sitting, the easiest way is to just remove the nest and all remnants. And do a complete switchup of the cage, moving perches, toys, food bowls ,water bowls. Add a new toy, add some foraging activities. You could even move the cage, even if just a metre away.
Do all this in a morning so she has the day to adjust.